Southwest Harbor, Maine

About Southwest Harbor

Southwest Harbor is a small unincorporated community in eastern Maine.

Southwest Harbor holds the status of a census-designated place — a real, named community that residents call home, governed at the county level. The community covers 1.35 square miles.

📰 Southwest Harbor News Today

• In Southwest Harbor, a School Reorganization Plan Raises Big Questions. Bar Harbor Story | Carrie Jones | Substack · Aug 14
• Southwest Harbor Police Hosting A Free Bike Rodeo On August 22nd, 9 To Noon WDEA AM 1370 · Aug 15
• Southwest Harbor Air Quality Index (AQI) and USA Air Pollution IQAir · Jul 4
• 150-foot vessel limit in Southwest Harbor sparks debate Mount Desert Islander · Jul 7
• Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor: Planning for Sustainable Growth barharborstory.com · Jun 8

Live headlines via Google News — updates through the day.

What Makes Southwest Harbor Unique

• The only place in America named Southwest Harbor — a truly one-of-a-kind name among 32,000+ US communities.
• An unincorporated community — no city hall of its own, which often means lower local taxes and county-managed services.
• Positioned in eastern Maine, convenient to the region's corridors and crossings.

Why People Love It Here

• A tight community feel that bigger cities can't replicate.
• Cost of living typically runs below the big-metro average.
• Well connected: 3+ neighboring communities within 15 miles.

📍 Neighborhoods in Southwest Harbor

Click a neighborhood to see it on the map.

🍽️ Where to Eat in Southwest Harbor

• Beal's Lobster Pier — seafood
• Coda — international
• Little Notch Cafe & Bakery — pasta (café)
• Milagro Coffee and Espresso (café)
• Quietside Cafe — ice cream
• Red Sky — international
• Seafood Ketch — seafood
• Sips Cafe
• The Upper Deck at the Marina — seafood
• Thurston's Lobster Pound — seafood

Local spots mapped by the OpenStreetMap community.

🎡 Fun Things to Do

• Seal Cove Auto Museum · Museum
• Wendell Gilley Museum · Museum

Attractions mapped by the OpenStreetMap community.

🏞️ Parks & Outdoors in Southwest Harbor

• Acadia National Park · Nature reserve reviews ★
• Alan E. Hutchinson Wildlife Management Area · Nature reserve reviews ★
• Back Cove Preserve · Nature reserve reviews ★
• Bass Harbor Light Station reviews ★
• Black Island Preserve · Nature reserve reviews ★
• Buckle Island Harbor Preserve · Nature reserve reviews ★
• Charlotte Rhoades Park reviews ★
• Chris's Pond Park reviews ★
• Fine Sand Beach reviews ★
• Fire Ponds reviews ★
• Frenchboro Preserve · Nature reserve reviews ★
• Great Gott Preserve · Nature reserve reviews ★

Parks mapped by the OpenStreetMap community · "reviews" opens each park's live Google reviews.

🏫 Schools in Southwest Harbor

• Frenchboro Elementary School
• Pemetic Elementary School
• Swans Island Elementary School
• Tremont Consolidated School

Public schools, U.S. Dept. of Education (NCES) 2023–24 directory.

⚡ Quick Facts

🗺️ Map of Southwest Harbor

🏘️ Nearby Communities