Southwest Harbor
Last edited by:
- Milt Baker
- July 31, 2024
- 4:07 pm
- 0 comments
Region:
Photo: ThatMichael - Flickr
On the quiet west side of Mount Desert Island, busy Southwest Harbor is one of Maine's top destinations for cruisers under sail and power, due in large part to:
- the protection it offers from Maine’s prevailing westerly winds;
- the comprehensive range of marine services available;
- the harbor’s proximity to the incomparable Acadia National Park.
Nearly a mile long by a quarter-mile wide, Southwest Harbor welcomes both cruising and working boats. It offers dockage and moorings in the harbor, and there’s a beautiful anchorage nearby, though anchoring in the crowded harbor itself is not allowed. The Town of Southwest Harbor is only a 10-minute walk from the marina and Upper Town Dock. Bar Harbor Airport, with scheduled airline service and rental cars, is only a 20-minute drive. For cruisers headed farther Downeast or to the Canadian Maritimes, Southwest Harbor is the last/best chance for extensive provisioning. With an estimated 2021 population of 1,794 people, Southwest Harbor may be a small town, but it’s earned a solid reputation with the thousands of cruisers who visit every summer. If you believe in the Goldilocks principle -- Southwest Harbor is one of those beautiful Maine harbor-and-town combos that’s “just right.”
Approach & Cautions
Photo: Google Earth annotated by author
Cadillac Mountain, 1,530 feet high, is the highest point on Mt. Desert Island and on the East Coast. On a clear day, the mountain is visible from 35 to 45 miles seaward. Southwest Harbor is on the SW side of Mt. Desert, inside a large group of islands and shoals. These well-marked waters are the approaches to several important towns and summer resorts. Southwest Harbor itself is used extensively as a harbor of refuge. The usual approach from the west is by way of Bass Harbor Bar, with a turn to the north at the green “1” buoy that marks the beginning of the Western Way, and up the marked channel to the harbor. Alternately, approaching from the south, leave Long Island to port, Duck and Little Duck Islands to starboard before approaching South Bunker Ledge (usually breaking), which can be left on either side. From there, follow the marked channel about 2.5 NM to Southwest Harbor, leaving Great Cranberry Island to starboard and Mt. Desert Island to port. From the east, approach by way of the channels on either side of Sutton Island.
Docking, Anchorages, or Moorings
Marinas: The only marina in town is the 150-slip Dysart’s Great Harbor Marina, a short walk from the center of town. This marina is homeport for dozens of full-time summer slip holders, and the remaining berths fill up quickly, peaking in late July and August. The demand for slips in the summer is much greater than the supply, so savvy captains have learned to make reservations well ahead. The marina is situated at the head of the harbor and answers on VHF-09. Dysart’s offers floating concrete docks for yachts from 30 to 200 feet, plus 120/240/380-volt electric. Wi-Fi and excellent town water are available at every slip, and pump-out is available at the fuel dock. The marina is owned and operated by Ed Dysart. He and his wife Mary live on-site during the summer. The dockmaster is Micah Peabody, and office manager is Jane Peabody. Businesses located on-site include West Marine, Upper Deck Restaurant, Sail Acadia, Acadia Lobster Boat Tour, and Maine Point Embroidery, with Hamilton Marine not far away by car or dinghy. Reservations and payment for transient and seasonal slips, fuel sales, shore side rentals and correspondence are taken through the Dockwa portal, so it’s best for Dysart’s-bound captains who are not already members to get the Dockwa app and open a Dockwa account. For other docking options, see the list below under “Getting Ashore.” Anchorage: Anchoring inside Southwest Harbor is not permitted. See below for “Other Nearby Anchorages” including Norwood Cove. Moorings: There are five sources of moorings: 1) Hinckley’s boatyard, 2) Town of SW Harbor, 3) Ellis Boat Company, 4) Beal’s Dock, and 5) A.W. Pettegrow, a local boatbuilder. More details are provided at the bottom of this page.
