Abel's Marina & Boatyard

Nice stay. Took dinghy and dog in to shore early morning. We walked little less than a mile to trailhead. Hiked the slide to Sargent mnt and Gilmore peak. Nice loop trail. We got back to the mooring 1130 ish. Marina was fine about us being a little late. There was a huge crowd for the restaurant the night before so, we ate on board. Plan to return and hike again. Views were spectacular!

staff was very helpful and the restaurant was excellent

Great mooring. Helpful marina staff.

We arrived at Abel’s on a Saturday afternoon. No one answered our radio or phone call. The restaurant was closed. The bathroom was a porta potty no services at all. The next day we triedto get transportation to town and again there was no help as described in the cruise guide. We walked a mile and a half to the free shuttle. We had a nice day in town and shuttled back. we discovered that Maine boaters are very inconsiderate. Everyone flew through the mooring field rocking our boats constantly.

We stayed at Abel's marina & boatyard for 9 days - 7/30 - 8/8. The view you get to look out your window every morning is breathtakingly beautiful overlooking Somes Sound. The GM, Christian, was very good at communicating with us. We had a small issue with getting water to refill our tank and he responded quickly and got it resolved. Although they are very upfront that they don't have all the amenities of a marina (no showers) etc. Everything else was great. It is very well protected and I probably had the best sleep there than I've had in weeks at other places! Although it's a bit 'remote', if you have bikes as we did - it was easy enough to get the free Island Explorer bus to Bar Harbor (pick up at the Mt. Desert High School) and get around all the Acadia Park trails and we used it most days. We were able to get an Uber several times into Bar harbor but sometimes you have to wait awhile as they are few and far between but there are taxis available. It was nice to have the restaurant on site - we ate there twice for lunch and dinner. Lobster and burgers were both great. Highly recommend this spot if you need a dock/mooring for Bar harbor/Acadia. Thank you Christian!

Abel's did their best for us start to finish! Our mooring reservation request was handled promptly on Dockwa. Additionally Abel's found I had credit from a reservation I had canceled several months earlier and credited me the full amount of that cancelled reservation. Abel's was also a great help in advising us how best to get to other parts of Mt Desert Isle by land. They alerted us that the restaurant at the marina was closed on Saturday only so we could make other plans in advance. When we arrived, it was dense fog. We called the marina. Although no one was actually at the marina, the phone was answered immediately and that staff member guided us by phone through the mooring field to our mooring. The mooring itself was excellent and robust. Abel's could not be more helpful. I highly recommend them.

Excellent people at this marina and boat yard. Easy to work with and very helpful. Yes, it’s a little farther to go past the popular harbors at the south end of Somes Sound, but I believe the effort is worth the extra time. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to stay here again.

Mooring # 1 needs service . Covered in mature mussels

Great stay at Ws as always. Moorings are in good shape with pick up sticks. Awesome lobsters at Abel’s restaurant.

Not a complaint, just a heads up if you are considering taking a mooring here and have a dog. It might be a long ride in the dinghy to shore. The restaurant on the property is good. Visited again in July 2026 for two nights. It is typically a very quiet spot. Not a complaint, just understand that the only real convenience is the restaurant next door. There is no commercial area nearby nor reasonable transportation . ASK

Beautiful area Very helpful marina crew We spent two nights there and had a wonderful time

A short walk to some beautiful hiking and of course a great restaurant for lunch or dinner.

I rent a seasonal mooring here every year. It is the easiest dock to get in and out of in the region. I live in Southwest Harbor but choose to moor at Abel's for the convenience factor.

best mooring ground tackle I have seen yet, beautiful surroundings. The management is very nice and to the point...which I find refreshing, no long banter. I would consider having my boat worked on here, they seem very efficient . highly rated restaurant next door, people waiting in line to get in, so the food must be excellent.

Most excellent. Great staff and timely response

Beautiful location in Somes Sound. Quiet anchorage, friendly folks at Abel’s, and popular restaurant on site. Nice!

We spent a very pleasant night on mooring number 6 earlier this week. Great location, everyone responsive and helpful. We were forewarned to get in line at 4:30 if you want to get a seat at Abel's Lobster when it opens at 5:00. Great advice and a very nice meal. We also got a pump out early the next day from the pump out boat which was fast, efficient, and clean. Many thanks to everyone at Abel's Boatyard.

They made it relatively easy to find our mooring by texting us a mooring map. The mooring was clean and seemed in good condition. The dock was in good shape and there was adequate room for our dinghy even at a high traffic time. However if you want to eat at the popular Abel’s Lobster shack get in line 1/2 hour before opening time. We gather 15 minutes after opening time and had an hour’s wait!! Food delicious though.

Wonderful mooring. Outstanding dockside restaurant.

Two wonderful days at Abel’s, great base to explore the park. Also very helpful resolving an electronics issue before we left. We’ll be back!

Excellent staff who are full of local information. The accessibility of the pump out boat was a huge help with having extra people on board. The dinghy dock had plenty of room. Beautiful, peaceful mornings with bald eagles, osprey, loons, and seals in the harbor. Do not skip the lobster pound in the same parking lot!

Very welcoming staff if you need anything. Right off the dinghy dock, eat an exceptional meal at Abel‘s lobster pound. It’s a beautiful outdoor setting with delicious food and surprisingly excellent cocktails!

Beautiful location. Quiet anchorage. Allison was great with communication. So nice to have a wonderful restaurant right up off the dock.

Nice mooring anchorage with a great restaurant. Will be back.

Great spot , great resturant

Beautiful spot. Great restaurant.

Easy to access mooring, dafe harbor! So nice, we ate staying a second night!

Get Staff, service, reliable

Absolutely no facilities, Only one restaurant that was cool and nice place to be. Got double charged & over charged for dock fees. Dockmaster was not friendly at all and was acting like we were an inconvenience to him. He told us that unfortunately the government would not let them charge more than 5$ for a pump out because they were subsidized (implying he wanted cash on top) Big thumbs down for that place & wont be returning ever.

Such a beautiful spot! Thank you

Small boat yard. Well priced for simply just being on a ball and having land access. Staff was really nice and helpful. Restaurant on site was wonderful. Island Explorer Shuttle will stop at the entrance if you wave them down on their way by. Free to get you almost anywhere on the island. We'll be back!

Basis large mooring. Good location to access park. No extras. Good restaurant. Price is right.

Staff was great, dinghy dock was great, access to bus was great, mooring was great. But… we left our boat here for two weeks and when we returned it was covered in Cormorant guano.

Very helpful crew. Beautiful scenery, great sunsets, superb restaurant. Quiet harbor, no swells or early a.m. fishing fleet. On the bus line to NEH, Bar Harbor, Jordan Pond.

The staff were wonderful, polite and helpful. Mooring was easy to pick up and dinghy dock was very convenient. The restaurant right there had one of the best lobsters we’ve had in MDI. Great place, we’ll go back for sure.

Excellent overnight. Couldn't have been better. We swam in the warm water, had a nice meal at the lobster restaurant and went for a walk across the street. We will go back next year.

Exceptionally well-maintained moorings, Pleasant and helpful staff, will return in the future!

Great mooring and thanks to Nick for his help.

Comfortable mooring, great restaurant

Awesome staff! Thank

Great views both from mooring and outdoor dining

Super friendly and accommodating. Restaurant is a treat. Right on Acadia bus route.

Excellent place to get a mooring. The food at the restaurant was the best.

Great scenery, easy to find moorings. The best lobster! Bar none.

Mooring ball pendant was really short, had to rig a line to loop through it. Went into dock, crowded dinghy dock, no restrooms (except at restaurant), no ice, no grocery- they need to update DockWa listing

Not sure if the problems were with Abel’s or Dockwa, but our reservation confirmed by Dockwa was apparently never received by Abel’s. Also not sure if they were paid via Dockwa. We picked up a mooring we liked, which was fine after the fact. No dock staff on site and no way to leave a phone message. We were completely out of water, but didn’t see an opening to go in to fill up due to a lot of wind and/or crowded dock space. We did have a great meal at the restaurant. Also, there was always plenty of space at the dinghy dock.