Who Is this Guide For?

This is for those of you looking to enjoy North Cascades National Park and be as close to the gorgeous turquoise water and epic hikes as possible.  It isn’t for travelers who are passing through and want to stay for 10 days at a remote campsite a couple hours from the park. There are free campsites available, an hour or more away, that you can stay at for extended lengths. These sites however won’t give you access to the park without a good amount of driving.  

Is Car Camping Legal in North Cascades National Park?

Like every National Park you will visit in the United States you will see “No Overnight Parking” signs throughout. In our experience at North Cascades, despite being one of the least visited, this rule is enforced. You will have a hard time finding free sites or parking in any of the lots or areas of North Cascades. We aren’t saying it can’t be done but you will have a hard time getting a restful night of sleep without worrying about that dreaded knock. This is even more unlikely if you are in a van or vehicle that makes it obvious that you are staying overnight. 

During the winter North Cascades does keep a couple of sites open, Goodell Creek and Gorge Lake, for tents and small RV’s. Keep in mind that Route 20, the road to get into North Cascades, is usually closed from November until April for snowfall. 

With that said you do have a couple of options to stay for free outside of the park, off Route 20, along with the option of trying your hand at snagging a free, first come first serve, site at a park campground. 

The Best Free Campsites at North Cascades National Park 

1. Free Camping at Pay Sites in the Park

The trick to score free camping at North Cascades is to wait for first come, first serve sites to become available. These are sites from cancelled reservations or campers leaving early. From what we could tell they aren’t put back into the reservation system online but instead are available to campers already at the park. This means waiting for the camp host to go around and determine which sites are open. The sites that are “open” will have the green sign, like the one in the banner above, with the dates available. If you are able to find one of these sites you don’t have to worry about registration or payment. Simply turn the sign over to “occupied” as you just scored a free night or two of camping.

Keep in mind that this may only be for one night at a time and you have to time things right. With that said you may be lucky and snag a site with 2-3 nights. 

In my experiences I first tried to look for a site Newhalem Campground and saw that there were 3-4 sites that were turned to green from the previous night. These were occupied with the campers leaving that morning around 830am. One guy leaving mentioned that the ranger or host usually does site occupancy around 9 am but he’s also seen them come around as late as 1130am.

Keep in mind when looking for an open site you will have to choose which campsite to stake out as you likely won’t have a shot if you miss on the first one. Newhalem and Colonial Creek will be your best targets as they have the most number of sites available. I’d suggest starting with Newhalem as there are more sites and it is less popular than Colonial which is on Diablo Lake.

After stopping at Newhalem we didn’t have the patience to wait for the ranger and had a hike planned near Diablo lake. The hike actually started and ended out of the Colonial Creek campsite which allowed me to time the end of my hike, 11am, for when the ranger was making rounds. I was lucky enough to be walking through the campsite after the hike to see a sign that had just changed to open. There were 4-5 people driving through, over the next hour, after asking if I was staying at the site or if it was open. 

I had similar luck in Diablo for a second night and then the morning after had the spot across from mine open up for 3 more nights. A good rule of thumb is to see if you are able to speak with the ranger making their rounds. After my second night I started a conversation with the ranger, making rounds, about the hiking in the area and mentioned that I was night to night with camping. She let me know she was going to be opening up the site mentioned above in a couple minutes if I wanted to move over to it for the next few nights. 

The options below are the big two to scope out for your first come sites. I had a ton of luck at Colonial but again Newhalem also as a ton of sites and seems to be the less popular of the two. On the other hand Newhalem is the first large campsite you will pass when entering the park so this may play a hand in where other campers are looking. 

Colonial Creek Campground on Diablo Lake

This is where I stayed for two nights after my first night at the road stop. I was lucky enough to get a first come first serve open spot which has no charge. Colonial is on Diablo Lake which is one of the most beautiful turquoise lakes you will see. You have easy access here for hikes and trips to the water. This would be our pick if we had to choose one of the campsites at North Cascades. 