VHF
Dysart’s Marina - Ch 9 switch to 8 Hinckley's - Ch 10 SWH Harbormaster - Ch 16
FUEL
Dysart’s – diesel and ethanol-free gasoline Hinckley – diesel only Beal’s – diesel and gasoline
WATER
Dysart’s Marina Hinckley Dock Lower & Upper Town Dock Manset Town Dock
ELECTRICITY
Dysart’s Marina
SHOWERS
Dysart’s Marina
LAUNDRY
Dysart’s Marina Hinckley Dock Pro31 Cleaning Services
WIFI
Dysart's patrons obtain wi-fi codes from office Cell service in SW Harbor ranges from fair to poor.
PUMP OUT
Dysart's Fuel Dock Hinckley Dock
SERVICES
See "More Amenities" below
TRASH
Dysart's - dumpster at top of ramp Hinckley - yard dumpsters Manset Town Dock - dumpster at pier Lower & Lower Town Dock - ditto
MEDICAL
Community Health Center - SW Harbor Northern Light Primary Care Mount Desert Hospital in Bar Harbor See bottom of this page for more details
MORE BOAT AMENITIES
Clicking the name above links to the yard’s website. Details about each are provided at the bottom of this page
Getting Ashore
Photo: Docks near Beal's Lobster by Milt Baker
Photo: Milt Baker
Provisioning
Boat Supplies
Photo: Blueberry pie a la mode - nothin' bettah!
Dine Out
The 2022 labor shortage curtailed restaurant hours, and hungry yachties found that getting a good meal ashore was often hit-or-miss, and that continues for summer 2023. Reservations are recommended, but not all the eateries below accept them. Days and hours open are known to change without notice, but here’s the latest info we have.
Photo: Acadia National Park, including the Valley Cove area offers numerous excellent hiking trails
Hikes
Southwest Harbor is located on what folks call the quiet side of Mount Desert Island, as opposed to Bar Harbor which is on the bustling, busy side. If you want to see a lot of the island, renting a car for a few days is a good investment. Rental cars are available at Bar Harbor airport, which is just off Mount Desert Island, about 20 minutes from SW Harbor. Enterprise in Ellsworth, about a 30-minute drive, also has rental cars. Advance reservations are essential. Hiking in Acadia Park. Be sure to check out Acadia National Park’s excellent website. You can reach the Park at 207-288-3338. An experienced cruiser and local resident who spends summers in Southwest Harbor says you can find relatively easy Acadia National Park hiking and mountain trails within walking distance from the harbor and recommends getting a trail map. You can usually find several map varieties right in town at Carroll’s Drug Store. For more information see the Acadia webpages. If you want more hiking, consider renting a car that can take you to more challenging trails such as these: Beehive Loop Trail. Near Bar Harbor. 1.5 miles. Hard. Looking for an adventurous hike with a spectacular view? Look no further than the Beehive loop! One of Acadia’s famous rung and ladder trails, Beehive Loop is a good way to get acquainted with these difficult trails. If choosing this hike, you can expect steep granite staircases, iron rungs, and exposed cliff faces. As one of the park’s most trafficked trails, people challenge their bodies and minds here as they ascend this 450-foot National Park Service cliff trail, and they’re rewarded with scenic views over Sand Beach, Thunder Hole, and the Gulf of Maine stretching to the horizon. The duration of hikes depends on your pace and the extent to which you stop and enjoy scenic areas. For an average pace, this hike takes 1 to 3 hours. Cadillac North Ridge Trail. 2.1 miles. Moderate to hard. The North Ridge provides a shorter hiking route to the summit of Cadillac, compared to the 3.5 miles one way up the South Ridge. Note that the Summit Road also heads up the north ridge of the mountain, and the road is within hearing distance, and in sight of, the trail on occasion. The first half mile and the final half-mile of the trail to the summit are located a good distance away from the road. The trail begins up a moderate ascent through sparsely forested areas. It quickly begins to open up, as it climbs more steeply over granite ledges, and through occasional stunted red pine trees. Once out of the trees, there are views for almost the entirety of the trail along the ridge, to the north and east over-looking Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine and other islands, the Schoodic Peninsula across the Bay, and down to the village of Bar Harbor below. Jordan Pond Trails. 3.1 miles. Moderate. Jordan Pond Path, a heavily trafficked loop trail located near the town of Mount Desert, features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, running, and bird watching and is best used from April until October. Dogs are invited to use this trail but must be kept on a leash.
