Maine's spectacular coastline spans 3,478 miles along the Atlantic Ocean, longer than the entire coastline of the state of California. Portland offers convenient access to a number of public beaches. For beachgoers looking for a more undeveloped beachfront experience, Crescent Beach State Park extends for more than a mile along Cape Elizabeth, while Popham Beach State Park serves as a prime spot for swimming, surfing, and shell collecting.
1. Willard Beach
Willard Beach is a popular family-friendly destination in the South Portland neighborhood of the same name, located near the campus of Southern Maine Community College. At the turn of the 20th century, the beach was the site of the spectacular Willard Beach Casino, which was home to a bowling alley, dance hall, and orchestrian prior to its 1898 destruction by fire. Today, the four-acre beach is a popular spot for swimming and recreational boating, offering a spacious sand and pebble shoreline and beautiful views of Casco Bay landmarks such as Spring Point Ledge Light, Fort Gorges, and Cushing Island. A seasonal bath house offers restrooms, showers, and a snack bar, with dogs permitted on the beach during the morning and evening hours in the summer. Annual special events at the beach include the WillardFest neighborhood festival.
2. Crescent Beach State Park
Crescent Beach State Park is a Maine state park along beautiful Cape Elizabeth, located approximately eight miles south of Portland's city center. The park, which was established in 1966, is home to a freshwater creek, grassy dunes, and rocky ledges that can be explored on foot and a plethora of hiking trails for visitors to enjoy. Its namesake beach stretches for a mile, providing unparalleled views of the offshore Richmond Island and offering numerous areas for swimming, sunbathing, and water sports. Areas for fishing and boating are also available, along with amenities such as day-use picnic sites. Visitors should note that no cars are allowed in the park during the winter months, though parkgoers entering on foot can enjoy opportunities for winter hiking and cross-country skiing.
109 Bowery Beach Rd, Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107, Phone: 207-799-5871
3. Scarborough Beach State Park
Scarborough Beach State Park is a popular Portland-area beach known for its strong rip currents and unusually warm water conditions, which can reach as high as 70 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August. The beach is a popular spot for families with older children, offering opportunities for beachgoers of all ages to enjoy swimming and boogie boarding. Lifeguards patrol the beach during the summer months, with marked lifeguard areas sectioned off for swimming due to water conditions. Visitors should stay within marked areas at all times, as rip currents can produce dangerous conditions elsewhere on the beach. Limited parking is available on site, restricted to the first 400 cars. Unfortunately, Maine state park passes are not accepted to cover the beach's admission fee.
Scarborough Beach State Park, 418 Black Point Rd, Scarborough, ME 04074, Phone: 207-883-2416
4. Romantic Beaches Near Portland, ME: Ferry Beach
Ferry Beach is a lovely riverfront Beach along Maine's Scarborough River Channel, offering calm tide conditions that make it an excellent swimming spot choice for families with young children. The beach serves as a nesting site for hermit crabs, protected from strong Atlantic Ocean waves by a jetty separating it from the open ocean. Amenities at the beach include restrooms and showers with changing tables, though visitors should note that no concession stands are offered and no lifeguards are present on duty. The beach's 100-acre surrounding park is home to a variety of hiking trails and a beautiful grove of tupelo trees, which serves as a vantage point providing striking views of the surrounding waterfront area. Dogs are permitted on the beach between November and March.
Saco, ME 04072
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5. Best Beaches Near Portland, Maine: Pine Point Beach
Pine Point Beach is a spacious four-mile beach on Maine's Saco Bay, serving as a popular Portland-area spot for fishers and surfers to hone their skills. As no boating is permitted at the beach, only cast fishing is allowed, but shoreline anglers can still find great opportunities to catch yellow perch, pickerel, and smallmouth bass. Due to wave conditions, all surfers must be tethered to their boards with surf leashes extending in length between seven and 10 feet. Amenities at the beach include restrooms, showers, and a snack stand, though visitors should note that no lifeguards are staffed on duty. Bicycles, kayaks, and other beachfront craft are available for rental on the road leading up to the beach, which is also home to a number of full-service restaurant options, including delicious seafood restaurants.
