Save half on your purchase in December of an annual pass to Acadia National Park/Colleen Miniuk-Sperry

For park travelers who focus their excursions on Acadia National Park in Maine, an affordable approach to visiting is with the park's annual pass. And it's particularly affordable if you purchase this pass during the month of December.

Normally sold for $50, the annual passes can be had for $25 throughout December at the park headquarters visitor center, which is located on Eagle Lake Road (State Route 233) about 3 miles from downtown Bar Harbor, Maine. With the savings, you might also consider a Friends of Acadia membership, which is $35 for a year.

Next year is shaping up to be particularly fun and memorable in Acadia, as not only is the National Park Service celebrating its centennial in 2016, but so is Acadia.

The visitor center is open daily 8 a.m.– 4 p.m. (with limited hours on December 24 and 31) and closed on December 25. Annual entrance passes must be obtained in person and paid for by cash, check, or major credit card. No phone orders will be taken. They are valid for one year from the month of purchase.

Annual entrance passes are only available in the form of a wallet card pass. Once signed, they are non-transferable. Photo identification will be requested to verify ownership upon entry to the park. Annual entrance passes will also be available for cash purchase only at the town offices of Mount Desert, Tremont, Gouldsboro, and Winter Harbor, and at the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce.

Check with these offices for their specific sale location and hours of operation. In addition to these locations, annual entrance passes will be sold during the Bar Harbor Village Holidays & Midnight Madness Sale on Friday, December 4, 8 p.m.– midnight, at the information building on Firefly Lane across from the Village Green in Bar Harbor.

The sale of entrance passes for Acadia National Park is authorized by the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which allows the park to retain 80 percent of the fees to pay for projects to improve visitor services and maintain park facilities. The National Park Service uses the remaining 20 percent to benefit other sites in the National Park System. For more information about the annual entrance pass sale, please call 207-288-3338.