Bar Harbor ME sits on the northeastern coastline of Mount Desert Island in “downeast” Maine. The town shares the island with three other towns (Southwest Harbor, Northwest Harbor, and Tremont), and is by far the liveliest, with a downtown full of shops, restaurants, and seaside walkways. Most notably, it’s the primary launching spot for Acadia National Park, and encompasses much of the park’s most visited sections, like Cadillac Mountain, Sand Beach, and most of the Loop Road.
History of Bar Harbor
Originally home to the Wabanaki people, Bar Harbor was settled by Europeans in the 1760s, who were drawn by Mount Desert Island’s natural resources and protected harbors. In 1796, with Maine still part of Massachusetts, the Town of Eden was established via incorporation papers signed by Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams.
The town’s rise as a resort destination began in the mid-1800s when Hudson River School artists arrived to paint the rugged landscapes. With steamboat service introduced in the 1860s and regular passenger lines in 1868, increasing numbers of wealthy visitors inspired the construction of hotels and, by the 1880s, grand summer “cottages” by families like the Morgans, Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors.
By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the town had become one of the country’s premier Gilded Age summer resorts, rivaling Newport, Rhode Island. But it was not destined to be an exclusive domain – with the establishment of Acadia National Park, subsequent economic downturns, and the devastating fire of 1947 the town transformed into the more accessible destination that visitors enjoy today.
Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park itself was first established as Sieur de Monts National Monument by President Woodrow Wilson in July 1916. Just a few years later, in 1919, it was renamed Lafayette National Park in 1919 before gaining its permanent designation of Acadia National Park in 1929. It was the first national park created from private lands that were gifted, thanks largely to efforts by conservation leaders like George B. Dorr (the “father of Acadia National Park”) and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. Most of the park lies on Mount Desert Island, taking up a good chunk of it, but it also encompasses parts of Isle au Haut and the Schoodic peninsula.
The park showcases some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in the country – rugged Atlantic shoreline with crashing waves, ethereal forests of northern hardwoods and boreal evergreens (including the much beloved fragrant balsam fir), and clear cold lakes carved by glaciers and fed by springs. Most visitors stay on Mount Desert Island, but those venturing further afield to the Schoodic District are rewarded with dramatic surf, granite headlands and few crowds, while the more remote trekkers to Isle au Haut enjoy true wilderness seclusion.
Experiences
Outdoor activities abound for every level of adventure – from easy shoreline walks to more challenging summit climbs like the Beehive or Precipice trails, cycling or riding horse-drawn carriages along the historic, car-free carriage roads, paddling on lakes and along the coast, tide-pooling at low tide, and wildlife viewing. In autumn, the forests light up with brilliant reds, oranges, and golds. Picture perfect village centers like Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor add local culture, and more shopping and dining fun (you’ll find lobster and blueberries finding their way into every conceivable dish).
If you haven’t been here, make a date. It’s a New England experience like no other.
Island and Park Access
The town of Trenton (not to be confused with the island town of Tremont) is the only mainland town with roadway access to the island, and hosts the Acadia Gateway Center, a convenient place to get park passes, maps and Island Explorer bus schedules (you can drive all over the island, but sometimes the Explorer is the best bet).
You need a park pass for all of Acadia National Park, whether you’re entering on foot or by car. You can get a standard pass that’s good for 7 days, an annual pass, or an America the Beautiful Pass (for multiple national parks). Bar Harbor’s downtown is outside the park, so no pass is needed there, nor for the downtown areas of Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor and other areas of the island not covered by the park.
There are multiple ways of moving around the Island and the park. Bar Harbor’s center is very walkable, so park your car and take to your feet. For Acadia National Park, you can use your own car for maximum flexibility. If you want more time to look at all the glory around you, and less time watching the road, the free seasonal Island Explorer is a good bet – it’s eco-friendly and free and runs seasonally every 20-30 minutes from mid-morning to early evening along multiple routes. The buses stop at the major highlights but skip smaller pull-outs, some carriage-road entrances, and minor picnic sites, and it does not go to the summit of Cadillac Mountain (you can do that as a separate outing in your own vehicle).
A third option is to rent a bike (or bring your own) – classic or ebike. The park is very cycle friendly and it’s a popular way to get around, both on the Loop Road and carriage roads. Ebikes are the only motors allowed on the carriage roads.
Did you know...
Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island and Cadillac Mountain – these names all get tangled together and it can be confusing, so it’s worth untangling them.
First, Mount Desert Island is just that – an island. It’s accessible by bridge from the mainland and contains four incorporated towns – Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, and Tremont (most commonly known by its village of Bass Harbor). They include a few small smaller villages and neighborhoods along with smatterings of offshore little islands, all with their own names.
Think of Acadia National Park as being an overlay – spreading over portions of each town. Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the U.S. eastern seaboard, is in Acadia National Park within the town of Bar Harbor’s borders. The park also extends beyond Mount Desert Island to include a portion of Isle au Haut off the southern end of the Blue Hill Peninsula to the west, and the Schoodic District within the town of Winter Harbor on the Schoodic Peninsula to the east.
This Acadia National Park Service page (scroll to the second map) will help you visualize all this – the green areas designate the park. Note that it doesn’t show boundaries of the towns, just the main town/village centers (Bass Harbor is a village in Tremont).
In October 1947, after months of severe drought, a fire began near a cranberry bog outside Bar Harbor and quickly spread across Mount Desert Island, fueled by shifting high winds and exceptionally dry conditions. The fire was part of a larger statewide wildfire disaster known as “The Year Maine Burned,” with over 200,000 acres burning statewide.
Raging for 10 days, the fire consumed more than 17,000 acres of the island, nearly half of the eastern side and including more than 10,000 acres within Acadia National Park. The intense blaze led to mass evacuations, some by boat, and miraculously only two lives were lost. The fire wiped out entire neighborhoods. Sixty-seven of Bar Harbor’s grand Gilded Age summer “cottages,” along with hotels, businesses, and hundreds of homes, were reduced to ash. While the town center was narrowly saved, the fire marked the end of Bar Harbor’s era as a retreat for America’s wealthiest families.
The aftermath reshaped both the landscape and the town’s identity. Forests that had been dominated by spruce and fir gave way to birch, aspen, and maple, which still define much of Acadia’s character today. Many ruined estates were never rebuilt, and their grounds became part of Acadia or other preserves. Out of the disaster, Bar Harbor reinvented itself as a more accessible, middle-class vacationland, setting the stage for the seaside resort town that’s popular with visitors today.
2 Responses
Heading up to Bar Harbor in august! We’ve never been so we are really grateful for your guide!
Thanks Jeanne – enjoy your Trip!