3 Best Shopping in Northeast Harbor, Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island

Some 4,000 pieces of statement-making jewelry from artisans worldwide are displayed in this spacious store. Most pieces cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, but there are $10 items, and perhaps a $60,000 diamond necklace—you can always just look. Maine-made works include owner Sam Shaw’s unique 18kt gold bracelets, rings, and necklaces created with birch twigs. On nice summer days, glass wall panels open to a small “view garden” out back. Also come summer, the walls serve as an art gallery, with new shows and a Thursday evening opening every two weeks.

Fine china, and lots of it, is front and center at this upscale small department store in downtown Northeast Harbor. Many patterns are formal, yet one big seller is a line of dishes embellished with a red lobster or a blue octopus. Among the other impeccably arrayed offerings: kitchen items, toys, home decor, and children’s clothing. A sister store with uber-nice women’s apparel is down the street.

Filling two stories and a lower level, this one-of-a-kind and even out-of-this-world shop is chock full of books (for adults and kids), toys (many educational), and other items (of the gift variety), all relating to science and nature. But there’s much more in this store, located in an old-fashioned commercial strip just up from Seal Harbor beach. Part museum, each room and space is fantastically painted and designed around a theme, like the moon, earth, or dinosaurs. Items for sale are grouped accordingly, as are exhibits, many of them interactive. Students from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor were involved in creating the store.