Simple Tides / Guides / Bar Harbor Tides
Bar Harbor Tide Chart
Bar Harbor fronts Frenchman Bay on Mount Desert Island, where a ten-to-twelve-foot semidiurnal tide — among the biggest in New England — opens a walkable land bridge twice a day and sets the whale-watch schedule.
Upcoming tides in Bar Harbor
Live NOAA predictions for station 8413320 (Bar Harbor).
| Day | Time | Tide | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loading live tide predictions… | |||
Heights in feet above MLLW, station local time. See the full interactive tide map.
The pattern
Two highs and two lows daily with ten to twelve feet of range — more on the spring tides near full and new moons. That much water moving means fierce currents through the bay’s narrows and a shoreline that transforms completely between tides.
The Bar Island walk
At low tide — roughly an hour and a half on either side — a gravel bar emerges connecting Bar Harbor to Bar Island, and walkers stream across. Time it wrong and you’re waiting hours for the water to drop again, or wading. Check the table, wear grippy shoes, and watch the clock.
Whales and lobster
The whale-watch fleet runs on the tide as much as the calendar: finbacks, humpbacks, and minkes feed the summer waters, and the boats read current like a forecast. Lobster boats work the bay’s ledges year-round. For the region, see our New England tide guide.