Acadia National Park was overwhelmed with hiking accidents and traffic congestion during a record-setting day for visits on a sunny day during the July 4 weekend.

On July 5, the Maine national park had 35,000 visits, or 15 percent more than the prior record on July 3, 2017 and a 33 percent increase over the average busiest day for the last eight years, according to a park news release.

Park staff that day were pushed to the limit when they responded to four simultaneous rescue calls, including a helicopter rescue from 1,270-foot Dorr Mountain and another involving a fall off a cliff on the trail down the west face of Cadillac Mountain. Park dispatch that Friday was flooded with 755 radio calls and 20 emergency calls to 9-1-1.

Laura Cohen, acting chief of interpretation for the park, said the record visitation occurred because it was a Friday after the July 4 holiday and many people took the day off from work for a long weekend. “It was a very busy day,” she said, adding that the park was bracing for a busier day after AAA predicted that overall travel volume for the holiday was expected to rise 4.1 percent over 2018.

Visitor center, Cadillac and other spots closed due to heavy traffic

The road to the peak of Cadillac Mountain was closed three times on July 5, including at sunset, and the peak set its own record for visits with 600 vehicles jockeying for a spot among the 157 spaces at the summit. An additional 364 cars were denied entrance by park staff who had closed the road for safety.

The park loop road was backed up from Otter Cliffs to the Precipice parking area.

Ocean Drive was shut down for two hours and again closed for 30 minutes while the Sieur de Monts lot was closed twice for an hour each time.

In an unusual move, the Hulls Cove Visitor Center parking lot was closed for 45 minutes to attempt to create enough space for fare-free Island Explorer buses to enter the lot. The Hulls Cove Visitor Center had just opened for the year on June 19 after renovations.

The Jordan Pond north parking lot was closed for an hour.

Illegal parking, often an issue during busy days at Acadia, was a major problem, according to the release.

Both sides of Stanley Brook Road were filled with cars blocking the Island Explorer bus from using the road and obstructive and illegal parking occurred on both sides of Schooner Head Road, blocking the exit route for cars lined up at the Sand Beach Entrance Station.

The access road to the famed Bass Harbor Head lighthouse was closed twice for 30 minutes apiece in the afternoon and around sunset.

Spate of hiking accidents stretch emergency personnel in Acadia

A string of hiking accidents started at 9:44 am when a 24-year-old Connecticut man lost his footing while hiking down the Cadillac West Face trail to Bubble Pond and slid 40 feet down a sloped rock before falling off a 15 to 20-foot cliff on the park’s highest mountain. Cadillac West Face is the steepest trail off Cadillac, and it’s not recommended to hike down, especially as there are many sheer granite sections that get wet and slippery.

A total of 12 rangers and MDI Search and Rescue volunteers assisted in saving the man in an effort that involved assembling three different rope systems to safely lower the man and rescuers down the slippery and wet trail. The rescue ended at 3 pm. The man had no life threatening injuries and was able to call for help on his phone.

In another serious hiking problem on a peak, a 69-year-old woman was overcome and lost consciousness from heat stroke on the Dorr South Ridge Trail. A Maine Forest Service helicopter made the rescue in an effort recorded on a dramatic video by the service.

The short-haul helicopter flew the woman from the mountain to a waiting ambulance at the athletic field in Bar Harbor, according to a report from MDI Search and Rescue, which is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization that assists the Maine Warden Service, National Park Service, and local authorities with searches and rescues of lost or stranded people.

The helicopter was called after paramedics from the town of Bar Harbor hiked two miles up the trail with a park firefighter and determined the air rescue was needed. Bar Harbor personnel responded because there were no park rangers available for the rescue and the helicopter completed the work amid difficult terrain and no landing zone.

Less than a half hour before the helicopter rescue, two Acadia National Park rangers had responded to a hiking mishap on the Cadillac North Ridge Trail involving a 58-year-old woman with an injured ankle who was saved one mile from the trailhead.

The hiking accidents also included a 51-year-old man who had muscle cramps on Acadia Mountain shortly after 1 p.m. A summit steward for the Friends of Acadia contacted the man, but he was able to walk off the mountain without additional assistance, after self-administering electrolytes, according to the park news release.

Acadia hiking accidents a near constant so far this year

MDI Search and Rescue reported that it assisted Acadia National Park on July 1 with saving a man who fell off a cliff at the potentially treacherous Raven’s Nest overlook at Schoodic, the mainland part of the park. The man was able to get himself out of the water and was eventually rescued by a Winter Harbor Fire Department boat from a beach below the cliffs.

On Wednesday, June 12, MDI Search and Rescue helped Acadia National Park with back-to-back rescues including a woman with a leg injury on Gorge Path at 10:30 am and a man with a leg injury on the Norumbega Mountain Trail.

It took more than two hours to carry the man from Norumbega Mountain to the trailhead and the incident occurred just 20 minutes after the injury on Gorge Path, which goes up a ravine between Cadillac and Dorr mountains.

Before that, eight members of MDI Search and Rescue worked 3.5 hours with Acadia rangers, park trail crew and paramedics from the Bar Harbor Fire Department to treat and carry the woman from Gorge Path to a waiting ambulance.

More hiking accidents are occurring as the number of visits continue climbing at Acadia. For the third consecutive year, the park in 2018 set a record with 3.53 million visits during the year.

Safety tips to minimize chance of Acadia hiking accidents

Among some of the recommendations to stay safe while hiking, from Acadia National Park:

Be careful while walking near cliff ledges

Bring water, map, adequate clothing, first aid kit and flashlight or headlamp. Investing in a professional bc level 1 first aid kit is a professional way to be prepared.

Wear sturdy hiking shoes and dress for variable weather

Do not modify or build new Bates cairns, as these trail markers are important for other hikers’ safety and for yours, if you are returning the same way

Stay on the marked trail

Know the difficulty level of the trail and your physical abilities and limitations

As veteran hikers and authors of “Hiking Acadia National Park” and “Best Easy Day Hikes, Acadia National Park,” we would also add the following, especially if you are planning on climbing a mountain or hiking a moderate to difficult trail:

Wear hiking boots, not just sneakers, and certainly not flip-flops, as the ankle protection can help prevent a broken bone or serious sprain

Avoid stepping on wet granite and rocks, and if you can’t, choose a path that takes you over the flattest section of granite or the most level rocks, to minimize the chance of slipping

Consider bringing a sports drink, as the electrolytes might help prevent cramps; the 51-year-old man who experienced muscle cramps on Acadia Mountain was able to self-administer electrolytes and slowly walk off on his own, without needing to be carried off.

Drink water or sports drink on a regular basis while hiking, even if you don’t feel thirsty, and take rest breaks when it’s hot, to prevent heat stroke

Be very aware when taking photographs, and do not step back or to the side to get a better picture without first watching your step

If you use trekking poles as the park recommends (but which we prefer not to use), get rubber tips on the end so you don’t scratch the granite

No texting or talking on a cell phone while hiking