Last Updated on April 14, 2026 by Adrienne
As the birthplace of our country, New England has always seemed like the most iconic place to celebrate Fourth of July to me, and what better spot than Bar Harbor in beautiful downeast Maine? Bar Harbor goes all out for the Fourth, and was named by the Today Show as the #1 town in the country to celebrate this holiday. I haven’t spent the Fourth in Bar Harbor since I was a young child, so I was excited to return this year (with my own kiddo!) and check out everything the town has to offer.
Bar Harbor puts on a very full slate of events for the Fourth of July. The day kicks off bright and early with a pancake breakfast at the athletic field hosted by the Mount Desert Island Rotary Club. The event is packed, but I was impressed with how efficiently they got people through the line and pancakes were delicious!
The pancake breakfast is followed by the town Fourth of July parade at 10 am, which is great for little kids (they’re super generous with the candy!). This being Maine, there were lobster boats and inflatable lobsters along with the firetrucks and American flags.
After the parade, we headed back to the athletic fields for the second Rotary meal of the day, a seafood festival with lobster and crab rolls alongside more traditional American fare like hamburgers and hot dogs. The lobster roll was great.
The day concluded with live music on the pier, followed by (of course!) fireworks. Most restaurants in Bar Harbor are open on the Fourth of July but lines are crazy in the evening, so you may want to pack your own food or allow lots of time to eat. Before the fireworks show we were treated to a lovely sunset over the Porcupine Islands.
There are lots of spots on Mount Desert Island from which you can see the fireworks (and Bar Harbor isn’t the only town with fireworks; Southwest Harbor also has a show) but I loved sitting right in Agamont Park, only a couple hundred feet from where the fireworks are shot off on the end of the town pier. The fireworks show was incredible and it felt like they were coming right at us.
As of 2024, parking in Bar Harbor is free on the Fourth of July, and visitors can park in spaces that are normally permit-required. This helps alleviate the congestion somewhat, although crowds and some difficulty parking are to be expected. (It is, after all, a town with a year-round population of 5,000 welcoming an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 visitors on a single day!)
If you’re looking for a fun and festive spot to celebrate the Fourth of July, Bar Harbor, Maine is the perfect spot. And as an added bonus, the weather in early July is normally lovely, just as the rest of the US is getting uncomfortably hot and humid.
