This could be the final weekend this year for Acadia National Park visitors to drive to the summit of the park’s highest peak — and they won’t need a reservation to do it.
Cadillac Summit Road will close Monday so the park can resume construction on a pedestrian pathway connecting the summit’s east and west parking lots, a project aimed at preventing visitors from walking along a busy roadway at one of the park’s most frequented sites.
The roadway, which requires a vehicle reservation during the park’s busy season between May and October, will reopen Nov. 25 for Thanksgiving weekend, marking the final chance for visitors to ascend Cadillac Mountain by vehicle this year — if the weather cooperates.
Officials could close the summit road to vehicles for the winter sooner if it snows, as the park typically avoids plowing the mountain road. In the past, the park has closed the road due to snow in November, but has reopened it again temporarily if the snow melted away again before Dec. 1.
The road, which typically is closed to vehicles between December and April, will be closed to all users — including hikers and cyclists — from Dec. 1 through Dec. 18, according to a park Facebook post. After that cyclists and pedestrians will be able to resume using Cadillac Summit Road, but motorists will not be able to use the road again until spring.
Hiking trails on the mountain will be open throughout the construction closures.
The park has already shuttered most of its seasonal amenities, including the visitors centers in Trenton and Hulls Cove.
The park’s popular Jordan Pond House restaurant, famous for its popovers and sweeping mountain views, and its adjoining retail store have already closed as of late October and early November.
The gift shops on the summit of Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole also closed in late October, according to the park’s website.
The Sieur de Monts Nature Center closed in mid-October. The center was the site of multiple climate change-related displays that were flagged for removal following the Trump administration’s order to remove signage from national parks that could “disparage Americans past or living” and distract from the “grandeur of the American landscape.”
Some of those signs were removed and later restored after a coalition of environmental groups challenged their removal in federal court. Other displays that were removed in fall 2025 have yet to reappear.
Much of Park Loop Road, Acadia’s 27-mile scenic drive running along the east side of Mount Desert Island, will close for the season on Dec. 1, according to the park. The road will remain open along the portion known as Ocean Drive — between Schooner Head Road and Otter Cliff Road in Bar Harbor — and between Jordan Pond Road in Seal Harbor and the Jordan Pond House.
Wildwood Stables, which offers horse-drawn carriage rides during the summer, is also closed for the season and will reopen in late May.
The park’s various campgrounds — including Blackwoods, Seawall and Schoodic Woods — each closed in mid-October. Winter camping in Acadia is strictly prohibited.
Public restrooms at Sand Beach, Jordan Pond, Brown Mountain, Parkman Mountain trailhead, Fabbri Picnic area and Eagle Lake boat launch and carriage road are all open through the winter, according to the park website.