Photo: Captain Jason aboard Seven Bells
Other Things To Do
High on the list are Dysart’s 150-slip Great Harbor Marina, dozens of rental moorings in the harbor, and a wide array of nearby eateries. Upscale Northeast Harbor, the gorgeous Cranberry Islands, and scenic Somes Sound, the eastern seaboard’s only true fjord, all just an outboard ride away in a fast dinghy. And the welcoming attitude of local Mainers makes SWH one very friendly harbor for yachties. Need stuff from town? You’ll find a small but worthy IGA supermarket on the edge of town, about 1½ miles from the Town Dock, plus an excellent hardware store and a good small pharmacy right in the center of town. Of course, there’s a post office and a couple of banks–First National and Bar Harbor. Nearby marine facilities include the original Hinckley boatyard, now grown to 16 acres, plus West Marine and Hamilton Marine outlets, and many other marine businesses. New restaurants include a popular sports lounge and a wood-fired pizzeria. Covid and the 2021-22 labor shortage forced curtailed hours at most of the town’s restaurants, and hungry yachties found that getting a good eat-out meal was often hit or miss. Rental cars and taxis are very hard to find. And cellular service in the area is only fair. In a (rare) strong blow from the easterly quadrant, some parts of SW Harbor are exposed to high winds and choppy seas. In this instance boats typically seek shelter in nearby Somes Sound, described in a separate listing. With the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Maine established a No-Discharge Zone in the municipal waters of Mount Desert, SW Harbor, portions of the Cranberry Isles, and Tremont. Within the zone, overboard discharge of sewage, whether treated or untreated, from all vessels is prohibited. For a Closer View of the Approaches, Click on these Google Earth Images: Southwest Harbor is home to the well-known Hinckley Yacht Services (207-300-2010), heart of the Hinckley legend. The Hinckley Company was founded here in 1928 as a small service yard, and today it’s one of Maine’s largest boatyards. The focus here is on serious stuff: commissioning, repairs of all kinds, refits, and on-the-hard storage inside and outside. The 16-acre yard offers over 100,000 sq. ft. of indoor storage for 200 boats, with outdoor storage for another 100. The yard has three Travelifts and can haul vessels to 160 tons and 12-foot draft. In addition, Hinckley offers a wide range of yacht upgrades. The yard’s craftsmen can handle rigging, mechanical, diesel engines, transmissions, jet drives, fixed and variable-pitch props, shafts, thrusters, windlasses, hydraulic systems, plumbing, and AC and DC electrical systems for sailing and power yachts. You’ll also find expert fiberglass and gelcoat work, marine carpentry, high-end painting and varnishing, and more at Hinckley. The yard offers dockage to yachts only while work is actually being performed, but it has 56 rental moorings near the harbor entrance. For a mooring, call Hinckley Dock at 207-300-2025 or on VHF-10. Ellis Boat Company (207-244-9221) specializes in building, outfitting, repairing, maintaining and storing high-quality Downeast-style boats and offers a wide range of yacht maintenance and repair services to sailors and powerboaters alike. Ellis is a full-service and storage yard in Southwest Harbor. They’re open year-round and their staff of expert technicians includes marine mechanics and electricians (ABYC, CMET, and FCC certifications), and woodworking, fiberglass, and paint specialists. They offer competitive indoor storage rates and a comprehensive maintenance program. They also have 8 moorings for rent in Southwest Harbor. Downeast Diesel. (207-244-5145). A factory-authorized parts and service dealer for John Deere, Lugger, Northern Lights and Yanmar, and offering parts and service for many other brands. The company has been a Southwest Harbor staple for more than 30 years. Owner John Spofford and his son George are ready, willing and able to lend a hand when you need diesel, mechanical service and parts. They have their own dock for heavy work or will come to you in or near Southwest Harbor by pickup or dinghy. Like many Maine marine businesses, they’re especially busy in the summer but do their best to work in both old and new customers. A.W. Pettegrow, Inc. (207-244-7222) A busy boatbuilding and refit company based in Southwest Harbor. Owned and