Tickets for Sunrise at Cadillac Mountain
On our recent New England road trip, we were lucky enough to get a highly-sought-after ticket for sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. When I say highly-sought-after, I am not kidding, these are as hot as Taylor Swift tickets! We were not able to get tickets for our first choice date because they were sold out by 10:02, and we almost missed our second date because of spotty wifi.
Here are a few tips to help you get a ticket!
Make sure you have set up an account on recreation.gov well before it is time to buy your ticket.
Tickets are only for vehicles. Visitors can access the area on foot, by bike or even by taxi/ride share service.
Check the booking window for your desired date. This can change with the season and due to road conditions in the park.
As of July 2023, tickets for vehicle access between July 1 and October 22, 2023 are available as follows:
30% of vehicle tickets go on sale 90 days before the reservation date.
The remaining 70% of vehicle tickets go on sale at 10 am EST two days before the reservation date.
If you do wait until a couple of days before your desired date, be somewhere with good wifi or data service at 9:55 a.m. and have the ticket page pulled up and ready to go.
A couple of other things to know before you go -
In addition to your Cadillac Summit Road reservation ticket, you will also need to purchase an Acadia park pass.
Even if it is cloudy or foggy where you are staying, plan to go anyhow. It is possible to drive out of the fog and rain as you drive up the summit.
Check the time of sunrise for your date and then do the math for travel time. Our sunrise time was 4:54, so we left our hotel at 3:50. This gave us plenty of time to get to the park, get through the entrance and up the mountain, get parked and then find our spot to sit.
Even in the summer, it can be cool and windy at the summit. Plan accordingly with clothing.
We were happy to sit on rocks for the hour or so we were there, but if you would like something more comfortable consider bringing a camp chair or blanket.
Wear shoes for walking on rocky, uneven terrain. There are sidewalks at the top of the mountain, but to get the best view, you may decide to go out on the rocky areas.
If you don’t get a vehicle reservation and want to hike or bike, know that you will be doing so in the dark and the trails to the summit take about 1-2 hours. So, plan your time accordingly.
Your best bet for an enjoyable and gorgeous sunrise on Cadillac Mountain is to plan ahead and do your research. I promise a little work on your part will be more than worth it!
