Acadia National Park car reservations on Cadillac Mountain are off to a rocky start this year, hampered by two delays in the release of tickets during the chaos of the new administration in Washington.

Acadia car reservations are required starting May 21 for people who want to drive up Cadillac. Reservations were originally set to be released online on Feb. 20. The release was then delayed to March 22 and then last week, with little time to spare, it was postponed again to April 15.

When asked about the delays, the National Park Service Office of Public Affairs stated, “As part of the broader efforts led by the Department of Interior under President Trump’s leadership, we are implementing necessary reforms to ensure fiscal responsibility, operational efficiency and government accountability. While we do not comment on personnel matters, the National Park Service remains steadfast in its commitment to serving the American public and preserving the natural and cultural resources entrusted to our care.”

Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the US eastern coast, is rated the most popular attraction in the Maine national park. More than 200,000 vehicle reservations were sold in 2024, allowing people to visit the peak from sunrise to sunset.

8 fired Acadia employees return to work after US judge intervenes

The setbacks for Acadia National Park vehicle reservations come as the Trump administration reviews the contracts of 10 major consultants. One of those 10 companies, Booz Allen Hamilton, contracts with the federal government to operate recreation.gov, the online reservation system that includes motor vehicle reservations on Cadillac, campgrounds and other services by certain federal agencies.

The postponements occurred during the Trump administration’s often-chaotic mass firings of federal employees, including eight at Acadia who were among 1,000 NPS probationary employees let go.  A federal judge later ruled the firings were illegal and the Interior Department said it was reinstating these employees while appeals are pending.

“This afternoon at 4:20 pm I got the call that I was reinstated and could return to work,” one of the fired Acadia employees told us on Wednesday, March 19.

The Trump administration on Monday, March 24 appealed the federal judge’s ruling to the Supreme Court. The administration asked a justice on the court to block the order that reinstated thousands of probationary employees at the NPS and other agencies.

Many still unaware of reservation system at Cadillac

In 2021, seeking to manage parking on Cadillac, the National Park Service started requiring vehicle reservations.

Judging by the “turn-around rate” at the Cadillac Summit Road Entrance Station, Acadia car reservations are also occurring amid signs that many people still may not know about the system or are using it incorrectly despite extensive publicity by the NPS.

According to the National Park Service, about 20 percent of motorists were refused entrance to the summit road and turned around at the check station, either because they did not have a reservation or arrived too early or too late to use their reservation. The turnaround rate has dropped since the first year of the reservation system in 2021, when it was 28 percent, “a good indication that awareness is increasing,” according to an email earlier this year from John Kelly, management assistant in the superintendent’s office at Acadia.

If people arrived at the entrance station too early to use their reservation, they likely returned at the correct time, so some of those turned around had a valid reservation that they used at a later time, according to Kelly.

Seeking to boost public awareness of the Acadia car reservations, the park in past years has distributed tens of thousands of informational rack cards to local lodgings and chambers of commerce, as well as supplies to the Maine Tourism Association for state visitor centers.

Other efforts to promote the reservation system include construction of road signs on some state highways approaching Acadia including one in Dedham, some 35 miles from the Hulls Cove Visitor Center in Acadia National Park. Those signs were installed by the MaineDOT in 2022.

Sales of Acadia National Park reservations up by 12 percent

New statistics also show that sales for the reservation system in 2024 jumped by 12 percent after the NPS added an extra five days of operation over 2023. Excluding commercial vehicles, daytime sales, which covers all times except sunrise, rose from 169,000 reservations in 2023 to 190,000 in 2024.

All of the money raised from the $6 per-vehicle reservation fee goes to operating the Acadia National Park vehicle reservations system, including $4 to the park to pay for infrastructure and fee collection and $2 to the consultant.

The report also documented a big increase in the percent of tickets actually used by motorists to access the summit road. A total of 79 percent of the 23,015 reservations sold for sunrise were used in 2024, up from 62 percent in 2023. Of the 190,307 reservations sold for daytime, including sunset, 82 percent were used in 2024, an increase from 67 percent in 2023, according to statistics provided by the NPS and generated by recreation.gov. Weather may have played a role since 2023 was an exceptionally rainy, foggy and cloudy year, discouraging people from using their tickets.

The 2025 vehicle reservation system for 1,530-foot Cadillac will operate through Oct. 26. It will run for 159 days during season No. 5.

The NPS added an extra 5 days of operation in 2024 but will not add any more days this year. No operational changes will be made to the reservation system, according to Kelly.

Sunrise from the highest peak on the eastern seaboard remains the most popular time and has been sold out each year of operation. Sunrise on Cadillac is viewed as an iconic experience and is promoted heavily on social media.

In 2024, basically all available Acadia National Park vehicle reservations for sunrise, or 23,015, were sold, while 69 percent – or 190,307 – of all available tickets for daytime, including sunset, were sold.

People remain split on Acadia car reservations

The NPS has hailed the reservation system as a success. The NPS said the system ended hazardous traffic and clogged parking on Cadillac that sometimes spoiled visits for people.

“The vehicle reservation system accomplished its purpose on the very first day of operation in 2021,” Kelly wrote in an email. “With only minor adjustments since the start, it continues to manage vehicle access at levels that have improved the visitor experience and reduced
safety issues.”

Yet, people remain divided on the system, judging by about 80 comments on a post on the Acadia National Park Hiking Facebook group. Critics said the system prevents them from driving up Cadillac any time they want, while supporters said it helps protect the environment and limits traffic and crowds.

“As a local, I realize why the park implemented this policy but I personally think it sucks as there are no spontaneous visits,” wrote Tanya Bell on the post earlier this year.

Supporters cited the traffic problems that used to exist on Cadillac.

“After a sunrise visit a year or two before the vehicle reservations, I totally understand why the system was put in place,” wrote Jim Cook. “Vehicles parked whereever. The summit had been overrun.”

“As a local, it is, of course, sad that I can’t just pop in my car spontaneously to go up Cadillac and take photos,” wrote Mary-Ellen Reed Martel. “That said, the traffic jams that were shutting things down before (the reservation system) kept me from being spontaneous.

“At least with this system, I can get a reservation and know I will be able to go to the summit at a particular time. We do have to preserve what we can, as best we can,” Reed Martel added.

Starting April 15, vehicle reservations will be sold on a rolling basis. Thirty percent of vehicle reservations are made available 90 days ahead of each date. Seventy percent are released at 10 am two days ahead of each date.

Vehicle reservations are sold online at recreation.gov. In addition to a reservation, visitors need a park entrance pass displayed in their vehicle.

Fired Acadia employees get their jobs back

The Interior Department said earlier this month it is reinstating federal probationary employees that were fired, but will continue to appeal a ruling by a federal judge that the firings were illegal.

Eight employees at Acadia National Park were among those fired on Feb. 14, part of extensive terminations of federal employees this year by the Trump administration in a bid to streamline the federal government and lower costs.

“In compliance with court orders, the Department of Interior is reinstating these employees,” the NPS Office of Public Affairs said in a statement. “Individual notifications are underway, and while the process takes time, affected employees can expect to receive notification soon, if they have not already. All impacted employees will receive back pay, and the Department will ensure continued compensation as the White House pursues its appeals process.”

Adding to the turbulence, the administration also rescinded about 5,000 seasonal jobs in the NPS, including those at Acadia, and later reinstated them but only after causing a delay in the seasonal hires.

Even before the job terminations, Acadia struggled to hire enough staff.