Bar Harbor tides today
The Bar Harbor gauge, on Frenchman Bay at the edge of Mount Desert Island, records one of the largest tides on the US East Coast outside the Bay of Fundy approaches.
Shaded: night. Green bands: solunar periods (thick = major, thin = minor). Heights in feet above Mean Lower Low Water, the zero of NOAA charts.
Bar Harbor, ME · Tuesday, October 13
Tide falling, 2.0 ft now
Low 7:29 PM
0.1 ft · in 1 h 48 min
| High | 12:56 AM | 10.8 ft |
| Low | 6:59 AM | 0.8 ft |
| High | 1:05 PM | 11.5 ft |
| Low | 7:29 PM | 0.1 ft |
Tide coefficient 103 (average), range 11.4 ft
Sunrise 6:45 AM · sunset 5:52 PM
Waxing crescent, 9% lit · fishing day ★★★☆
Solunar: major 1:11 AM–3:11 AM, minor 9:40 AM–10:40 AM, major 1:36 PM–3:36 PM, minor 6:26 PM–7:26 PM
Bar Harbor tide table, next 7 days
| Day | High tides | Low tides | Coef. | Sun | Moon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:56 AM 10.8 ft · 1:05 PM 11.5 ft | 6:59 AM 0.8 ft · 7:29 PM 0.1 ft | 103 | 6:45 AM–5:52 PM | Waxing crescent ★★★☆ | |
| 1:38 AM 10.4 ft · 1:45 PM 11.1 ft | 7:39 AM 1.3 ft · 8:11 PM 0.5 ft | 96 | 6:47 AM–5:50 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 2:21 AM 9.9 ft · 2:27 PM 10.7 ft | 8:21 AM 1.7 ft · 8:56 PM 0.9 ft | 88 | 6:48 AM–5:48 PM | Waxing crescent ★★☆☆ | |
| 3:06 AM 9.5 ft · 3:13 PM 10.3 ft | 9:06 AM 2.1 ft · 9:43 PM 1.3 ft | 81 | 6:49 AM–5:47 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 3:55 AM 9.1 ft · 4:04 PM 9.9 ft | 9:55 AM 2.4 ft · 10:35 PM 1.6 ft | 75 | 6:50 AM–5:45 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 4:48 AM 8.9 ft · 4:59 PM 9.7 ft | 10:49 AM 2.6 ft · 11:31 PM 1.7 ft | 71 | 6:52 AM–5:43 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ | |
| 5:45 AM 8.8 ft · 5:58 PM 9.6 ft | 11:47 AM 2.6 ft | 63 | 6:53 AM–5:42 PM | First quarter ★★☆☆ |
Plan around the tide at Bar Harbor
No window of 30 minutes or more below 1.0 ft over the next 7 days in daylight. Try a higher level.
A falling tide uncovers sand bars and tide pools first; plan to be back before the water rises past the level you chose. Not for navigation.
Station BAR HARBOR (NOAA 8413320). Predicted astronomical tide: wind, river flow and storms can move the real water by a foot or more. 11.1 ft is the average daily range here.
Published by Radif Partners · How the tides are computed · predictions downloaded October 13, 2026
Tide times for Bar Harbor come from the National Ocean Service prediction for station 8413320, BAR HARBOR. The tide here is semidiurnal: two highs and two lows of similar height every day, about six hours and a quarter apart, with an average daily range of 11.1 ft. Around the new and full moon the range grows to about 13.5 ft on one day in ten, and at the quarter moons it shrinks to 9.0 ft. Heights are in feet above Mean Lower Low Water, the zero of nautical charts, so a negative number is water below that zero: 181 of the 457 days from October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 have one, down to -1.9 ft on January 23, 2027. The highest predicted tide of that period is 13.2 ft on August 4, 2027. Clock times are Eastern Time, daylight saving time included.
The sand bar that gives the town its name
At low water a gravel bar rises between Bar Harbor and Bar Island, and for a few hours people walk across it. The bar is only dry around the low, and with an average range of 11.1 ft the water comes back fast: in the middle two hours of the rise it climbs more than two feet an hour. Cars parked on the bar and walkers who lingered on the island are a familiar story here. Look at the curve above, note the time of the low and plan to be back on the town side well before the water reaches the gravel again; the low tide planner lists the daylight windows below a level you choose.
Bigger than Portland, smaller than Fundy
The tide grows as you go east along the Maine coast toward the Bay of Fundy, whose basin resonates with the Atlantic tide. Bar Harbor averages 11.1 ft against 9.8 ft in Portland, and its spring tides reach 13.5 ft. Across Frenchman Bay, Winter Harbor is predicted from Bar Harbor with almost the same time and 95 percent of the height; Southwest Harbor, on the other side of Mount Desert Island, keeps the same high-water time and a low about half an hour earlier.
Tide pools and the shore of the island
The granite shore of Mount Desert Island drops steeply into the sea, so the zone uncovered by the tide is a band of rockweed, barnacles and pools rather than a wide beach. The lowest lows, down to -1.9 ft on January 23, 2027, open the lower pools where sea stars and urchins live. Rock is slick with weed at any tide: good shoes matter more here than the exact minute of the low.
Highest and lowest tides at Bar Harbor, 2026 to 2027
The six highest highs and six lowest lows predicted for BAR HARBOR between October 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027, one per day. The high-water dates are the king tides of this station; the low-water dates are the best days to see the flats, bars and tide pools.
| Highest highs | Time | Height |
|---|---|---|
| August 4, 2027 | 12:18 AM | 13.2 ft |
| December 25, 2026 | 11:04 AM | 13.2 ft |
| January 23, 2027 | 10:54 AM | 13.2 ft |
| July 6, 2027 | 12:33 AM | 13.2 ft |
| August 2, 2027 | 11:24 PM | 13.2 ft |
| January 24, 2027 | 11:46 AM | 13.1 ft |
| Lowest lows | Time | Height |
|---|---|---|
| January 23, 2027 | 5:20 PM | -1.9 ft |
| January 24, 2027 | 6:10 PM | -1.8 ft |
| January 22, 2027 | 4:29 PM | -1.7 ft |
| December 25, 2026 | 5:35 PM | -1.7 ft |
| February 21, 2027 | 5:01 PM | -1.7 ft |
| December 24, 2026 | 4:41 PM | -1.7 ft |
Tidal datums at station 8413320
NOAA's averages over the 1983-2001 epoch, measured from the chart zero (MLLW). Average range of the tide (MN): 10.6 ft; great diurnal range (GT): 11.4 ft.
| Datum | Meaning | Height above MLLW |
|---|---|---|
| MHHW | Mean Higher High Water | 11.4 ft |
| MHW | Mean High Water | 11.0 ft |
| MSL | Mean Sea Level | 5.7 ft |
| MLW | Mean Low Water | 0.4 ft |
| MLLW | Mean Lower Low Water (chart zero) | 0.0 ft |
Other stations nearby
- Portland tides: PORTLAND, average range 9.8 ft, highest predicted tide 11.6 ft on December 25, 2026
- Old Orchard Beach tides: Old Orchard Beach, average range 9.5 ft, highest predicted tide 11.2 ft on December 25, 2026