Maine’s Acadia National Park Nearly Surpassed 4 Million Visitors in 2022

It was another banner year for one of Maine's shining stars. Acadia National Park had nearly 4 million visits in 2022.

According to Bangor Daily News, Maine's only national park had 3.97 million visits last year. That's the second highest visit total in the park's 104-year history. The only higher year was 2021, when the visits topped 4 million.

So, technically, the number did dip. But considering 2022 was the second highest ever, I have to think park execs are still very encouraged by the numbers.

It's not surprising to see the visitation numbers remaining high, especially when considering how crazy travel has been since the pandemic died down. The Bangor Daily News also cited the return of cruise ships and the rise of short-term rentals as other reasons for Acadia's recent increase in attendance.

Acadia is over 47,000 acres of stunning East Coast landscape. It includes world class hikes, the tallest mountain on the Atlantic Coast, picturesque views, outdoor recreation opportunities, and so much more. It even includes plenty of activities during the off-peak months, which is great for locals to go and enjoy.

The Bangor Daily News does include some potential roadblocks to even more increased visitation numbers. Those include potential changes to the cruise ship stops, and continuing problems with short-term rentals negatively affecting affordable housing in the area. Both of these issues are worth paying attention to.

But for now, we celebrate another euphoric year for one of the state's most important and special places, and one that will always be pure Maine.