Camping in Acadia National Park and Beyond
Camping on federal land in Maine can mean popping up your tent at in the state’s only National Park, setting up camp in a brand-new National Monument, bedding down in a western Maine forest or sleeping alongside the East Coast’s longest walkway.
Acadia National Park
Maine’s popular national park provides a number of different camping options. There are federal campgrounds at its main location on Mt. Desert Island and on the nearby Schoodic peninsula. Depending on the location, those campgrounds provide tent, camper and motor home sites. Acadia’s Duck Harbor Campground, on Isle au Haut, offers primitive camping on an offshore island accessible by mailboat. Visitors who bring their horses can ride on Acadia’s famous carriage roads and camp at Wildwood Stables. Note: All of Acadia’s campgrounds fill up early; reservations are strongly encouraged.
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
This new monument which spreads across thousands of wild acres of Maine’s North Woods, offers rustic camping at designated campsites, huts and lean-tos. There are currently has 18 campsites, 4 three-sided lean-tos and 2 huts, none have potable water so be prepared.
White Mountain National Forest
The White Mountain National Forest which stretches over both Maine and New Hampshire – offers two small campgrounds. Check to see if the campground you want requires reservations.
Appalachian Trail
Hiking the 282 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine means tenting at designated campsites or in the Trail’s famous lean-tos. Official campsites and shelters are an average of eight miles apart (for the entire AT), but can be as far as 30 miles apart if there is commercial lodging available instead. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has maps and information about where to stay.