u/MagnusPI

I'll be visiting Acadia for the first time this October. I'm looking into my options for Cadillac Mountain sunrise, and what currently looks the most appealing would be riding the shuttle one-way up for sunrise, then hiking back down afterwards.

One thing that might get in the way of this plan, however, would be figuring out if there's anywhere I'd be able to park to catch the shuttle. From what I can tell, all street parking appears to be either meters or permit-only beginning at 8am. Sunrise is listed as ~6:40am during the days of my trip, so if I hike down afterwards I don't think I'd be able to guarantee that I'd be back to my car before 8am. (Since I'd be parking around 4:45am or 5:45am—depending on which shuttle I wanted—I'm assuming I couldn't pre-pay for like an hour of a meter that only kicks in starting at 8am.)

Is there public parking anywhere that's reasonably convenient to the shuttle pick-up location (317 Main St.) that also wouldn't be an issue if I'm still parked there later than 8am?

Hello, I just started looking into a potential trip to Acadia this fall, potentially sometime in October. In my early research I've seen that places in Bar Harbor start shutting down for the season in October, but I'm finding somewhat conflicting information about when exactly that transition happens: in one article it referenced Columbus Day (Oct 12 this year) as the marker; in another place I saw the MDI Marathon (Oct 18 this year) mentioned.

So I'm curious about two main things right now:

1. Is there a common "standard" date for when seasonal businesses shut down, or do they all just operate on their own schedule and close at different times in the month?
2. How "shut down" are we talking for the town once seasonal places are closed? Are there still a decent number of restaurants open if I were to go later in the month?