Bar Harbor Campground

One of my favorite campgrounds on Mount Desert Island, this is the closest campground to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park and a stop on the free "Island Explorer" bus service. While there are two National Park campgrounds on the island that offer many wooded and private sites, those campgrounds are dry. Bar Harbor campground offers hookups and wooded, private sites. If you want privacy, and a woodsy feel vs. the "parking lot" feel, while enjoying hookups, this is the place to stay

Facilities are great, close to lobster pounds, and walking distance from a great ice cream stand.

They have a few "water view" sites, but they are completely exposed and close to each other.

Keep in mind that they do not accept reservations nor do they accept credit cards (they do accept checks and have an ATM on site). This can be very convenient if you do not have a reservation on a busy weekend and need a place to stay. Acadia gets very busy during the summers and most other campgrounds fill up way ahead of time, specially on the holiday weekends. You should be able to find a spot even during the super busy labor day weekend.

They offer fee wifi and has decent Verizon LTE coverage, I can't say how strong the signal was since I did not pay attention.

I have stayed at 7 different campgrounds on the island (I live just an hour away) and this is my favorite place to stay on the island.

Firstly this is a cash only park & they do not take reservations. Our rate was for water & 30 amp.

As there are no reservations they tell you there are plenty of sites which is true but many sites may be too small for you to actually fit into which does cause some problems. The sites vary in size & accessibility as people can pick their own site you get a small travel trailer in a site which would easily fit & 45' RV & vehicle then alternatively a large RV or 5th wheel has to fit into a site made for a small travel trailer leaving 1/2 out on the road.

Ok. That's the downside.

The good thing is that they have a full range of sites with 30 & 50 amp ( 50 amp are full hook up ) , some with no power & others with water & power.
Good water pressure.
Internet which is good.
It has a local bus to take you to both Acadia NP & Bar Harbor. This service is free.

Laundry washers. $1.00 & dryers $1.00

It's nothing glamorous but they don't accept reservations which means it's easy to get in during high season. The staff is friendly and the place is clean with an excellent location. They had everything we needed including close proximity to Bar Harbor/MDI, Verizon LTE, showers, cheap laundry and a dog area.
This will definitely be where we land next time we roll in to Baa Haaba.

Note that the rate above was for 7 nights. Technically the 7th night was free.

We pulled in on a Monday just after noon. The helpful staff told us that she thought two water view sites were still available. She was right.

I'd give K11 5 stars! We had space between our neighbors and a nice water view.

After you pick your site, all first come, you then go back and pay. I could not be happier with the campground and our site. Sometimes you get very luck on sites. A local told told us that he had been to the park for the last 9 years and never got a water view site. Another person said they always come on Sunday or Monday at noon and they always get a water view site.

Good pool, clean restrooms and small dump.

There is restaurant that sits on the edge of the campground. They have good BBQ and there is a great ice cream place there.

Short drive into the park and town.

We stayed here for our time at Bar Harbor and loved it! When you arrive, they tell you to drive around the campground and find the spot that you like. Then you head back to the office to tell them which site you selected.

They do not accept credit cards for payment. Cash or check only. And they do not take advance reservations. The place filled up for Labor Day weekend, but was pretty quiet during the week.

There are open, waterfront, and wooded sites. All of them in great shape. The restrooms were clean and all of the showers were in great working order. The showers are 25 cents for 5 minutes.

The campground is a stop along the local bus route, so you can get to Acadia NP or downtown Bar Harbor via the shuttle.

All in all, we really enjoyed our stay and would definitely stay here again if we come back to this area.

The campground is first come, first served and has a seventh night free deal. Cash or check only. With a lower cost per night, free wifi, full hookups and a chance for a water view, we decided to take the risk and show up. We had several options to choose from, but that wouldn't have been true during our stay. We saw some pretty big rigs with very awkward setups in smaller, unlevel sites because there weren't any other options when they showed up.

We liked our site. C4 is a pull through with full hookups (30 amp). It was level, clean and a short walk to the water view, shower house, and laundry facility. We also liked how close we were to Bar Harbor, Acadia, and other attractions. Mainely Meats and Udder Heaven ice cream was a quick walk from inside the campground (there was a walking access to them). Across the street from them was Pirates Cove mini golf. We visited each and would definitely recommend as a treat to anyone staying here. The only downside was that they were decreasing their hours and were only open until 8, and if you were out hiking etc it made it an all out sprint to be there before closing. Pirates Cove is open until 9p right now.

