Bar Harbor

44° 23' 15"N , 68° 12' 14"W

Bar Harbor

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Photo: Christian Collins

For decades we have passed by Bar Harbor, choosing to access the Hannaford grocery store and pharmacy by using the Acadia National Park/L. L. Bean bus from Northeast Harbor. When Covid stopped the bus, we gave Bar Harbor a try, and found that Bar Harbor offers a host of services, including a well-staffed hospital emergency room, a well-organized harbor with municipal moorings and a friendly harbormaster (Chris Wharff--isn't that a great name for a harbormaster?!), and even some WiFi wafting out from the resorts and town park complementing strong cellular service. If you want a gazillion shops, restaurants, great provisioning, and the iconic Acadia National Park, give Bar Harbor a try.

Approach & Cautions

Photo: Google Earth

The most straightforward approach is to round Bald Porcupine Island and enter the harbor. The anchorage and town moorings are south of the fairway to the town landing and marina. One can also enter to the west of the breakwater (awash at high tide).

Google Earth image of Bar Harbor with approaches labeled.

Bar Harbor chart

Click the chart to open Navionics

Not to be used for Navigation .


Docking, Anchorages, or Moorings

As mentioned above, there are municipal moorings in the main harbor as well as room to anchor, and a large dinghy dock and trash dumpster at the town landing. Be advised that while there is a no wake zone, there is the occasional tour boat, yacht tender or lobster boat that might be a bit discourteous.

You can reserve a town mooring or dock space on Dockwa.
Harbormaster monitors Channel 9, 16, and 68. 207-288-5571, Email: [email protected].

VHF

Harbormaster - Channel 9, 16 and 68

FUEL

Bar Harbor Whale Watch dock

WATER

Contact Harbormaster.

ELECTRICITY

At town slips

SHOWERS

At the YMCA, 21 Park St.

LAUNDRY

Bar Harbor Laundromat, open 24 hours 6 Pleasant St (207) 288-2824

WIFI

From Agamont Park, good with booster antenna, also 4 bars of Verizon LTE. Jesup Memorial Library, 34 Mt Desert St, (207) 288-4245

PUMP OUT

Town dock

SERVICES

NA

TRASH

Dumpster on town pier.

MEDICAL

MDI Hospital 10 Wayman Ln, (207) 288-5081

MORE BOAT AMENITIES

For regular hardware needs, there’s an Ace Hardware at 31 Holland Ave., just off Cottage Street near Hannafords.

Getting Ashore

Photo: David Wilson

The town’s dinghy dock is on the west side of the town pier, behind the dock where commercial fishing boats unload.

downtown Bar Harbor
Peekytoe Provisions take out food waiting for pickup.

Photo: Peekytoe Provisions, TripAdvisor

Provisioning

Hannaford Supermarket, 86 Cottage St., (207) 288-3621, has a pharmacy.
A & B Naturals, a terrific natural food store with fresh produce and baked goods, is perhaps the only place on MDI to buy whole bean coffee and grind it. There’s a little café and an organic juice and smoothie bar. Kitty-corner from Hannafords at 101 Cottage St., (207 288-8480.
Peekytoe Provisions, 244 Main St., is a small market/restaurant with local offerings.
Walgreens, 34 Cottage St., (207) 288-2222, is a good-sized drugstore/pharmacy.

MDI Ice Cream cone lying on black slate.

Photo: MDI Ice Cream

Dine Out

Bar Harbor has enough restaurants to meet just about any craving–wander up and down Main Street and the side streets. TripAdvisor can help you choose. After you’ve chosen where to dine, be sure to go to Mt. Desert Ice Cream, 7 Firefly Lane, across from the village green, for dessert, or mid-morning snack, or mid-afternoon snack…you get the idea. But of all the ice cream shops in Bar Harbor (a gazillion at last count), we have yet to be disappointed.

lobster roll with butter
Peekytoe Provisions makes their lobster roll with butter, not mayo.

Acadia National Park stone bridge across road; leaves in full autumn color.

Photo: Paul VanDerWerf

Hikes

Acadia National Park has magnificent hiking trails. Catch a bus at the village green.

Abbe Museum exhibit of native canoe

Photo: Abbe Museum

Other Things To Do

Of course one of the main attractions of Bar Harbor is its proximity to Acadia National Park. The buses that line up at the village green also go to other locations on the island, so it’s a great way to explore.
In Bar Harbor, don’t miss the Abbe Museum, a contemporary museum that is the first and only Smithsonian Affiliate in the state of Maine, with a special emphasis on the history and culture of the Wabanaki people, on whose land Maine has been built.

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