Isle au Haut (/ˈaɪ.lə.hoʊ/) is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States, on an island of the same name in Penobscot Bay.

[2] Home to portions of Acadia National Park, Isle au Haut is accessible by ferry from Stonington.

It was territory of the Penobscot Abenaki Indians when, in 1604, French explorer Samuel de Champlain named it Isle au Haut, meaning High Island.

John Smith, charting the coast in 1614, noted that it was the highest island in Penobscot Bay.

[3] In 1792, Henry Barter was granted land on the island, which by 1800 had a population of about 50 English and Scottish settlers.

In 1808, the island was the scene of a murder when smugglers shot and killed a federal customs officer.

The 1880s brought an influx of "rusticators," seasonal inhabitants, often from Boston and other big cities, who built vacation cottages at a private club at Point Lookout.

Some fishermen left when motors replaced sails to power boats, allowing them to operate more conveniently from the mainland.

[7] Today, lobster fishing remains the main industry, while the portions of Acadia National Park which cover about 60% of the island attract a few tourists.

[8] The terrain consists of low hills covered by temperate coniferous forests; the coastline is mainly granite boulders, with a few rocky beaches and salt marshes.

Long Pond, a small freshwater lake, stretches down the eastern side of the island; being warmer and more sheltered than the surrounding ocean, it is used for recreation and one may occasionally see a float plane, although no scheduled service is available.