MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 5, 2025
The entrances to America’s seventh-busiest national park were open Friday, but unmanned. Visitor centers were closed. Park rangers were scarce, most having been furloughed by the government shutdown. The parking lots and Island Explorer buses remained full of guests determined to enjoy one of Maine’s most popular tourist destinations at the height of leaf peeping season, but the experience looked a little different. “It’s confusing to know what’s open, what’s closed, what we can do, what we can’t do,” said Chris DeMichieli, who was visiting from Michigan. “We know they have limited services, but because the visitor centers are closed down, it’s been hard to find any information.”