Winter Harbor, ME

Winter Harbor is a town on the Schoodic Peninsula in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 461 at the 2020 census. The town is located just outside the Schoodic Peninsula portion of Acadia National Park and is due east of the town of Bar Harbor and Ellsworth. Winter Harbor was once the location of a US Naval Station, NSGA-WH, which closed in the mid-2000s, and is now home to the Schoodic Institute’s Education and Research Center. The Schoodic Point District of Acadia National Park is adjacent to the town, and has played an important role in the community’s economic and social development. The Municipality includes the village proper of Winter Harbor, the summer colony of Grindstone Neck, and the hamlets of Gerrishville and Summer Harbor. An iconic, Downeast fishing village, Winter Harbor is home to an active, multigenerational fishing fleet, and is the namesake of the Winter Harbor model boat. In addition, the community is or was a summer residence of several notable figures, such as Frederick Hauck, Fitzgerald Eugene Dixon, among others. Winter Harbor hosts the annual Winter Harbor Lobster Festival each August, which celebrates the community’s history, culture, and economic activity. The festival draws crowds from across the Peninsula and wider Downeast Acadia Region, and includes activities, markets, boat races, a parade, and other events.