Acadia Tide Pools & 2026 Low Tide Chart: Best Times for Bar Island, Ship Harbor, and Wonderland

As of September 20, Acadia's best-scoring remaining September window at NOAA station 8413320 (Bar Harbor) is Sunday, September 27: −0.36 ft at 5:53 PM, with 106 minutes of daylight overlap and a score of 53, Fair. The complete September 20–October 31 high-and-low chart is below. These are reference-station predictions, not observations at each shoreline or clearance for the Bar Island crossing; National Park Service guidance remains separate.

Acadia tide chart: September 20–October 31, 2026

Every predicted high and low for these 42 dates at NOAA station 8413320, Bar Harbor, appears below. Times are local Eastern time; heights are feet relative to MLLW. A negative height is below that tidal datum, not a statement that a route is accessible. These are not site-specific measurements at Bar Island, Ship Harbor, or Wonderland.

Computed September 20, 2026 from the Bar Harbor fact sheet: 42 days and 163 predicted tidal extremes. This is a dated reference-station snapshot; the linked station calendars refresh daily. Park access guidance is separate from these predictions.

Selected September and October lows: the September 9 snapshot

The eight-window selection published September 9 is retained here for comparison, in date order. September 11–13 have passed; this is not a new ranking of the next 60 days. The choices below are all Fair, not Good or Exceptional. Use the complete chart above for every remaining-September and October high and low.

Computed September 9, 2026 from NOAA station 8413320 predictions in the daily fact sheet. Times are local Eastern time. The interval is a height calculation, not a park access window; only the stated minutes overlap daylight.

Saturday September 12 illustrates why the deepest low is not automatically the better fit. The morning prediction was −0.61 ft with 77 minutes of daylight overlap. The shallower evening prediction was −0.51 ft with 109 daylight minutes, and scored slightly higher. Neither modeled interval was entirely in daylight.

For the earlier September dates as well, open the complete September Bar Harbor tide chart. The October calendar adds daylight-window calculations. Those calendar pages refresh daily. The Bar Harbor station page shows the next seven days; the Trip Picker compares a fixed visit, and the Tide Window Finder ranks current options after the dates above have passed.

Bar Island: the crossing rule is not our tide-window formula

The National Park Service's Bar Island Trail page, checked September 20, describes exposure “For 1.5 hours before and after low tide”. It warns that after missing the crossing, “it is nine hours until the bar emerges again to safely walk across.”

That official guidance and Tidewindow's below-+1.0-ft interval measure different things. Similar clock times do not establish that the gravel bar is exposed. The scores and intervals here do not confirm crossing conditions, reserve time on the island, or guarantee a return route. The linked NPS page contains the full warning and its local tide-chart link.

NPS lists the Bar Island hike at 1.9 miles round trip, including the gravel bar and island trail, starting from Bridge Street in downtown Bar Harbor. Its current access information also says downtown parking is paid from May 15 through October 31 and that parking is not allowed on the bar or Bridge Street. These details are separate from a low-tide prediction.

Ship Harbor and Wonderland: different places, a regional reference

Tidewindow uses Bar Harbor as its reference station for all three listed Acadia destinations. That does not mean one exact tide time governs every shoreline: the NPS tidepooling page provides separate chart links for Bar Island and for Wonderland or Ship Harbor.

• Ship Harbor is a 1.3-mile figure-eight trail off Maine Route 102A, with a cove and mudflats described by NPS.
• Wonderland is a 1.4-mile round trip along an old gravel fire road to the rocky coast, also off Route 102A.

For tidepool timing, NPS says: “It is best to start tidepooling before low tide and to leave as the tide is rising.” Its full tidepooling and trail pages cover the local cautions; this guide makes no assurance that either shoreline is free of stranding or rising-water hazards.

September–December: how much daylight is left?

This table covers each whole month, not just the days remaining after this update. A “daylight window” has at least 30 minutes of daylight within the below-+1.0-ft interval; a daylight-minus window also has a negative low.

Computed September 20 from the Bar Harbor fact sheet. All four monthly best windows are in the Fair band. The fact sheet's 2026 records cover July 1–December 31, not the full year.

The deepest daylight-overlapping low in that July–December record is December 24: −1.65 ft at 4:41 PM, with only 68 daylight minutes in the interval. December 23 is shallower at −1.38 ft but has 117 daylight minutes and scores 58 rather than 55. A window can overlap daylight even when its lowest point is after sunset. For the related high-tide season, see the 2026–2027 king-tides guide.

For comparison, August's best window was Saturday August 15: −0.80 ft at 7:16 AM, 175 daylight minutes, score 75, Great. That date remains a useful summer reference, not a current recommendation.

What has been recorded nearby?

The September 20 fact sheet's iNaturalist snapshot covers observations within 5 km of the reference station over the preceding 60 days. Its records include Common Periwinkle (21), Common Atlantic Slippersnail (10), Atlantic Dogwhelk (10), Atlantic Jackknife (6), and Soft-shelled Clam (4). These are observation counts near Bar Harbor, not a census of Ship Harbor or Wonderland and not a promise of what a visitor will find.

The NPS tidepooling rules say “collection is prohibited.” The same page gives the full marine-life and shoreline guidance.

Every tide figure above is a prediction, not an observation. The methodology explains the height threshold, daylight overlap, and score. Park access guidance and actual shoreline conditions are not outputs of that calculation.