operated by Al Pettegrow, this company offers repairs, preventive maintenance, bottom and topside paint, varnish work, system upgrades, repowering, electrical and plumbing work, custom joinery work, custom metalwork, and winter storage. Southwest Boat. (207-244-5525) Located on the Clark Point Road side of the harbor, this company focuses mainly on commercial boat owners, builders, and tradesmen, and has been at it for more than 25 years. Specialties include machine shop, metal fabrications, welding, underwater hull inspection, 25-ton crane service, 250-ton marine railway, year-round dockage, towing and salvage. Kramp Electronics, Inc. (207-244-2035) Robert Kramp and his team specialize in marine electronics sales, service, installations, and repairs, and maintenance of AC and DC electrical systems. The company has more than 25 years experience in the Southwest Harbor area and is Better Business Bureau certified. They sell, install and service marine electronics such as autopilots, plotters, GPS systems, radar, depth sounders, navigation instruments, communication equipment, and satellite phones. The company is a dealer for most major marine electronics brands. ABYC certified, FCC licensed, NMEA advanced installer. Their primary market is commercial boats but they work hard to make time for cruising yachts. Highly recommended. Outboard Motor Repairs. You might want to check with Hinckley, but your best bet is Bowdens Marine Repair – 207-288-5247. Located outside of Bar Harbor, they work on most brands and come highly recommended by CCA member George Marvin. Downeast cruisers learn quickly that the Internet here is catch-as-catch-can. Cell service in Southwest Harbor has improved in the past few years, but while some cruisers say service is just fine, others call it so-so. Cell service on the Bar Harbor side of Mount Desert Island is much better. As the link above shows, cell service varies with the carrier you’re using, with AT&T and T-Mobile rated best. My masthead cellular antenna and a booster amplifier have played a big role in helping me with better cell service using AT&T in Southwest Harbor—and elsewhere around Maine. CCA Gulf of Maine Post member George Marvin and his wife Nancy, said “We have used AT&T for years and have had very good to excellent services on our mooring in the harbor with no added cell antenna or booster. In fact, this summer (2021) we watched Netflix at our mooring using just our AT&T mobile hotspot.” Dysart’s Great Harbor Marina has wi-fi service for marina guests (code required for each user), and captains with slips may obtain wi-fi codes from the office at check-in. The wi-fi works well for slip holders early and late in the season when there are few boats and Internet users in the area. In midseason when the marina is packed, however, the system is often overloaded and slows to a crawl. Learn to work around it. Move closer to one of the marina’s antennas, and if that one’s overloaded, move to another. Try sitting right outside the office with your laptop or iPad. Or do your online business very early in the morning or late at night If none of the above helps, consider the library. The Southwest Harbor Public Library offers very good free wi-fi service, and many yachties take advantage of it each summer. Just go to the library in downtown Southwest Harbor, turn on your laptop or iPad, look for the network “Library OPEN Wi-fi”, find “Free Access” and select “CONTINUE”. An experienced cruiser and businesswoman who has used it over several summers and had this to say about the library: For a number of summers, the Southwest Harbor Public Library has been a great “temporary office” for me, with fast, convenient wi-fi available to the public at no charge, and comfortable tables and chairs with plenty of space, except possibly on a rainy day when it can be crowded with land vacationers seeking indoor activities. About a 10-minute walk from Dysart’s, or a similar distance from the Upper Town Dock, the library at 338 Main Street is open in the summer from 9 to 5, with shorter hours on Saturday, and closed on Sunday. However, the wi-fi works even when the library is closed, and in inclement weather, people perch outside the building, on the lawn or benches, and use the wi-fi signal. Although cell phone use is not allowed in the building, the small vestibule just inside the front door can be used by one person at a time for phone calls or even video