Bar Harbor

Located in Hancock County on Mount Desert Island along Maine’s Down East coast, Bar Harbor has been widely known as a tourist destination since the mid-1870s. Founded in 1796 as the village of Eden, Massachusetts, it became part of Maine when that state came into being in 1820, and took its current name — which comes from the sand and gravel bar that connects the town to Bar Island in Frenchman Bay — in 1918.
The character of the town was changed by the most dramatic event in its modern history, the Fire of 1947.
Today its character can be glimpsed by the fact that the number of hotel and motel and bed & breakfast rooms in town (some 5,000) roughly equals Bar Harbor’s year-round population (5,434 by the 2017 census).
The best-known person born in Bar Harbor is former N.Y. governor and U.S. vice-president Nelson Rockefeller, whose parents moved into a summer rental cottage (now torn down) along the Shore Path only a few days before his arrival on July 8, 1908.
Featured Lodging
Bar Harbor Grand Hotel, Bar Harbor, Maine

Bar Harbor Grand Hotel

The Bar Harbor Grand Hotel is a replica of the historic Rodick House, and stands out from other Bar Harbor hotels with its classic elegance and sophisticated service.

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Atlantic Oceanside Hotel, Bar Harbor, Maine

The Atlantic Oceanside

The Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Events Center provides oceanfront lodging, great rates, friendly service and special vacation packages, all close to Acadia & downtown Bar Harbor.

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Bar Harbor Inn, Bar Harbor, Maine

The Bar Harbor Inn

The Bar Harbor Inn is an iconic New England vacation destination welcoming guests worldwide with genuine Maine hospitality, superior service & timeless charm.

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