We didn't need our WeBoost, the cell signal was fine, and the camp's wifi was great. Laundry was super clean and nice with approx 10 washers and 4 dryers ($1 each). Showers are $.25 for 5 min and were very clean.

We are suckers for pinball and had been eyeing the machine in the little shack arcade when you first pull into the campground. Save your money because most of the games had out of order signs and the pinball machine should have too.

We would definitely stay again and hopefully would be lucky enough to get a water view next time!

This is a great place! Some sites have great water views, most have none. Wonderful smoked meat restaurant on site. Laundry is good and cheap. 10 minutes from Acadia. The bus runs all day and pickup/drop off is at the camp site. NO RESERVATIONS is scary but was no big deal (went second week of Sept.).

We stayed at Seawall campground while visiting Acadia National Parks south side and we stayed at this privately owned park to visit the north side of the park. You cannot get reservations it is first come first serve. Unless you are going to be here on some 3 day weekend don’t worry about a spot. We were her 13-16 Jul 2018 and had no problems getting a spot. There were at least 50 sites open. The sites up on the hill have better internet than those in the woods so if you want internet get one of those sites. We had a electric/water site in the woods and the internet was not good. The full hookups are closer together and out in the open. Also while we there we picked over 2 quarts of blueberries with no problem. This park is close to Acadia’s northern part and there are also buses that will drop you off for free all over the park. They have a large laundry room with many machines. You can surf the net while you do laundry or walk out back and pick blueberries.

Really loved this Campground. Our site had water and 30 amps. No sewer but the site was relatively close to the showers and restrooms which were kept very clean. I really like the sink outside for doing dishes. This helped keep the gray water to a minimum. Our loop had sites that were very wooded although there are other sites in the open with an ocean view. The staff were very friendly. Sites are kept very clean, no scraps of discarded papers and trash from campers left behind. Each morning a staff member would actually shovel up the ash form our campfire the night before !
A lot of positives with this campground including the FREE bus to many points through out Mt. Desert Island. There is an easy walk via an access road to a BBQ place and ice cream store that's close by. Cell service was good and wifi is available. The location to the park is a quick ride, maybe 3 miles from the visitor's center.
I would say the only negative is the uncertainty of getting a site. They don't take reservations. We arrived on a Wednesday after labor day in the early afternoon and here were a few spots to chose from. The site itself was pretty level were the trailer was but there was a slope where were set up our chairs and outside table. I would suggest driving the campground a bit to chose an ideal site, I was a little nervous about getting a site and I may have chose too quickly. There were many sites w/out hookups too. Would most definitely return.

We wanted to get a site at Blackwoods State Campground for location and price, but unless if you reserve it months in advance good luck. We ended up coming here with hundreds of others because it was the only spot available in this crazy busy area.

It is a large campground with hundreds of sites. Plenty of full hook ups, water and power, and tent sites. We got a water and power site for $40 a night, which is expensive to us, but considering Blackwoods is $30 plus fees for no power it's not a bad deal, probably the cheapest in the area. The sites are close together, but if you want there are some with a little more privacy. They have all amenities here too and its well kept and clean. Showers are 25 cents for 5 minutes and are clean and hot. Laundry is $1 to wash, $1 to dry. It is a pretty campground too with views of the ocean from several sites. Plenty of walking trails for the dog, but a lot of ticks so watch where you go. Cell service is good on Verizon and AT&T, and the free WIFI works good, it does seem to slow down at night though.

As for location, the park entrance is less then 10 minutes away and Bar Harbor about the same. There is also a free shuttle that stops at the campground thru out the day and with a few transfers can get you anywhere in the park. We never did use the shuttle, but it could be a good idea with how busy this area gets. If you don't get up early its hard to find parking for many of the hikes and even to visit Bar Harbor. We had to skip a few hikes due to no parking. If this place was a little cheaper I would give it 5 stars all the way, wish we could stay longer but October 8 is the last day of the season before it closes down for the winter. It seems a lot of places in the area close down around now.