United States
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
279km²
Area
208km
Coastline
470m
Highest point
Cadillac Mountain
10,615
People
14°C
Warmest sea
August
2km
To the mainland
When to go to Mount Desert Island
Best to visit from July to August.
The sea is warmest in August (14 °C) and coolest in March (3 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island off the coast of Maine, United States
Mount Desert Island is an island in United States. It covers 279 km², with 208 km of coastline. Its highest point, Cadillac Mountain, rises to 470 m. About 10,615 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 2 km away.
Getting there
- Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport (BHB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 13 km in a straight lineCar hire at BGR airport (Bangor)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesBass Harbor - Swan's Island, Cranberry Isles Commuter Service, Bass Harbor - Frenchboro, Cranberry Cove Ferry
- 2 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Mount Desert Island.
- 17beachesCobble Beach, Sand Beach, Echo Lake Beach and 14 more
- 39viewpointsSomes Sound Overlook, Sunset view, Hawk Watch and 36 more
- 1lighthousesBass Harbor Head Light
- 4ferry terminalsBass Harbor Ferry Terminal, Bar Harbor Ferry Terminal, Manset (C.I. Dock) and 1 more
- 3marinasSaltair Inn, Northeast Harbor Marina
- 74named peaksCadillac Mountain, Sargent Mountain, Dorr Mountain and 71 more
- 3waterfallsDuck Brook Waterfall, Hadlock Falls, Man O War Waterfall
- 1ruins and archaeological sitesOld Farm Estate
- 68waymarked walking routesBeech Mountain South Trail, Beech West Ridge Trail, Bernard Mountain Trail and 65 more
- 13campsitesAcadia Wilderness Lodge, Terramor Outdoor Resort, Seawall Campground and 10 more
- 58hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 80restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Mount Desert Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Mount Desert Island, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
3lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
3.3km²
Long Pond
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
23.6°C
Long Pond
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
14.0°C
Cobble Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Cobble Beach14.0°C
- Hunters Beach13.0°C
- Sand Beach13.0°C
- Echo Lake Beach13.0°C
3 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Long Pond3.3km²
- Eagle Lake1.7km²
- Jordan Pond0.65km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 68 m above the sea. 94 % of it is below 200 m.
- 54 %0–50 m
- 40 %50–200 m
- 6 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Bar Harbor2,552 people
- Tremont1,590 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | -1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 2 |
| Night low (°C) | -8 | -8 | -4 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 2 | -4 |
| Sea (°C) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 8 |
| Rain (mm) | 92 | 86 | 95 | 103 | 96 | 112 | 81 | 85 | 100 | 139 | 124 | 135 |
| Wet days | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| Sun h/day | 3.7 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 2.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 |
| 2021 | +1.3 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +1.7 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +2.1 | +1.9 | +1.0 |
| 2022 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.5 | +1.9 | +1.4 | +1.3 | +1.8 | +0.8 |
| 2023 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +1.5 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +0.3 | −0.5 |
| 2024 | −0.9 | −0.7 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.2 | −0.6 |
| 2025 | −0.5 | −1.0 | −0.6 | −0.2 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +1.3 | +0.9 | ±0.0 | −0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1315822) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit