Bar Island Land Bridge — Attraction in Bar Harbor

Lovely visit to the walkway.

There is metered (credit card and Park Mobile App) parking along West Street…which is what I opted for.

As many visitors know…this walking path is available ONLY during and around low-tide as high tide covers this path. It is recommended that the walking path be taken only 1.5 before and after low-tide. This leaves about a 3-hour window to walk back and forth to the island. (A sign even warns that if you get stuck on the island during high-tide, you have to walk again until low-tide to cross back over…or request a rescue boat to come get you…at the cost of $150.) I do think this time frame is a bit generous as you likely have a bigger window to travel back and forth.

That being said…be mindful of the tide times on the day you are visiting. USHarbors.com is a good website for this information.

Knowing that low tide was at 8am on the day I was visiting…I arrived to the walkway at about 8:45am that morning…knowing that I had some time to make my short trip back and forth while snapping some photos. Upon my arrival, there were lots of people throughout the path and the path itself was much wider (and dryer) than I expected it to be at that time. I made my way across taking photos along the way. I did NOT venture into the island as it was about 9:20 by the time I made it over. I did make it back to the waterfront around 9:45 and there was still lots of dry land visible.

The island does offer some great views of the Bar Harbor waterfront. Additionally, the small puddles left behind from the high-tide make for some great reflections…excellent for photos!

The path itself is a mix of small rocks and sand...you don't necessarily need hiking boots but flat-bottomed shoes or flip-flops/sandals may not be very comfortable. There aren't many hills or elevations...so the flat nature of the pathway makes for a fairly easy walk. I would expect some strollers/wheelchairs may struggle in the terrain.

I highly recommend visiting while in the Bar Harbor area…a suggestion is to work the walkway visit into a morning (or evening) walk along the waterfront (West Street) toward Agamont Park where there are some great views of the boats in the harbor. There are also lots of shops downtown (only about a block or two inland) to grab a...

We visited on a Tuesday afternoon in late June 2025. We found a parking spot down by Ells Pier in the public parking lot.

We hiked up the street a few blocks to get to Bridge St. The road just leads onto the beach area and you just keep going. It was low tide when we went but the water was very cold.

The hike itself is pretty easy and we had a kayaking tour booked for later in the afternoon/evening so we didn't want to go too far. We did get to the other side and looked around a bit but that was about it.

We took pictures and the kids and little nephews were playing is the water but not going in deeper than ankles.

Also with this being in the afternoon around 2-3PM the sun was right above us and picture taking wasn't great.

There were a ton of people everywhere. So you're not going to get any shots without people in.

Overall we would visit and try and do this again. We would probably go when it's less popular or maybe when the low tide is really early or really late in the day. Also need more time to explore the island itself.

Dogs are allowed but sign asks to remove pet waste, surprised that even needs said. Also bikes are allowed but there is no parking on the Bar and...

Bar Island Land Bridge. This natural exposed sand bar is the name’s sake of Bar Harbor Maine. Timing is everything and the warnings about the incoming tide should be taken seriously unless you want to have an extend visit on Bar Island. Check the local tide information to time your visit. We went at low tide and spent about an hour exploring the bar and surrounding tidal pools.

Be ready for the crowds in the summer. This is a major tourist attraction, but there is plenty of space to spread out and explore the bar. We did not venture on to Bar Island. We just didn’t have the time and most of our party was under the age of 10. They were not up for hours of hiking. They were very content searching for shells and unusual rocks.

Make sure you wear comfortable walking or hiking shoes. The bar is mostly rock and can be tricky to walk on if you are not careful.

The Bar Island Land Bridge is nice entertaining hour to two-hour activity. But don’t go with expectations of experience a quiet peaceful walk by yourself. Unless low tide is...