Annual passes to Acadia National Park will be sold at discounted prices through most of December/Kurt Repanshek file

Discounted annual entrance passes to Acadia National Park will be on sale for $28 during most of the month of December. Passes must be obtained in person. No phone orders will be taken. On December 6, during Bar Harbor’s Midnight Madness event, passes will be available at the Village Green from 8 p.m. to midnight.

There are several locations to purchase your Acadia Annual Pass for “almost-half-price.” Local chambers of commerce will be selling the passes, which normally go for $55, at Bar Harbor, Ellsworth, and Southwest Harbor/Tremont (sold at Harbor House, Southwest Harbor). Local town offices will also be selling the half-price passes at Gouldsboro, Mount Desert, Tremont, and Winter Harbor.

The Schoodic Institute, located at the Schoodic Education and Research Center on the Schoodic Peninsula, will have passes for sale at the Rockefeller Hall Welcome Center. Check individual hours of operation on websites or by calling ahead to ensure these independent businesses are open when you plan to visit. You should also be aware methods of payment may vary by business, some may only take cash while others may accept check or credit card.

Also, note the Acadia National Park Headquarters contact station on Eagle Lake Road (Route 233) closed permanently on May 1, 2017 and will not be open for information, pass sales, or restrooms.

“Buying an Acadia Annual Passes during this special sale will allow people to experience and enjoy the park throughout the entire year,” said Superintendent Kevin Schneider.

Through the authority of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the National Park Service retains 80 percent of the fees collected from annual pass sales to invest in critical improvements that directly benefit visitors at Acadia National Park, including maintaining and enhancing visitor facilities. Entrance pass revenues are essential for funding the operation of the Island Explorer bus system, which serves Acadia and its surrounding communities. The National Park Service uses the remaining 20 percent to benefit other sites in the National Park System.