Until further notice, typically mid-August, Penobscot East Trail, Jordan Cliffs Trail, Precipice Trail, and Valley Cove Trail are closed for Peregrine falcon nesting season. Also, as roads reopen, the Precipice Trail parking lot will remain closed. More
Carriage roads are open only to pedestrians for remainder of "mud season"
Acadia’s historic carriage roads have reopened to pedestrians (foot traffic) only. Riding bicycles or horses in wet and soft conditions can cause costly ruts, potholes and erosion. More
Lise Greil, of Indianapolis, IN, shares this image from September 2017 of a painter using a smartphone to snap a photo of the coastline in Acadia. "Hiking the path along Otter Cove I spotted this artist out on the rocks. Nevermind what he was painting, but was more impressed with his climbing skills to get out there and the balancing act with all his gear. I never spoke to him, but hope one day he discovers this photo so I can say thanks for the image and send him a copy."
Photo by Lise Greil @lisegreil. Used with permission.
Creating New Ways For Visitors to Experience Acadia
Art and artists played a key role in the history of Maine’s Downeast Region, and the founding of Acadia National Park. The Artist-in-Residence program is dedicated to creating new ways for visitors to experience Acadia through the arts. Selected participants are registered volunteers who travel to the park and participate in the program at their own expense. Since 2023, the program's operational costs have been funded fully by donations from sales proceeds at America’s National Park Stores (Eastern National) stores throughout the park.
The next open call for applications for opportunities in 2026 is expected to be from July 1 through Sept 30, 2025. Learn more at Program Overview
This is an extensive and ever-evolving online catalog of participants and the artwork they have created through this program for more than 30 years. See for yourself how Acadia continues to inspire accomplished painters, illustrators, photographers, metalsmiths, textile artists, poets, essayists, composers, digital animators and dancers as well as a playwright, food writer, and stand-up comic. Enjoy.
More than a dozen visual art pieces from the Artist-in-Residence program currently are displayed in public spaces in Acadia. To make the gallery experience more inclusive for people who have visual impairments, a recorded audio description and transcript are offered at the top of each artwork's entry in the program's online catalog. In this tour, each displayed artwork is presented in sequence along with directions to navigate the physical space.
Caitlin Smith, of Farmington, MN, is participating as an At-Large Artist in Music with the Artist-in-Residence program at Acadia National Park in 2025.
Early artists from the Hudson River School started painting landscapes of this region in the mid 1800's. After exhibiting these paintings, tourists were first drawn to Mount Desert Island and what would eventually become Acadia National Park.
In July 2019, Playwright-in-Residence Andrea Lepcio produced almost a dozen public performances of her site-based play, "What Do We See? What Do We Do?" along the Compass Harbor Trail in Acadia National Park. The piece makes use of the life and home of park founder George Dorr to explore issues surrounding climate change. Video produced by Joseph Philipson and Nathaniel Boechat, Friends of Acadia, NPS.
Casey Barber, the first food writer to participate in Acadia's Artist-in-Residence program, describes how her residency gifted her with a deeper and richer connection to the park than she ever hoped possible. (Video by Sam Mallon, Friends of Acadia)
Kelly Collette, the first stand-up comic to participate in Acadia's Artist-in-Residence program, says she wants to put her spin on experiencing Acadia, especially since we all appreciate laughter more after the last few crazy serious years. (Video by Lily LaRegina, Friends of Acadia)
Lisa Furman, the first art therapist to participate in Acadia's Artist-in-Residence program, describes how art therapy can help you make connections to make changes in your life or learn more about yourself. (Video by Avery Howe, Friends of Acadia)
"Would You Rather Be A Fire Lookout Or A Lighthouse Keeper?" Acadia National Park is participating in the National Writing Project's "Daily Sparks: Writing Prompts With Rangers." Watch, write, and respond online or by postcard.
Harlan W. Butt is considered one of the world’s premier contemporary enamelists. Over the span of his forty-year career, his techniques have transformed expectations of the medium. "I just think the whole idea of the artist-in-residence program is an amazing opportunity for artists," he said during his stay at Acadia National Park in June 2018. "It can be a real fundamental part of how they're making their work, and what they're doing with it."
Jenn Booher is in the midst of a multi-year, multimedia project to chronicle every step of her "Coast Walk," a quest to experience the entire coastline of Mount Desert Island, including vast portions of Acadia National Park. By summer 2018, she estimated she had covered about 20 miles of what will be a 120-mile journey. "The public access that the park provides is just an amazing resource."
Sue Charles says she was first drawn to apply for the Artist-in-Residence program at Acadia National Park as a way to give something back to the park for its work to conserve a special landscape. “For a painter, it’s a really beautiful place to paint."
As an artist who creates paintings and sculptures inspired by recent research in science, conservation, and climate change, Elizabeth Hubler-Torrey knew that participating in an Artist-in-Residence program at Acadia National Park, with 60 miles of protected shoreline, would be a perfect fit for her. In the summer of 2017, she spent several weeks immersed in the surroundings at the Schoodic Institute.
