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MOUNT DESERT ISLAND & BAR HARBOR
TRENTON, MOUNT DESERT, BAR HARBOR, BASS HARBOR, SEAL COVE, SOUTHWEST HARBOR, AND NORTHEAST HARBOR
From the Wabanaki for whom the island was a summer gathering place to Samuel de Champlain who explored and documented the unique beauty of the island in the 17th century, MDI has always been a special place for anyone who visits.
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND
Beyond Bar Harbor
The Town of Mount Desert is made up of six villages: Otter Creek, Seal Harbor, Hall Quarry, Pretty Marsh Somesville, and Northeast Harbor.
In Otter Creek, you’ ll find an inn, convenience store, and hot showers for campers. Seal Harbor is home to many actors, musicians, politicians, and their beautiful old estates. Seal Harbor Beach offers a town dock for yachters and charter boat tours.
Northeast Harbor is quiet in the winter and bustles in the summer with a golf course, galleries, shops, restaurants, and a marina filled with luxurious yachts, and sailboats, and the local fishing fleet.
Southwest Harbor
The Quiet Side
The southwestern side of the island is often referred to as the quiet side. Southwest Harbor, the largest town on this side, is filled with excellent shops, galleries, and eateries.
You’ ll be charmed by Somesville’ s immaculately preserved historic village; visit the Maine Granite Industry Museum to learn about their industrial past. Those looking for a little solitude and understated coastal beauty will find it in the scenic hamlet of Pretty Marsh on the Blue Hill Bay side.
The little town of Tremont includes the fishing villages of Bass Harbor with its lighthouse, West Tremont, Bernard, Great Gott and Little Gott islands. Nearly one-third of the town lies within the boundaries of Acadia National Park lands.
Historic Gardens
Asticou Azalea Garden & Thuya Garden, Northeast Harbor Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Seal Harbor
Visitor Resources
Maine Coast Heritage Trust MCHT. org Mount Desert Chamber of Commerce: MountDesertChamber. org Southwest Harbor-Tremont Chamber of Commerce AcadiaChamber. com Trenton Chamber of Commerce TrentonMaine. com
Bar Harbor Info Center visitbarharbor. com /
For more on what to do when visiting Mount Desert Island scan here.
DOWNEAST ACADIA GUIDE 2025 | 9