Bar Island, Tidal island in Mount Desert Island, United States.
Bar Island is a tidal island off the coast of Mount Desert Island, in Maine, linked to Bar Harbor by a natural gravel bar that appears only at low tide. The island is forested with pine and birch trees and sits entirely within Acadia National Park.
In 1986, federal legislation officially added the island to Acadia National Park, expanding the park's protected land on Mount Desert Island. Before that, a private residence owned by journalist Jack Perkins stood on the island until the National Park Service removed it in 2010.
The name comes from the gravel bar that becomes visible at low tide and connects the island to the mainland. Once on the island, visitors walk through a dense mix of pine and birch trees that feels removed from the harbor town just across the water.
The gravel bar connecting the island to Bar Harbor is only passable on foot at low tide, so it is worth checking tide tables before heading out. Allow enough time to walk the island and return well before the water rises again.
Despite sitting just off Bar Harbor, the island falls under the jurisdiction of Gouldsboro, a town several miles away, based on boundary documents from 1798. This means a visitor can step from one town directly into another simply by crossing the gravel bar.
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