Bar Harbor, Maine
ABOUT
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island along Maine’s Frenchman Bay. It serves as a gateway to the mountains and cliffs of neighbouring Acadia National Park, one of America’s most visited National Parks.
Bar Harbor’s fascinating history as a summer resort began long before Champlain’s visit in 1604. The town was originally known as the Town of Eden and the original the original document signed by Samuel Adams in 1796 is still held in the town museum.
The area prospered due to its beauty and many hotels were built. Notable families who have built “cottages” there include names such as Pulitzer, Cadwalader and Vanderbilt.
The town name was eventually changed to Bar Harbor in 1918, at a similar time to the introduction of the National Park. The area has a sparse population which increases tremendously during the holiday season.
Population in 2024 is listed as 2145.
Currency is the US Dollar.
THINGS TO DO
There is much to explore in this beautiful area. From the harbour itself you can take various boat trips to see its beauty from the water. We saw this ship taking visitors on their 2-hour scenic tour but there are other options too.
There are historical tours of the city, a ghost walking tour, bus tours out into the nearby Acadia National Park. You can hire a car if you prefer to do something independently. There are even E-bikes for hire.
There are walking trails around the immediate area and a brewing company (with a tasting room). Of course Bar Harbor is well-known for its seafood.
OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO
We visited Bar Harbor in the autumn and the leaves were just starting to turn – quite beautiful to see.
We chose to take a walk through the town. It isn’t a large town and so it wasn’t long until we reached the outskirts. However on the way we did see some of `local’ life.
Our return journey back through the town coincided with lunch-time! A glance at a couple of local pubs and restaurants encouraged us to pop in to one. Leary’s Landing, an Irish theme pub.
It would have been rude not to try the local beer. We also decided to try the local delicacy of Lobster. Rather than try to `fight’ our way through a lobster tail, we cheated and chose to have a lobster roll.
A word of warning! Whilst it was nice to eat – be very aware of the local prices. Check out the video below to see what we mean!
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