The shape of the island
Mount Desert Island is about 108 square miles, the largest island on the Maine coast and among the largest in the contiguous United States. Somes Sound cuts almost the whole way through it from the south, splitting the island into two lobes and very nearly making it two islands. That single geographic fact explains most of the visitor experience here.
The east lobe holds Bar Harbor, Cadillac Mountain, the Park Loop Road and essentially all the famous scenery. The west lobe — the quiet side — holds Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, Echo Lake and a version of the island that looks much like it did before the crowds. Getting between them means driving around the head of the sound through Somesville, which takes longer than the map suggests and is why the two halves feel so separate.
One road connects the island to the mainland: Route 3 over the bridge at Trenton. Our guide to getting to Acadia covers that approach and the bottleneck it creates.
The four towns
Bar Harbor
The island's commercial center and where roughly everyone stays. It has the restaurants, the outfitters, the boat tours, the cruise ship pier and the Island Explorer hub at the Village Green (4.6 from 1,177 reviews). Agamont Park (4.7 from 1,775 reviews) sits above the town pier, and the Bar Harbor Shore Path (4.8 from 474 reviews) runs along the water past the old summer cottages — the best free hour in town.
The Bar Island Land Bridge (4.8 from 553 reviews) is the local trick: a gravel bar surfaces at low tide and you walk to an island from downtown. Check the tide before you go out, and mind the return window, because the bar floods faster than people expect. Our guide to things to do in Bar Harbor covers the town in full.
The drawback is unavoidable: in July and August Bar Harbor is genuinely congested, and on a cruise ship day the sidewalks are full.
Southwest Harbor and Manset
Southwest Harbor is the quiet side's main village and a working boatbuilding town rather than a resort. The Wendell Gilley Museum (4.8 from 100 reviews) holds a remarkable collection of carved birds by a local plumber who became one of the country's best-known bird carvers. Beal's Lobster Pier (4.5 from 1,142 reviews) is a wharf with picnic tables rather than a restaurant, and Clark Point Cafe rates 4.9 from 299 reviews. Sail Acadia (5.0 from 339 reviews) runs from the same pier area.
Mount Desert town: Northeast Harbor, Somesville, Seal Harbor
Confusingly, the town of Mount Desert is only part of Mount Desert Island. It covers Northeast Harbor, Somesville and Seal Harbor — the old-money side of the island, quieter and more manicured than anywhere else.
Northeast Harbor has the Asticou Terraces (4.9 from 20 reviews), a stone-stepped garden climbing above the harbor, and the Somesville Museum and Gardens (4.6 from 202 reviews) sits at the head of the sound beside the much-photographed white footbridge. The Nor'Easter Pound and Market (4.4 from 659 reviews) and Abel's Lobster (4.6 from 1,096 reviews) handle the eating. Seal Harbor Beach (4.6 from 94 reviews) is a small town beach most visitors drive straight past.
Tremont: Bass Harbor and Bernard
The island's southwest corner and the least touristed of the four. Bass Harbor Head Light Station (4.4 from 4,616 reviews) is here — the most photographed lighthouse in Maine after Portland Head, and worth reading about in our Bass Harbor guide before you go, because the parking and the viewpoint both have quirks. The Seal Cove Auto Museum (4.9 from 477 reviews) holds pre-1915 brass-era automobiles and is one of the genuinely surprising things on the island. Island Cruises (5.0 from 391 reviews) runs from Bass Harbor.
Somes Sound
Somes Sound is often called the only fjord on the eastern seaboard. Geologists generally classify it as a fjard — shallower and less dramatic than a true fjord — but the distinction matters less than the view. Cliffs drop straight into deep water, and the best ways to see it are Sargeant Drive, a narrow shore road with no buses or RVs on it, and the Acadia Mountain Trailhead (4.8 from 71 reviews), a steep 2.5-mile loop that looks straight down the sound toward the sea. Flying Mountain Trailhead (4.9 from 160 reviews) is the short-effort version of the same view.
