Bar

**AUGUST 2024 UPDATE: The island stairs were washed away in January 2024 storms, and rebuilt on the SW side of the island. Please use these stairs and follow the new path to reach the campsite.**

This exposed, flat-topped island is connected by a cobble bar to the southern tip of Louds island from low to mid tide. The island is covered with a mix of trees and brush, including spruce, sumac and rosa rugosa. The location of the island and its open exposure results in a great deal of flotsam and jetsam on the shoreline. Please carry off whatever debris you have room for, but make sure not to disturb any fishing gear.

Landing on Bar can be difficult due to ocean swells. With no natural beach or inlet, you will need to choose your landing location based on the conditions at the time of your arrival. Often, the northeast shore is calmest, and there is a patch of sandy bottom in that area that makes for a good anchorage. Camping is permitted either on the tent platforms on the northern portion of the island in the center island forested area. One tent platform can be found in a grassy area just in from the northern point and the second rests just above the bank on the northwest side. A set of wooden steps, rebuilt in 2024, helps visitors ascend the steep, eroding southwest bank. Please use only these stairs to access the island so as not to exacerbate the extensive natural erosion occurring on the shore.

Bar Island was inhabited briefly in the early 1900s by a minister, Robert Joscelyn, who built a house there after falling in love with the area during a church construction project on Louds. His descendants own the island today. Metal stanchions from a former dock structure can still be found on the northeast shore.