Mount Desert, Maine: Things to Do, Stay & Eat
Mount Desert, Maine, is a town within Mount Desert Island, not another name for the entire island. Its villages and parkland lie around the middle of the island, with Somes Sound shaping the roads between them. Choose a base by village and the activities you want; a Mount Desert address alone does not describe one central downtown.
Quick facts
- Region
- Downeast & Acadia, Maine
- Best months and seasons
- Late June for the gardens, September for the hiking and the emptier carriage roads.
- Nearest airport:
- Hancock County–Bar Harbor Airport (Trenton) (BHB), about 7 miles in a straight line.
- Top draws
- Jordan Pond Path; Sargent Mountain; Somes Sound
- Nearby towns
- Northeast Harbor, Maine; Bar Harbor, Maine; Southwest Harbor, Maine; Tremont, Maine
Mount Desert is the town, not the island: a distinction that confuses almost everyone. The island is Mount Desert Island, and it holds four towns; this is the one in the middle, wrapped around the head of Somes Sound, and it contains some of the best of Acadia National Park with none of Bar Harbor's congestion.
There is no single center. The town is a set of villages (Northeast Harbor, Seal Harbor, Somesville, Pretty Marsh, Hall Quarry) each a few buildings and a view of the water.
What Mount Desert is known for
Somes Sound cuts five miles into the island here, and it is the reason the geography works the way it does: to get from one side of the island to the other you drive around the head of it at Somesville, which is why journeys take longer than the map suggests.
Jordan Pond sits inside this town, and the path around it is the most-walked trail in the park after the Ocean Path. 3.3 miles, level, with the two rounded hills known as the Bubbles framing the north end. The Jordan Pond House at the south end has been serving tea and popovers on the lawn since the 1890s.
Northeast Harbor, the town's largest village, has its own page: a deep marina, two of the finest gardens in Maine, and the mailboat to the Cranberry Isles.
Things to do
Walk the Jordan Pond Path. Drive or cycle the carriage roads, which are denser here than anywhere else on the island. The Rockefeller network was built largely across this town, and the stone bridges are worth seeking out individually.
Somesville is the oldest settlement on the island and keeps a much-photographed white footbridge. Seal Harbor has a small public beach that stays quiet even in August. Sargent Mountain, the island's second-highest, is climbed from this side and carries a fraction of Cadillac's traffic.
Getting here and when to go
Route 198 and Route 3 cross the town; the free Island Explorer shuttle serves the villages in season, which is much the easiest way to reach Jordan Pond without fighting for a parking space.
Late June for the gardens, September for the hiking and the emptier carriage roads. Most of the town closes down between late October and May.
For a short park stay, the 2 Days in Acadia National Park: A Maine Trip Plan gives Ocean Path and Jordan Pond their own days and makes the Cadillac drive optional.
For park access, the Acadia National Park, Maine: Fees, Hours and Reservations separates entrance admission, Cadillac vehicle reservations and campground bookings.
Planning notes
Things to do
About Mount Desert
Mount Desert is a town in Hancock County, Maine. The 2020 Census municipal table records 2,146 residents for Mount Desert town. The Mount Desert municipal website provides town-office contacts, public records and community notices.
Choose a Jordan Pond outing
Jordan Pond and the carriage-road landscape make this part of Acadia a strong walking area. Decide whether you want the pond path, a carriage-road walk or a more demanding mountain route. The pond circuit includes uneven sections, so a relatively gentle elevation profile should not be mistaken for a uniformly smooth surface.
Explore the villages around Somes Sound
Somesville's village setting and white footbridge make a focused stop near the head of the sound. Northeast Harbor has the town offices, marina and a separate village center, while Seal Harbor has its own shore setting. Group stops on the same side of the sound to reduce unnecessary backtracking.
Make room for gardens or a mountain day
Northeast Harbor's gardens offer a different pace from a hike, with their own visitor arrangements. Sargent Mountain and the surrounding Acadia trails call for a more deliberate outdoor plan. Boat trips to the Cranberry Isles are another possibility, but the carrier, departure point and return sailing determine the day.
Getting there and around
Routes 198 and 3 connect several of the town's villages, while roads around the head of Somes Sound link different parts of the island. The seasonal Island Explorer can help with some park and village trips.
When to visit
Summer is the busiest period for park access and village activity. Fall can be a good walking season when the required visitor services are still operating. Winter is a different park experience, with road, trail and business conditions to check; the town does not disappear when the seasonal shuttle stops.
See also: Jordan Pond House.
Common questions
Is the town of Mount Desert the same as Mount Desert Island?
No.
Mount Desert Island holds four separate towns, Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor and Tremont, and Mount Desert is only one of them.
The town covers the middle of the island and land on both sides of Somes Sound.
When a listing says Mount Desert it means the town; when it says MDI it means the whole island.
How do you pronounce Mount Desert?
Locally it is Mount de-ZERT, stress on the second syllable, like the sweet course rather than the Sahara.
The name traces to Samuel de Champlain's French, l'Isle des Monts Deserts, the island of bare mountains, and the pronunciation held onto the French stress.
You will hear both versions from visitors, but the second-syllable version is what residents use.
Which villages are in the town of Mount Desert?
Northeast Harbor, Seal Harbor, Somesville, Otter Creek, Hall Quarry, Beech Hill and Pretty Marsh.
Northeast Harbor is the commercial center, with the marina, the shops and the boats out to the Cranberry Isles.
Somesville is the oldest settlement on the island, and Seal Harbor is quiet and residential.
Directions here are given by village rather than by town.
Is Acadia National Park in Mount Desert?
A large share of it, yes.
Park land within the town takes in Jordan Pond, the Bubbles, Sargent Mountain and much of the carriage road network, so several of Acadia's best-known walks begin from roads in this town rather than from Bar Harbor.
The same park entry pass applies, and the same midday crush fills the lots.