Where to base yourself
| Base | Good for | Trade-off |
|---|
| Bar Harbor | First visit, no car, restaurants, shuttle hub | Crowds, cost, cruise days |
| Southwest Harbor | Quiet, working harbor, families | 30 to 40 minutes to the Park Loop Road |
| Northeast Harbor | Gardens, sailing, calm | Few restaurants, limited nightlife |
| Bass Harbor / Tremont | Real quiet, lighthouse, sunsets | Furthest from everything |
| Off-island (Ellsworth, Trenton) | Value, year-round services | Driving the Route 3 bottleneck daily |
The honest recommendation: stay in Bar Harbor for a first three-day trip and on the quiet side for a second visit or anything longer than five days. Our guide to the towns near Acadia covers the mainland options in more detail.
Beyond the park boundary
A few of the island's better places are not park land at all. The Indian Point Blagden Preserve (4.8 from 132 reviews) on the northwest shore is a Nature Conservancy property with a seal-watching ledge and far fewer people than any park trail. The Maine Granite Industry Historical Society Museum (5.0 from 132 reviews) in Mount Desert covers the quarrying that once drove the island's economy and supplied stone to buildings across the country. The Acadia Repertory Theatre (4.6 from 70 reviews) in Somesville runs a summer season. Kebo Valley Club (4.5 from 140 reviews) in Bar Harbor is one of the oldest golf courses in the country.
Water on the island
The Atlantic here runs cold enough year-round that swimming in it is a dare rather than a pastime. The island's answer is fresh water: Echo Lake Beach (4.7 from 193 reviews) on the quiet side has a sand beach, a lifeguard in season and water that actually warms up by August, and it is where island families go. Long Pond, the largest body of fresh water on the island, is the paddling option.
On the salt side, Sand Beach is the one everyone knows and Little Hunters Beach (4.8 from 100 reviews) is the one worth finding — a small cobble cove off the Park Loop Road reached by a wooden staircase, where the stones clatter as the surf pulls back. Take nothing from it; removing the cobbles is prohibited and the beach is slowly losing them anyway. Hadley Point Beach (4.7 from 109 reviews) on the north shore is the local swimming spot at high tide, warmer than the open ocean and almost entirely free of visitors.
Getting around
The fare-free Island Explorer shuttle links all four towns and most trailheads on a summer-into-autumn season, hubbing at the Village Green. It is the correct way to handle the island in peak season, because trailhead lots at Sand Beach (4.8 from 970 reviews) and Jordan Pond fill by mid-morning and the bus does not care.
Outside the shuttle season you need a car. Route 3 rings the east lobe, Routes 102 and 102A ring the west, and the whole island is small enough that nothing is more than about 45 minutes from anything else — but allow more than the distance suggests in August.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mount Desert Island the same as Acadia National Park?
No. Mount Desert Island is a 108-square-mile island with four towns on it; Acadia National Park owns roughly half of it in a patchwork, plus land on the Schoodic Peninsula and Isle au Haut. You can be on the island without being in the park and vice versa, and there is no single entrance gate — park and town land interleave constantly.
How do you pronounce Mount Desert Island?
Locally it is said like the sweet course — "Mount De-ZERT" — with the stress on the second syllable, not like an arid desert. The name traces to the French "Isles des Monts Deserts," meaning bare or barren mountains, a reference to the treeless granite summits. Both pronunciations are heard, but the second-syllable stress is the island's own.
What is the quiet side of Mount Desert Island?
The west lobe, on the far side of Somes Sound: Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, Bernard, Seal Cove and the Tremont villages, plus Echo Lake and the Seawall area. It has far less traffic than the Bar Harbor side, most of the island's working waterfront, and the Bass Harbor Head Light Station. The trade-off is a 30-to-40 minute drive to the Park Loop Road.
How many days do you need on Mount Desert Island?
Three days covers the Park Loop Road, Cadillac Mountain, a couple of hikes and a day in Bar Harbor. Five gives you the quiet side, Somes Sound and a boat trip without rushing. A week lets you add the Schoodic Peninsula and the offshore islands. Fewer than two days and you will spend most of your time driving and parking.
