Bar Harbor, A Picturesque Maine Get Away
Overlooking the blue waters of Frenchman Bay, Bar Harbor makes a wonderful base for exploring Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island which is one of Maine’s most beautiful destinations. While the island has several little harbor towns, Bar Harbor has the most accommodations, a wide range of restaurants and shopping.
Bar Harbor is a gateway to beautiful Acadia National Park and people come from around the world to experience both. With stunning views of mountains, pine woodlands and birch groves, lakes and a rugged granite coastline, the town and the park as well as the island as a whole are considered a top vacation destination. From the impressive Cadillac Mountain with hundreds of hiking trails, 45 miles of historic carriage roads built by John D. Rockefeller, biking along nature trails lined with wild blueberry bushes to sailing, kayaking or swimming, there is always something that you can do.
Stay in Bar Harbor’s charming downtown at one of the hotels that are just steps away from Main Street. The street is lined with clapboard storefronts painted in primary colors that house art galleries, craft shops, kitschy tourist shops and delicious restaurants.
Walk along the harbor and spend some time exploring. This is the place where tour boats, lobster boats, and yachts dock and where you can set out on whale watching, kayak tours, and nature cruises around the bay.
Start at the Town Pier and take a stroll on the Bar Harbor Shore Path lined with beach roses. There are benches along the way where you can sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the water.
Explore the national park using Oli’s Trolley. You will see the park’s highlights including Thunder Hole, Sand Beach, Otter Cliffs and Jordan Pond and make stops for photos and walks on the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard at 1,530 feet. From March to October it’s the very first piece of land where the sunrise hits in the entire continental US.
Take a drive to the quieter side of the island and enjoy the rustic beauty and striking scenery. Visit coastal villages with charming names like Bass Harbor, Otter Creek, and Seal Harbor or head to the coastal villages of Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor or Tremont. If you have dreamed of eating “lobster in the rough>|” in a picture perfect Maine setting, drive to Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bernard. The restaurant sits on a dock overlooking Bass Harbor with lobster traps stacked up nearby. Order your chowder and lobster before you grab a table in the two storyed outdoor screened dining room. You can enjoy the view of lobster boats bobbing in water while you wait for a lobster roll filled with freshly picked lobster with mayo and chives on a griddled buttered bun or a large steamed lobster with boiled potatoes and corn.
After a day of exploring the island, head back to your hotel and then out for dinner. Foodies will enjoy the fresh seafood and most every restaurant will have clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, cod, and lobster on their menus. Look for great littleneck clams served with homemade garlic herb butter and briny and delicious oysters on the half shell, local mussels with dijon mustard, white wine and garlic and bacon wrapped sea scallops. Of course you will find lobster prepared every way you can think of. Be sure to always save a little room for a wedge of tiny wild blueberry pie baked in a perfectly flaky crust, it is absolutely delicious.
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Once you visit Bar Harbor and this scenic and laidback part of Maine, you will definitely want to return. Early morning sunrise on top of a mountain, light houses, whale watching, and cracking lobster claws may become some of your favorite things.
This is definitely a beautiful New England stop with delicious food options.
Hi Judy, New England has so many beautiful places and Bar Harbor is definitely one of my favorites in Maine.
Looks like a slice of heaven. Thanks for the wonderful photos.
I’m glad you enjoyed seeing a little of Bar Harbor, it is lovely.
How wonderful! Bar harbour looks like an amazing destination.
I hope you have the chance to visit someday Miriam.
What a beautiful place and I’d love all that wonderful seafood.
Kay, the seafood in Maine is very good. Perhaps some day you will get a chance to visit Maine.
This is definitely a beautiful place to visit. We love visiting Bar Harbor and hiking in Acadia National Park.
Hi Deb, Im happy to know that you have been able to enjoy all that Bar Harbor has to offer.
I was lucky enough once total a road trip from western Pennsylvania to Maine and we absolutely adored it, wishing we had allowed more time to explore. As Arnold said, “I’ll be back!”
Hi Rosemary, your trip sounds like it was very enjoyable.
One of my favorite New England towns!
It’s lovely isn’t it, Dorothy.
Beautiful beyond belief!
I’ve never been to Maine, I would love to explore this beautiful town!
Jenna
I hope you have the opportunity someday to visit Maine Jenna, it really is a great place to visit and is so very different from the South.
Acadia National Park is on our bucket list! It looks beautiful in your photos and makes me want to visit sooner rather than later.
Not only beautiful but so very different than from the parks in your region. You would love Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.
Fond memories of the tall ships (especially for Gene) and the yummy lobsters. We saw the largest lobster at a museum (3 lbs.) forgot where in Maine 🙂
Hi Judi, I happy to know that this post brought back happy memories of your time spent in Maine with Gene.
Bar Harbor looks amazing !
It truly is. I’m happy you enjoyed the Bar Harbor post.
OMG Is there anything better than wild Maine blueberries? My best friend’s mother used to take seven of her 10 children +me to rake enough blueberries to last the family of 12 for a year. The older kids +me and Anne’s sister Judy’s best friend Benita processed those berries and in the huge chest freezer they went for pies and cakes. Thanks for the memories!
My high school friends still get together in Winslow for dinner every month. I can’t figure who some of them are in the photos because they’re all OLD. LOL
Hi sweet Maureen, what a delight to hear from you! I’m thrilled to know that this post brought back memories of when you lived in Maine. 💕
Done! Bar Harbor is at the top of my Bucket List (although I did go there once in 1976)!