meetings. I believe this vestibule is open 24/7 because the main entrance to the library is actually in the rear of the building. There is also an artisanal coffee shop across the parking lot. All in all, a perfect venue for catching up on email or other work requiring a strong internet connection. And, who knows, you might just find a good book to read! P.S. Donations help support the library and wi-fi service so please be generous! The Post Office is near the center of town at 21 Clark Point Road. UPS and Federal Express deliver to Southwest Harbor every business day. Because of the town’s rural location, UPS deliveries typically take a day or two longer than you’d expect. As of June 2023, FedEx envelopes can be deposited in the FedEx drop box at 120 Main Street in Northeast Harbor, and the closest UPS drop-off is Paradis Hardware, 31 Holland Street in Bar Harbor. If your boat is at the Dysart’s marina you can receive FedEx and UPS shipments there. For FedEx deliveries, be sure to include Dysart’s P.O. Box in the address because UPS deliveries there go first to the Post Office. The new shipping address: Dysart’s Great Harbor Marina, P.O. Box 1503, 11 Apple Lane, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679. The marina receives many packages every business day in the summer, so be sure your package is addressed with your name and your boat name as well as the marina’s name. Getting wheels in Southwest Harbor can be a serious challenge. If you have friends with a car in the area, turning to them for help may be the best option. If you’re staying in the marina, you can sometimes borrow the marina’s pickup for a short errand such as a grocery run or a trip to the airport. Taxis, Uber, and Lyft seem to be endangered species in Southwest Harbor but rare sightings are reported. Getting a rental car in the summer is a moving target, but Enterprise rentals are sometimes available in Ellsworth and at the Bar Harbor Airport by advance reservation, but pickup service is not offered. If you need a rental car, we recommend reserving well in advance and verifying that your car is ready before going to pick it up. Southwest Cycle in downtown Southwest Harbor is a full-service bike shop that sells and rents bikes, including Class 1 e-bikes which can be used on Acadia National Park’s carriage roads. Island Time E-bike Rentals downtown also rents e-bikes. Here’s a list of current (2023) car rental and taxi services For long-term parking, you have at least a couple of choices in SWH: the private parking lot located on the main street just beyond the town center, or town parking lot behind the town offices; coordinate with the Police Department (207-244-7911) when leaving your car. Both lots cost $5/night (2023). For one-night overnight parking, you can leave your car in a 24-hour space in the Upper Town Dock parking lot. Updates are welcome. Please send your updates, corrections, comments, and recommendations for improving this section of the CCA Cruising Guide to Maine on our Give Feedback page. MANY THANKS to the following for their invaluable ideas, input, corrections, vetting, and proofreading of the information in this section. Without their help, this Southwest Harbor section would be far less complete and less accurate.What Brings So Many Mariners to Southwest Harbor?
Mooring Details for Southwest Harbor
Medical
Nearby Anchorages
Details About Nearby Boatyards and Repair Services
Communications & Other Useful Information
Shipping and Receiving
Ground Transportation
Parking
Author’s Note:
OUR REVIEWS
What CCA Members are saying:
Southwest Harbor has been my summer home port for more than 20 years, and I recommend it as a must-visit stop for sailors and powerboaters cruising in Maine. Nestled on the stunning coastline of Mount Desert Island, it offers a happy blend of natural beauty and maritime charm. The harbor is protected from prevailing winds, and it offers well-maintained facilities and moorings, making it a safe haven in fair weather or foul. The town itself exudes a colorful and welcoming Downeast atmosphere, offering a variety of shops, galleries, marine businesses--and restaurants serving freshly caught seafood. Most everything in town is within walking distance of the marina, and shore excursions farther afield include Acadia National Park's hiking trails and breathtaking vistas from atop 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain.
Milt Baker
