ACADIA NATIONAL PARK — One of the park’s most popular attractions, which usually is accessible year-round, will be closed to visitors for the next two months while work crews make repairs to the site, according to park officials.

Thunder Hole, where people can walk down to the ocean’s edge and risk getting soaked as they watch pounding surf spray high into the air, closed down Friday and is expected to remain closed until May 22.

The closure has been planned for some time, according to park officials. The site is one of the more heavily visited in Acadia and gets a lot of wear and tear. When high tide comes in or during storms, the pavement, railings and stairs down near the water’s edge frequently take a direct hit from the impact as waves come crashing ashore.

The left lane of Ocean Drive, which passes directly by Thunder Hole, will be closed while crews are working at the site, but the right lane will remain open, park officials said in a release.

Ocean Drive, the section of the Park Loop Road that goes past Sand Beach and Thunder Hole toward Otter Cliffs, remains open year-round, but most other roads in the park are closed during the winter, as are many other Acadia facilities.

Park officials have said that, because of the heavy accumulation of snow this winter, other sections of the Park Loop Road may open later than usual this spring. However, the Visitor’s Center will open as usual on April 15.

The park also is making repairs this spring at Blackwoods Campground, which will be open only to backpacking and walk-in campers through the month of April, and is renovating the causeway at Frazer Creek on the Schoodic Loop Road, in the Schoodic section of the park on the east side of Frenchman Bay. Until the end of May, only southbound vehicular traffic will be allowed across the causeway and the Frazer Point picnic area will be closed.

More information is available at the park’s website at www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm.

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