The annual closure of Acadia National Park’s carriage roads is in place to preserve their integrity during mud season.
Jokingly called “Maine’s fifth season,” mud season in Maine can cause costly damage to roads that experience high traffic. In years past, it has made roadways impassable and caused serious damage to culverts and drainage ditches.
The closures start on Friday, with the intent of protecting the 45-mile network gravel roads as warmer weather arrives and with it wet conditions. Mud season is arriving particularly early this year, after a rainy February broke warm temperature records. Last year, the carriage roads did not close until March 30.
Acadia visitors can still explore the park’s vast network of hiking trails, as well as the Park Loop Road. Sections of the park experienced severe damage during heavy flooding in December and January. You can find trail condition reports on the national park website.
The carriage road network will reopen later this year once the roads dry out and become firm.
