If you live relatively near to Acadia National Park, you just might want to make a notation for Dec. 6 on your calendar. That's the day the park kicks off a 50-percent-off sale for its annual pass.

Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 30 the park will be offering its annual pass, usually priced at $40, for just $20.

You can purchase the pass at the winter visitor center at park headquarters on the Eagle Lake Road, Route 233. No phone orders will be taken. The winter visitor center is open every day from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except December 24 and 25.

The annual passes will also be available for $20 at the Gouldsboro Town Office, from December 3 through December 30. The office is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The office is closed on weekends and on December 25. Passes must be paid for by check or cash only, not by credit card. No phone orders will be taken.

New this year: Acadia annual passes will be sold for $20 at the annual Bar Harbor Midnight Madness Sale on December 7, from 8 p.m. to midnight, at the Acadia information site located on the Village Green.

Acadia National Park annual passes are valid for one year from month of purchase. Eighty percent of each pass sale remains right here in Acadia National Park, to be used for projects that directly benefit park visitors and resources, such as the accessible trail on top of Cadillac Mountain. The remaining 20 percent benefits other National Park Service sites.

For more information about the annual pass sale, call 207-288-3338, extension 0.

Now, I wonder if the National Park Service will have a half-off sale for its $80 America the Beautiful Pass?