GENERAL INFORMATION
The Blackwoods Campground is located on the southeast side of Mount Desert Island off of Route 3. This side of Acadia National Park is the most visited, so campsites at Blackwoods are often booked far in advance. If full, try the Seawall Campground on the west side of the island. This area is not as popular and campsites are easier to come by, though you do have a half-hour drive to get back to the main area of the park near Bar Harbor.
From late June through mid-October, the free Island Explorer Shuttle Bus stops at the campground, so you can get around the park without your vehicle.
CAMPING SEASON
The Blackwoods Campground at Acadia National Park is typically open from early May through mid-October, though not all campsites are open the entire time. Group sites are only available starting May 15th. The exact camping dates change slightly each year, so be sure to get the current schedule on the National Park Service’s Camping web page for Acadia National Park.
TYPE OF CAMPING
Tent campers and RVs are welcome at the campground. Hammock tents are prohibited.
NUMBER OF SITES
Blackwoods Campground is divided into two loops with both tent and RV sites mixed together. There are 281 sites in total (60 for RVs and 217 for tents) plus four group campsites (tents only). Most of the RV sites are located in Loop A, and generators are allowed in this loop from 8 AM to 10 AM and 4 PM to 7 PM.
About half the RV sites are for vehicles up to 20 feet long and have back-in parking spaces. The other half can accommodate vehicles up to 35 feet long and have pull through parking. Three of the RV sites are for disabled visitors. Information about vehicle accommodation length is given on the reservation website, Recreation.gov.
Tent sites are allowed up to six people and two tents, provided the tents fit on the gravel area or tent pad (if available). There is parking for one vehicle. An overflow parking lot for extra vehicles is located near Loop A, but if that fills up you must park along Route 3 and walk back to your site.
Group sites allow up to 15 people and as many tents as needed for the group members. Each site has parking for three vehicles.
CAMPGROUND TERRAIN
All sites at the Blackwoods Campground are wooded and have a thin row of trees between them, but they are packed pretty closely together, so don’t expect much privacy. The camping area is gravel, and all tents must remain on the gravel area or tent pad (if available).
The campground is on hilly terrain and not all sites are level. A few, not all, of the pull through RV sites are literally on a hill, so there is no possibility to level your camper—you’d have to jack up one end two feet off the ground to do so.
AMENITIES
The Blackwoods Campground does not have electricity or water at any site, even the RV sites. Furthermore, while there are modern restrooms, there are no showers. Portable showers are not allowed. However, a camp store located a half mile away provides showers for a fee.
All individual tent and RV sites have a picnic table and a grill / fire ring. The Group Campsites have multiple picnic tables, plus a grill and a fire ring.
There is a dump station for RVs.
RESERVATIONS
Payment for your campsite does not include an entrance pass for Acadia National Park, which is now required year-round. You can purchase a pass online in advance at Recreation.gov or at the park at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, Park Loop Road Fee Station, Thompson Island Visitor Center, Blackwoods Campground, Schoodic Woods Campground, and the Seawall Campground. There is also an automated fee machine that dispenses passes at the entrance to the Schoodic Institute on the Schoodic Peninsula. Passes can also be purchased from third-party sellers at the Jordon Pond Gift Shop, Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce on Cottage Street, Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce, Mount Desert Chamber of Commerce, and the Southwest Harbor/Tremont Chamber of Commerce.
Reservations are required for all campsites, including group sites, and can be made online at Recreation.gov from two months to one day in advance, starting at 10 AM. There are no same-day reservations available.
Blackwoods Campground is usually near capacity from mid-June through Labor Day weekend (August is the busiest month). I checked Recreation.gov in late June just out of curiosity, and there were dozens of tent sites available for any single day of the season (except the entire week of the Fourth of July and Labor Day Weekend), but very few that were available for multiple days. Thus, while you can probably get a campsite for your stay, you may have to move from site to site on a daily basis. Large RV sites were nearly all gone, and while there were some smaller RV sites, there were large gaps between availability, which makes staying for more than one night close to impossible. There wasn’t a site left for the entire week during the Fourth (from the Friday before to the Sunday after) and only a handful of sites remained for Labor Day weekend. After Labor Day the place is wide open.
If you arrive late, proceed to your campsite. If you forgot your campsite number, it should be posted at the campground Ranger Station. You must check in at the Ranger Station the next morning by 10 AM.
CAMPGROUND RULES
- Check-in time after 12 PM
- Check-out time is by 10 AM
- Quiet hours are from 10 PM to 6 AM
- Camping is limited to 14 consecutive days between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, and 30 days total in a year
- If not arriving on the first day of your reservation, you must call (207) 288-3274 or forfeit the reservation.
- All equipment must fit on the gravel portions or the tent pad of the campsite. Vehicles must park in developed areas only. One vehicle per site. All other vehicles must park in overflow parking.
- Generators are allowed from 8 AM to 10 AM and 4 PM to 7 PM in Loop A only.
- Pets are allowed, but must be kept on a leash no longer than six feet, and they cannot be left at the campsite.
- Firewood must be bought within a 50 mile radius of the park. Firewood is available at many places within the park and surrounding area.
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Last updated on February 16, 2024