About Bar Harbor / Mount Desert
Bar Harbor sits on Frenchman Bay on the northeast side of Mount Desert Island. Northeast Harbor is on the island’s south shore, facing Eastern Way, and the open Gulf of Maine lies south of both. Both are Downeast ports in our Maine coverage. Local fishing is mostly bay fishing for mackerel, pollock and cod, with longer runs to groundfish in the outer water. Groundfish are there through the year, and the inshore summer species arrive from July to September. Below are the launch options, how the entrances tend to behave, and what each season holds.
Access and navigation
These are the ramps and marinas. Each name links to the operator’s own page.
- Bar Harbor Town Landing ramp – extra-wide ramp. Not usable around low tide or during and after strong easterlies. Trailer parking is arranged through the harbormaster, whose office is on site.
- Bar Harbor Municipal Pier – fuel listed. Moorings go through the harbormaster.
- Northeast Harbor town pier ramp – concrete ramp.
- Northeast Harbor Town Marina – fuel listed, 60 moorings, run by the Town of Mount Desert.
- Clifton Dock – fuel listed.
Northeast Harbor is fully occupied by moorings and has no room to anchor, so arrange a mooring or a slip before you arrive.
Bar Harbor entrance
The principal entrance to Bar Harbor is from the east, between Bald Porcupine and Sheep Porcupine Islands. NOAA Coast Pilot 1, Chapter 6 describes it as clear. A breakwater runs southwest from Bald Porcupine Island and is covered at high water for most of its length. On extreme high tides with a smooth sea, only the light at its southwest end shows where it is.
The alternative is a 150-yard channel between the west end of the breakwater and the island shore, which small local craft use. A swell can make in during southeast winds, and the anchorage and the gap may feel different from the bay.
Frenchman Bay and the island’s south side
Frenchman Bay’s principal entrance lies between Schoodic Peninsula and Baker Island and faces south. Western Way is the route small vessels take from the southwest into Frenchman Bay and Southwest Harbor waters.
Eastern Way is the approach to Northeast Harbor, north of Sutton Island. The Northeast Harbor entrance is 300 yards wide. A rock that uncovers 3 feet lies about 0.3 mile southeast of it, with a buoy on its east side and a lighted bell buoy on its west side. The best passage is west of the rock. The passage north of Bear Island is almost blocked by ledges awash at various stages of the tide.
Eastern Way is the approach for Northeast Harbor or the south side. Western Way might suit a small boat coming up from the southwest.
Fog
Fog is present an average of 53 days a year at Bar Harbor, with a slight maximum in mid-summer. Frenchman Bay tends to clear during the day while fog stays heavy outside Schooner Head and Ironbound Island, so the bay might be clear while the outer water is not.
Before you commit to the run
Look at the water when you arrive. Then read the NWS forecast for Schoodic Point to Stonington for wind, wave height and period, and check observed conditions at Mt. Desert Rock station MDRM1. A forecast is a forecast, and MDRM1 is a single point offshore. If conditions look bigger than you want, switch approaches (the Porcupines entrance versus the breakwater gap, or Eastern Way versus Western Way), or stay in the bay.
Fishing conditions
There are two main options: Frenchman Bay, and the open Gulf of Maine water toward Mount Desert Rock, where the MDRM1 station sits. Species detail is in the Gulf of Maine species guide. Maine DMR manages the saltwater rules, so check the Maine DMR angler’s guide before you fish.
To choose between the bay and the outer water, check OBS SST and Chart Contours in Breakpoint. Chart layers are not for navigation.
Winter
Haddock are present in fair numbers. Cod tend to come late in the season. Read the forecast zone and MDRM1 before you leave the bay, and treat any timing as a tendency, not a promise.
Spring
Cod tend to fish well in early spring, and haddock can run into the season. Pollock and cusk are present. These are the shoulder-season groundfish, and the timing shifts from year to year.
Summer
Cod, pollock, mackerel and redfish are the summer targets in the bay and the outer water. Halibut are taken rarely in June and July.
Inshore, mackerel and bluefish show from July to September. Striped bass tend to show up in the rivers and estuaries in the same window; the striped bass guide covers them.
Autumn
Pollock, cusk and haddock come back into play as the season progresses. Striped bass tend to leave the estuaries late in the season, and the guide to striped bass leaving the estuaries covers that move.
More Maine water: Boothbay Harbor, Portland.