Hi Fran, it does sound like you need to plan another trip to Bar Harbor.
How beautiful and I bet that lobster tatses good too!
The lobster in Maine is excellent. It is very different from the lobsters in our Florida waters.
I know it’s good, a lot of it gets shipped to Europe …and suddenly it becomes quite expensive!
I’ve never been to Maine, despite living so close for many years. It looks like summer is the ideal time to visit.
Hannah, you ahould try and visit Maine, I know you would love it.
That looks like a wonderful trip. I feel cooler just looking at the photos!
We always loved our summers spent in Maine, the cool weather made every moment outdoors wonderful.
Maine is one of the few states that we have yet to visit. But it is on our list. Your photos are outstanding and Bar Harbor looks amazing! Thank you, Karen for sharing.
The two of you would really enjoy Maine. It would be a wonderful place to escape the summer heat.
The memories of our Maine vacation has flooded my mind! Thank you!
It’s a beautiful place and your pictures prove it!
Happy Weekend!
Hi Nancy, I’m happy to learn that my post brought back memories of your own Maine holiday.
Even before I scrolled all the way through the post, I was thinking this would be a fab place for a lobster roll. Too funny! I’m glad you indulged in one. Even better with a chaser of wild blueberry pie. Yum!
Hi Carolyn, I agree two items every visitor should have during a visit to Maine…a lobster roll and blue berry pie. 😊
We do miss this beautiful season in Maine — and I especially miss lobster and lobster rolls! Thanks for sharing all this with us. Maybe we need to go back for a vacation!
Hi David, I was just commenting to my husband last night how much I miss all the wonderful seafood that we use to get in Maine. You should definitely plan a vacation.
Hi Karen,
The photos you’ve shot are amazing and the place looks so vibrant. It was the classic lobster roll which caught my eye though. 😁
Hi Gary, thank you for your nice compliment. You and many of the others readers agree about the lobster roll…oh so good.
Such a beautiful place! I certainly would love to enjoy my vacation there!
angiesrecipes
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
Hi Angie, perhaps some day you will have the opportunity to visit this lovely part of New England.
I keep saying I want to take the RV to Maine with a stop to visit this area but we’ve yet to make it – your post inspires me to go. I’d like to go there in the yacht in the middle of your first pic.
You definitely have good taste Larry. I think you would have a wonderful adventure in the RV.
Karen, I couldn’t agree more. Bar Harbor is a very special place.
There is no denying that Suzanne, Bar Harbor is a special place.
Great photos! We spent a week there and explored Maine a few years ago. It was a perfect trip.
Hi Mimi, a week in Maine, especially during the end of August when kids are heading back to school makes for a nice trip.
Thanks for stirring up my grand memories of this enchanting area of Maine! Happy Trails!
Hi Mary, I am happy that you enjoyed the post and that it brought back nice memories of your time spent in Maine.
What a beautiful place!!….and delicious food too!….Abrazotes, Marcela
Thank you Marcela, I’m glad you enjoyed the post on Bar Harbor.
It looks SO beautiful! I’d love to go to Maine one day. We had dreams of driving down the East Coast – maybe I’ll do that one day 😀
Hi Lorraine, I do hope that you are able to do the East Coast and visit Maine. There is so much to see and all areas are different from North to South.
Bar Harbor is a place I have only ever ‘visited’ in books. Your nature photographs are amazing Karen 🙂
Tandy, I hope some day you get to see Bar Harbor for yourself. Photos really don’t capture all of the beauty.
We never made it up to visit Maine in all of the years we lived in upstate NY. I just assumed we would get there at some point. We’ll have to make it a dedicated trip now – I’ve always wanted to visit one of those iconic Maine fishing villages!
You will definitely have to make a dedicated trip to Maine now but that isn’t a bad thing, just more miles between you and there.
This looks divine! A beautiful view (love those colorful stools) and the lobster dinner looks to die for! What a grand time one would have here!
On another note, thanks for stopping by! Always fun to see you at the blog!
Aren’t the stools fun, Jeanie, I just had to take a photo. Thank you for your nice comment.
Almost a decade later and I still haven’t fulfilled my dream of visiting Maine (yet). I’d love to make it happen in the future. Your photographs and descriptions bring it to life. Would you recommend flying into Boston (from London, for me) and getting an internal connecting flight?
Hi Grace, I would definitely fly from London to Boston. We’ve done it many times. I know how much you have always wanted to visit Maine and one day I’m sure you will.
Ooh Bar Harbor – totally on my list for one the next US trips 😀
Hi Kiki, I’m glad you have Bar Harbor on your places to visit. I know you would love it.
Just look at that lobster roll, OMG, it is spectacular! What a lovely little get-away. Hope you’re enjoying your summer.
Hi Ev, lobster rolls and as good as they look since everything is so fresh. We have had a quiet summer but have a trip coming up.
Bar Harbour takes your breath away and at the same time makes you want to breath deeply. Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos.
Of course I’ve heard of Bar Harbor but have never been. Now that I see these gorgeous photos, I want to head there asap…
What an amazing getaway! I had no idea there were so many thing to do there. I’m adding this to my bucket list now. It’s just gorgeous! Hugs and hope you’re having a great summer, CoCo
Bar Harbor sounds like an idyllic and charming destination, reminds me of Norfolk Island we visited a few days ago
oh my word. that Bar Harbour Inn is just stunning! I love it.
Karen, I haven’t been to Maine yet. It looks really beautiful! I would definitely love lunch under an umbrella at the inn!