Coordinates: 48°41’24.7″N 121°05’52.4″W

Cell Service: No

Bathrooms: Yes

Picnic Tables: Yes

Fire Pits: Yes

Water: Yes

Vehicle Access: All. This is perfect for Cars, Vans, and RV’s

Newhalem Campground

Newhalem is a large campsite with 3 loops. We stopped on the way in to see if there were any sites available. It’s your standard national park campsite that also gives you easy access to the visitor center. 

Coordinates

Cell Service: Yes. 2 bars of LTE from Verizon

Bathrooms: Yes

Picnic Tables: Yes

Fire Pits: Yes

Water: Yes

Vehicle Access: All. This is perfect for Cars, Vans, and RV’s

Goodell Creek Campground

We didn’t have to test our luck here. There are only 19 or so campsites available which didn’t give us much confidence to even try. 

Coordinates

Cell Service: Yes. 2 bars of LTE from Verizon

Bathrooms: Yes

Picnic Tables: Yes

Fire Pits: Yes

Water: Yes

Vehicle Access: All. This is perfect for Cars, Vans, and RV’s

2. Rest Area at Marker 100 on Route 20

On your way into the North Cascades park area you will pass a small rest area along the water. This is a free site that you we stayed for the night on the way into the park. We felt very safe here, and it was very convenient for access to the park. While not nearly as pretty as the sites above you are only a 25-30 minute drive from the heart of the park. It may not be ideal but there is plenty of room, other travelers staying the night, and it gives you a good fallback while you try to snag opportunities at the campsites in the park. 

Coordinates: 48°29’39.9″N 121°32’30.1″W

Cell Service: Yes. 3 bars of LTE from Verizon

Bathrooms: No

Picnic Tables: Yes

Fire Pits: No

Water: No

Vehicle Access: This is perfect for Vans, Cars, RV’s, and even small buses.

Other Community Picks

These are sites you’ll find on the iOverlander’s of the world and have the least amount of sketchiness to them. For us they were either a little too far away or just didn’t give the same access or safety as Route Marker 100 did. 

1. Skagit Logging

Coordinates: 48°30’29.9″N 121°59’49.2″W

Cell Service: 1-2 Bars

Bathrooms: No

Picnic Tables: No

Fire Pits: Yes

Water: No

Vehicle Access: 

2. Wild Camping Off Route 530

Coordinates: 48°28’54.7″N 121°35’30.4″W

Cell Service: 1-2 Bars

Bathrooms: No

Picnic Tables: No

Fire Pits: No

Water: No

Vehicle Access: Cars and small vans.

What We Would Do

Home Base: Route 20 Rest Area at Mile Marker 100

Mile Marker 100 gives you a great fallback option for your home base on the trip. At the very least you’ll know you have a spot to sleep when you get near the park. There isn’t much around North Cascades National Park and it’s a wooded road going all the way in. Having a go to place is one of the keys to a great trip here. 

2-3 Night Stay: Colonial Creek or Newhalem

With Mile Marker 100 as your fallback you now have the option to head into the park and try your luck at one of the national park campsites. As mentioned above we had good luck, the entire week we were there. Keep trying and make sure to touch base with the rangers stationed there. There is a good chance you can make Colonial Creek or Newhalem your home base for at least a few nights. 

What You Need to Know

Who Is this Guide For?

This post is for travelers looking to enjoy Acadia and be as close to the park, and Bar Harbor, as possible. It isn’t for travelers who are passing through and want to stay for 10 days at a remote campsite in Wesley or Bangor. There are free campsites available, an hour or more away, that you can stay at for extended lengths. These sites aren’t near Acadia though and won’t give you access to the park without a good amount of driving.  

Is Car Camping Legal in Acadia National Park?

Like every National Park you will visit in the United States, you will see “No Overnight Parking” signs throughout. In our experience at Acadia, this rule is strictly enforced. You will have a hard time finding free sites or parking in any of the lots or areas of Acadia. We aren’t saying it can’t be done but you will have a hard time finding a consistent spot each night to settle down. This is even more unlikely if you are in a van or vehicle that makes it obvious that you are staying overnight. 

