Looking for the best oysters in Bar Harbor?
Start with Bar Harbor Blondes. These cold-water oysters grown by Bar Harbor Oyster Company in the Mt. Desert Narrows are the best we have had near Acadia National Park. You can find them at restaurants around MDI, take a farm tour by kayak, or have them delivered nationwide.
Joanna Fogg, aquaculturist, sailor, Mainer, and according to her daughter, a true mermaid. Back in 2015, Joanna and her husband, Jesse, applied for and received a standard aquaculture lease to begin Bar Harbor Oyster Company.
Oysters can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day, which acts as a natural cleaner, allowing sea life to grow and regrow. This is super important worldwide, but especially in the Gulf of Maine, which is one of the fastest warming bodies of water on our planet.
What are Bar Harbor Blondes?
What started as a single cooler of seed has grown into a thriving oyster operationm check the stats:
✅ 600 million oyster seeds
✅ 500,000 oysters
✅ 22 acres of ocean lease in Thomas Bay, just north of MDI
Their oysters, Bar Harbor Blondes, spend three years growing on their 22 acre site in Thomas Bay just north of MDI.
Straight from the sea farmer:
Bar Harbor Blondes are grown on 22 acres of cold, clean water in the Mt. Desert Narrows, where the tide rolls between Mount Desert Island and the mainland. That is what gives these oysters their crips brine, deep cups, and rich, fresh flavor.
Where to Eat Bar Harbor Oysters around Acadia National Park
-->Other places around MDI, or look out for their van which makes special deliveries*
Can You Get Bar Harbor Oysters Delivered Nationwide?
Yes! We tested it and shipped some to North Carolina. What is amazing is though you are many miles from Bar Harbor you can literally smell and taste Maine as you eat these delicious oysters wherever you are in the US.
Bar Harbor Blondes are available for overnight nationwide delivery via:
📦 Goldbelly Shipped Bar Harbor Blondes (through Beal’s Lobster Pier)
How To Shuck an Oyster:
- 🗡️ Get a good oyster knife
- 🦪 Hold oyster cup side down on a flat surface
- 🔑 Find hinge and insert schucking tool
- 🔓 Pry open, take the top shell completely off, slip knife under oyster
- 🥃 Shoot It
Optional: Splash some lemon and cocktail sauce on your oyster.
Get instructions straight from Joanna:
An Ecotourism Adventure Near Acadia National Park
🛶 Paddle through the Mt. Desert Narrows
🌊 Learn about cold-water aquaculture from the source
🦪 Shuck and shoot oysters at sunset with the team
If it isn't enough to raise Bar Harbor's best oysters, Joanna and her team also offer farm tours. You get in a kayak, tour around the oyster farm and learn a bit about aquaculture and then, of course, shoot some oysters at sunset.
Tours run late June through mid September and you can book them through Maine State Kayak's website.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DMXt4C3scfo/
How to get there from here.
Map
Well, you can drive it, obviously. It is as straight a shot as a Maine coastal drive can be, which means you can make it from Wild Rose Maine to Bar Harbor Oyster in just under an hour.
The adventurous way to get there...
How to get from Schoodic to Bar Harbor Oyster:
- 🚶 walk from Wild Rose Maine to the Pickled Wrinkle (15 minutes)
- 🚌 catch the Island Explorer E to Winter Harbor (15 minutes)
- ⛴️ Take the ferry from Winter Harbor to Bar Harbor (~40 minute ride)
- 🚶♀️ Walk to Bar Harbor Village Green from the ferry landing (~5 minutes)
- 🚌 Get on the Island Explorer and ride it to Hadley Point (30 minutes)
- 🦪 Walk down to Bar Harbor Oyster HQ (~20 minutes)
Want a full no car route from Schoodic to Bar Harbor? Take the Bar Harbor Ferry.
FAQ
What are Bar Harbor Blondes?
Cold-water oysters grown by Bar Harbor Oyster Company in the Mt. Desert Narrows. Known for their briny flavor and deep cups, they taste and smell like Maine.
Where can I eat them?
At restaurants across Mount Desert Island, including Beal’s Lobster Pier and Bar Harbor Oyster HQ.
Can I get Bar Harbor Blonde Oysters shipped to me?
Yes. Order online via Goldbelly for nationwide overnight delivery.
Links
Jacqueline Clarke
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