Winter Harbor
Winter Harbor sits on the Schoodic Peninsula, the mainland piece of Acadia National Park . It is the same pink granite meeting the same open Atlantic as the famous side of the park, and it receives roughly a tenth of the visitors. If the Park Loop Road in August sounds…
The village itself is small: a harbour, a handful of businesses, and a summer colony on Grindstone Neck that has been coming since the 1890s.
Schoodic Point
The point is the reason to come. Waves break against broad granite ledges with nothing between you and the ocean, and on a day with any swell running it is more dramatic than Thunder Hole and far less crowded. A one-way loop road runs out to it through spruce, with pull-offs the whole way.
Schoodic Woods Campground (4.8 across 475 reviews) is the park's newest and quietest, opened in 2015, with bike paths running from the sites to the point. The Schoodic Institute occupies the former Navy base, a chateau-style building that housed a radio-intercept station from the 1930s until 2002.
Things to do
Drive or cycle the loop. Climb Schoodic Head for the view back to Cadillac Mountain across Frenchman Bay. Musquito Harbor Brewing (4.8 from 227 reviews) is the local brewery, and Grindstone Neck Golf Course (4.1 from 49 reviews) is a nine-hole course from 1895 with ocean on three sides.
Getting here and when to go
By road it is about an hour from Bar Harbor, down Route 3, along Route 1 through Ellsworth, then Route 186. In summer a passenger ferry crosses from Bar Harbor in about an hour, which is the better arrival if you are happy on foot or a bike; note it carries no cars.
Late June to early October. There is no supermarket and dining is limited to a handful of places, so plan around that rather than assuming you will find something.
Common questions
Can you get to Winter Harbor by ferry from Bar Harbor?
Yes, in season. A passenger ferry has long crossed Frenchman Bay between Bar Harbor and Winter Harbor, meeting the Island Explorer bus that loops around the Schoodic side of Acadia. It saves the long drive around the head of the bay and leaves the car behind. Confirm that it is sailing and check the current timetable before building a day around it.
Is the Schoodic side of Acadia less crowded?
Considerably. The Schoodic District is the mainland piece of the park, and it takes a small fraction of the visitors that Mount Desert Island does, with the same pink granite shore and far easier parking. What you trade is choice: fewer restaurants, fewer beds and a long way around the bay unless you take the ferry.
What is a pickled wrinkle?
A wrinkle is a periwinkle, the small sea snail that clings to rocks along this shore, and pickling them is an old Downeast bar snack. The pub in Winter Harbor named after the dish rates 4.5 from 1,131 reviews and is the busiest room in the village. Order one out of curiosity, then order something else for dinner.
Where can you camp near Winter Harbor?
Schoodic Woods Campground is the one inside the park, rated 4.8 from 475 reviews, with wooded sites and bike paths running straight into the Schoodic District. West Bay Acadia RV Campground rates 4.7 from 89 reviews and sits closer to Route 1 with hookups. Both fill through the summer, and the park campground runs on a seasonal schedule.