Is Car Camping Legal in Bar Harbor?

No, it is not legal to sleep in a vehicle overnight in Bar Harbor.

The town of Bar Harbor’s public places ordinance reads: “No person shall use or permit to be used any public thoroughfare, public street, beach … or any other public place in the town of Bar Harbor for the purpose of overnight accommodation or a temporary or permanent abode or habitation, except with the written permission of the Town Council.”

Where Can You Camp for Free in Acadia and Bar Harbor?

As you’ll see below, there are limited options for free campsites or boondocking in Acadia and Bar Harbor. We’ll give you a brief overview of your best bet along with the places we’ve tried, with varying amounts of success. Unfortunately, this post won’t have nearly as many options as some of the other free campsite posts we’ve written about. 

The Best Free Campsites Near Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor

Acadia is the lone National Park in the Northeast and snuggled next to a quintessential New England harbor town called Bar Harbor. With that said, it’s a very popular destination for those on the Northeast as well as travelers from across the country. This has made it harder and harder to find campsites, not just free sites, in the vicinity of Acadia and Bar Harbor. 

1. Walmart in Ellsworth

Your number one option, and the only reliable site we’ve experienced, for a free “campsite” near Acadia is Walmart. Fortunately, this Walmart in Ellsworth, is only 25 minutes from Acadia and just 30 minutes from Bar Harbor. This makes for a very reasonable commute in and out of the park. 

Cell Service: Yes. 3 bars of LTE from Verizon

Bathrooms: Inside the Walmart

Picnic Tables, Fire Pits: No, it’s a Walmart.

Water: Inside the Walmart

Vehicle Access: All. Typical Walmart. This is perfect for RVs, buses and other large vehicles.

Where Else We’ve Tried

Walmart in Ellsworth? That’s all we’re giving you? Yes, seriously, that is your option to camp for free within an hour of Acadia National Park. Now obviously you can try your luck in other places in and around Bar Harbor, but you will run the risk of a warning or possible ticket. 

1. RV Parking in Bar Harbor at the Fields

You will most likely park here at some point when you are visiting Bar Harbor and think this is the perfect spot to set up overnight. There are still no “No Overnight Parking” signs in sight and it is super close to both Bar Harbor and Acadia. Trust me when I tell you though that you will get a knock right around midnight. I’ve had this happen on two different occasions on trips over 3 years apart. The police in town are very friendly and agreed when we told them that there should be a “No Overnight Parking” sign posted.

If you don’t receive a knock, you will probably wake up to a courtesy notice or warning on your windshield. Keep in mind that this isn’t a ticket but likely will be if your violate the ordinance again. This may have changed since we were last in Bar Harbor in the summer of 2022. You are taking your own chances on a ticket here. 

There is also a baseball field that the RV parking is adjacent to. You may be tempted to park alongside the field on the street but the same rules apply to these areas as well.

Coordinates: 44°22’55.7″N 68°12’17.5″W

Cell Service: Yes. 4 bars of LTE from Verizon. 3 bars of 5G or more from T-Mobile.

Vehicle Access: RV’s, Cars, Vans

2. Street Parking

There are side streets all over town in Bar Harbor. We have tried parking overnight on the streets of Bar Harbor on 3 different occasions. On one of these nights we woke up without incident and on the other two we received either a knock or a notice.

Our Recommendations

Home Base: Walmart in Ellsworth

 Like most Walmarts up to a 2 night stay is usually allowed in Ellsworth. We also come back on non consecutive nights later in the trip without issue. Individual usage may vary on this.

2-3 Night Stay: Pay for Blackwoods or Mt. Desert Island Campground

 If you have the money, and book far enough in advance, we can’t recommend enough to stay at Blackwoods campground in Acadia. It’s walking distance to a number of prominent hikes, including Cadillac and Gorham, and also offers a shuttle stop to access the rest of the park. They have tent and RV specific sites to allow room for most vehicles.