BAR HARBOR, MAINE – The National Park Service (NPS) invites the public to attend the grand opening of Schoodic Woods Campground at 3 pm on Wednesday, September 2. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at the campground ranger station with remarks by The Honorable Angus S. King, Jr., United States Senator; Sheridan Steele, Superintendent, Acadia National Park; and Mark Berry, President and CEO, Schoodic Institute. The campground will be open for self-guided tours starting at 3:30 pm, and the event will conclude with a presentation about the Schoodic Institute at the amphitheater starting at 4:30 pm.
Limited parking will be available at the campground, which is located on Schoodic Loop Road about one mile south of State Route 186 in Winter Harbor. Satellite parking will be available at the Masonic Lodge and Winter Harbor Town Office on School Street in Winter Harbor. The Island Explorer will provide free, continuous shuttle service between the satellite parking and campground from 2:30 to 6:30 pm. The first bus will leave Winter Harbor at 2:30 pm, and the last bus will leave the campground at 6:30 pm.
The opening of Schoodic Woods Campground is the culmination of a decade-long effort to protect a 3,200-acre tract of land abutting Acadia National Park that was threatened by the development of a resort, including a hotel, golf course, sports center, and luxury villas. In 2011, an anonymous buyer (operating as Schoodic Woods, LLC) purchased the land and, over the past two years, constructed the campground along with 8.5 miles of bike paths and 4 miles of hiking trails on the southern half of the property. In 2013, Schoodic Woods, LLC generously donated a conservation easement over 1,400 of the 1,600 acres south of State Route 186 to the United States of America, which allows the NPS to operate the new facilities and manage the land as part of Acadia National Park.
The campground consists of 94 sites: 33 RV sites with water and power hook-ups, 50 car/tent sites with power hook-ups, 9 hike-in sites, and 2 group sites with a shared picnic shelter. Other visitor facilities at the campground include a ranger station, 100-seat amphitheater, and 100-space day use parking area. Camping will be available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis beginning on Tuesday, September 1.
For more information, please contact John Kelly, Management Specialist, at 207-288-8703 or john_t_kelly@nps.gov.
About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 407 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.
The National Park Service will celebrate its centennial in 2016 and is using this opportunity to invite a new generation of Americans, and those who already know and love the parks, to discover what national parks and other public lands mean to them through the Find Your Park campaign. To learn more or get involved, visit www.FindYourPark.com.
