The death of a man this week believed to have been trapped on an island that is part of Acadia National Park highlights a somewhat recurring problem: visitors unfamiliar with the area finding themselves stranded after high tide covers the land bridge connecting the uninhabited island to downtown Bar Harbor.
The 25-year-old man whose body was found Thursday is the latest, and deadliest, example of people getting stuck on Bar Island. Thursday’s discovery is believed to be the first recorded death on or off the waters of Bar Island in the park’s history.
Two women said they’d heard a man yelling for help late Wednesday afternoon, according to the Bar Harbor Story, with high tide cresting at approximately 6:30 p.m. The evening’s temperatures hovered at 10 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.
Acadia National Park rangers and Maine Marine Patrol conducted a search for the man, believed to be from Maryland, during frigidly low temperatures Wednesday night, Bar Harbor Story reported. Park officials found the man’s body in the ocean near Bar Island on Thursday morning.
The tidal island, mostly covered in a forest of pine and birch trees, is within easy walking distance of downtown Bar Harbor but is only accessible by land for about three hours a day, for an hour and a half before and after low tide. During that time, a half-mile-long sandy, gravel land bridge connects the island to the town.
But outside of those periods, the tide swallows the gravel bridge, isolating the island and anyone still lingering. For those that lose track of time during their outing on Bar Island, it’s another nine hours until the sand bar re-emerges.
A yellow warning sign with the tide’s schedule and a water taxi’s phone number sits before the bridge to Bar Island, cautioning visitors of the impending high tide, according to the National Park Service.
“Be cautious and aware of the tides, as the bar is otherwise covered by the ocean,” the warning reads. “If you walk over to the island and lose track of time, it is 9 hours until the bar emerges again to safely walk across.”
Bar Island and the sand bar that connects it to the downtown village have become a popular tourist destination in recent years, promoted by TikTok and Instagram influencers layering romantic folk music with scenic views of Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor.
Visitors and locals often walk and drive across the sand bar during low tide. People spend the hour inspecting the tide pools’ barnacle-covered rocks and local kayak companies use the exposed beach for staging guided trips.
In April 2022, a tourist from New Jersey had their 2021 Ford Bronco stuck underwater for two days after driving on the island’s land bridge during low tide. Island Towing, a local wrecker company, deployed airbags to float the vehicle back to land.
Park rangers rescued two hikers who were stranded on Bar Island in December 2024.
A lobsterman used his own boat in June 2017 to rescue seven visitors who were stuck on the island, according to the Mount Desert Islander.
Neither the Bar Harbor Police Department nor the National Park Service responded Friday to requests for comment.