Bar Island Trail In Acadia National Park
Bar Island Trail: The Hidden Treasure off Bar Harbor
When I say hidden treasure, I mean it quite literally. Bar Island is part of Acadia National Park. The trail only becomes visible and walkable around low tide from Bridge Street in Bar Harbor. Though it is submerged by water most of the day, if you time your trip right, taking a stroll out to the island is incredibly enjoyable and easy. Even better is the location of this trail. It’s right outside of downtown so you can enjoy the quaint town of Bar Harbor before you head to island.
Timing Your Trip
As I mentioned, this gravel bar trail is only above water for a few hours at a time. So getting the timing right is imperative. You can access the Bar Island Land Bridge 1.5 hours before and after low tide. Now, many people make the mistake of saying “Oh, low tide was at “x” time yesterday, so it’ll probably be about the same today, right?” Wrong. Low tide can change up to about 50 minutes on a daily basis. You’ll need to check a tide chart to ensure you’re headed out with plenty of time for your return trip. If you are not sure what a tide chart is you can check with the Hulls Cove Visitor Center for the best times to cross the natural land bridge.
The Trail at a Glance
Location: Acadia National Park
Length: 1.9 Miles Roundtrip (Tidal)
Elevation Gain: 216 ft.
Type: Network
My Rating: Easy
Dog Friendly: Yes
Would we do it again: Yes
Bar Island Experience
You can park anywhere in the town of Bar Harbor to access the Bar Island Land Bridge. The town itself is small and walkable, so you shouldn’t have any issues with parking too far away. Most of the parking areas in the town are paid parking, so be sure to pay for enough time to avoid getting a ticket. Walk out to the land bridge, which is on the outskirts of downtown, and enjoy an easy stroll through small tide pools to the island. It feels a little bit like walking on water, so this hike may or may not make you feel invincible. The trail does have fantastic views of Frenchman Bay on both sides.
Once you reach the island, there’s another 1 mile of trail that will take you to the highest point on the island. From here you will have a great view of Bar Harbor as well as the trail. On the island, you’ll ditch the rocky ground and walk along an old road for most of your time. Don’t spend too much time exploring the island or you could get stuck out there. You will have to keep track of time while you visit.
Bar Island Safety
Yes, you can get trapped on the Island. Yes, people get trapped on the island all the time. Once the Bar Island Land Bridge is submerged underwater, the tide won’t be low enough to pass through for around another 9 hours! That’s a really long time to be stranded on an island. It all comes down to timing your trip and keeping track of time. Know when the tide will start rising again, and set a time for when you need to leave the island, then leave at that time. Don’t stay longer and assume you can make it back out in time. Even if the bridge isn’t fully submerged, no one wants to walk through a foot of water to make it back to Bar Harbor. Especially a foot of cold ocean water in Maine.
If you happen to miss low tide, rendering yourself stuck on a deserted island, you can always call a water taxi or the Bar Harbor search and rescue. These calls will be costly, about $60 for a water taxi, and it can sometimes take a number of hours for them to make it out to the island. However, there is a safety net if you find yourself in a worst-case scenario. I’d highly recommend not being “that person” and taking the extra time to plan your trip.
Accessible for All Fitness Levels
You can take dogs and kids on this trail, as it isn’t too strenuous. Make sure to look in some of the tide pools while you venture to and from the island to see if you can see any cool sea stars or other ocean animals. This is an awesome hike for kids because there’s so much to see and it’s a unique experience. If you find snail eggs in the tide pool (little things that look like grains of rice) you can look at them, but please make sure you don’t take any with you. Collecting items from Acadia National Park is prohibited.
Because this park is unique and most people can enjoy it, it does become very busy. You’ll likely be sharing the trail with lots of other people who are excited to get out to Bar Island, so be sure to keep that in mind.
