The Bar Harbor Campground

No reservations and an awesome shuttle system- our favorite things about staying here. 

This campground is huge, and takes no reservations, so it works great for us who don’t like to plan ahead. And also, there’s an amazing free shuttle system, that allows dogs!, that picks you up right at the campground. There are multiple routes you can transfer to and they take you into town or throughout Acadia NP, which is so nice for us as we are in a motorhome with no tow car. Also, Acadia NP allows dogs on most trails! Mind blown. 

Campground is great- there is a type of site for everyone. FHU sites all along in a row for those big RVs who like that parking lot feeling, a tent area where you park and carry your things to your camp spot, heavily wooded sites that feel like a more traditional campground, and more open sites where there’s enough sun if you rely on solar. Some sites are just 30 amp power and water, and there are dry camp sites as well. RVs can camp in a dry camp site, but no generators allowed at all (another favorite thing for us!). 

Laundry room is huge and clean, washer and dryer are huge and work well and are only $1 each (quarters only).

 There’s a dump station. Water at the dump is non-potable but you can fill your tanks at one of the many drinking water spigots throughout the campground, or pull into an empty site, like we did. 

Showers were ok, $0.25 for 5 minutes.

Happy Journey I'm like this hiking

This is a nice campground located close to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. The campground does not take reservations so you can pick whatever open site you want and if you want to extend your stay, you can. When you arrive, you get a map, find an empty site, get set-up and then go back to the office to register. Once you’re in the park if you want a different site that has a better view or FHU’s, the best thing to do is drive or walk around the section you are interested in and if you see someone packing up put a personal item (chair, table cloth, etc.). Then head to the office and let them know what site you are moving to. Weird system but it seems to work as this is how things have always been done. All different types of sites are available from FHU, electric/water, or privative sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. There are some sections that are nicely wooded which is great for the shade in the summer and to add a little privacy. Other sites are right on the ocean with great views but these sites are pretty close together and hard to get since the campground is first come, first served. Roads in the park are paved but some corners can be a little tight for big-rigs, best to unhitch your tow car up front in case you have to back up. The camp hosts do a great job of keeping the campground clean and were always out and about cleaning sites, fire pits, and the bathrooms.

This campground is in a good location right off Route 3 and a short drive to Bar Harbor. There is the Island Explorer (free) shuttle that have various routes and stops on Mount Desert Island and Acadia NP. The shuttle stops at the campground so you can hitch a ride downtown or to the park and not have to worry about parking.  The shuttle has a bike rack so you can bring your bike and pets are allowed.  The campground is very clean with no litter and well-maintained. The bathrooms were very clean showers are 25 cents/5 minutes. There is a really nice large swimming pool perched right along the water, nice little nature trails/dog walking areas, laundry, game room, shuffleboard, playground, water access, arcade, and more. 

Just outside the campground (within walking distance) is Utter Heaven an ice cream shop and Mainely Meat a BBQ joint. Across the street is a Pirates Cove– a mini golf course on steroids. During the summer season this place is really busy but calms down when kids go back to school.