Scarborough, ME 04074
6. Old Orchard Beach Near Portland, Maine
Old Orchard Beach is a lovely York County town that is known across the country as one of Maine's top beach resort areas, home to a wide variety of entertainment options sure to please visitors of all ages. The beach is famed for its historic Palace Playland amusement park, the only remaining 20th-century-era seaside amusement park in New England, which offers attractions such as an oceanfront LED-lit Ferris wheel. Its shoreline is centered around the beautiful 500-foot Pier at Old Orchard Beach, which juts into the town's Atlantic coastline and is home to a plethora of clam shacks, arcades, souvenir shops, event spaces, and a beachfront nightclub. Public restrooms are available for a 50 cent fee, with lifeguards staffed on duty at peak times during the summer months.
7. Beaches Near Portland, Maine: Popham Beach State Park
Popham Beach State Park is situated on a 529-acre piece of land surrounded on either side by the deltas of the Morse and Kennebec Rivers, known as a popular spot for surfers and swimmers throughout the summer months. Shell collectors from around New England also flock to the park's beaches for an opportunity to collect unique shells created from the coastline's tides. Dogs are allowed on several portions of the beach year-round, giving beachgoers a chance to frolic on the sand with their four-legged friends. Walking trails within the park take visitors to the remains of nearby Forts Popham and Baldwin, as well as remnants of the colonial-era Popham Colony. At low tide, visitors can walk across exposed sandbars to nearby Fox and Wood Islands. Park amenities include restrooms, showers, and day-use picnic sites, with lifeguards staffed on duty at the beach during the summer months.
10 Perkins Farm Ln, Phippsburg, ME 04562, Phone: 207-389-1335
8. Higgins Beach Near Portland, Maine
Stop by the quaint Higgins Beach to experience the small-town charm that makes this such a beloved destination amongst families. Located right outside Portland off Route 77, this quiet, family-oriented town is home to an impressive stretch of soft, sandy shores. The water is calm throughout most of the year, allowing for activities like swimming, striped bass fishing, and kayaking. The surf may rise during certain seasons, however, also making Higgins Beach a spot for catching waves. Behind the beach, visitors can admire the beautiful lineup of classic New England cottages, giving one the feel of being in a real-life novel. It’s a picture-perfect destination where families may quietly enjoy the scenery and fresh, salty air.
Higgins Beach, Scarborough, Maine 04074
9. East End Beach Near Portland, Maine
Located at the bottom of Eastern Promenade’s hill, visitors can find the city’s only public beach—East End Beach. While beachgoers can enjoy the sand-and-pebble shoreline or go for a dip in calm Atlantic waters, the scenery is arguably one of the best features this beach has to offer. It’s hard not to be overcome by peace and wonder with the breathtaking, panoramic views of Casco Bay, making this an enjoyable stop for even non-swimming visitors. With a walk along the shore or the Eastern Promenade Trail, onlookers can catch undisrupted views of various islands alongside sailboats gliding in and out of the harbor. The occasional seal and other wildlife may also be spotted along the picturesque shore.
East End Beach, Portland, Maine 04101
What are the 10 Best Beaches Near Portland, Maine?
The 10 Best Beaches Near Portland, Maine according to local experts are:
- Willard Beach
- Crescent Beach State Park
- Scarborough Beach State Park
- Romantic Beaches Near Portland, ME: Ferry Beach
- Best Beaches Near Portland, Maine: Pine Point Beach
- Old Orchard Beach Near Portland, Maine
- Beaches Near Portland, Maine: Popham Beach State Park
- Higgins Beach Near Portland, Maine
- East End Beach Near Portland, Maine
More Ideas: Mount Desert Island
Located in Hancock County, Maine, Mount Desert Island is the largest island along the Maine coastline and the sixth-largest contiguous island in the United States, second on the American East Coast only to New York’s Long Island.
History
The land that now encompasses Mount Desert Island was formed approximately 550 million years ago as the result of seafloor mud deposits that created the Ellsworth Schist Formation, which was thrust upward above the ocean during the Ordovician Period collision of the Acadian orogeny. During the Pleistocene epoch, the recession of the Laurentide Ice Sheet caused a number of glacially-carved moraines, valleys, and other natural features. Human occupation of the island dates back at least 6,000 years ago, with Wabanaki indigenous people referring to the island as Pemetic, or “the sloping land,” and using its terrain for hunting, fishing, and gathering purposes. In 1604, the island was discovered by French navigator Samuel de Champlain, who named it L'île des Monts Déserts, or “Island of Lonely Mountains.”
Saint Sauveur Mission, the first French mission in America, was established in 1613 by French Jesuits on Fernald Point near the entrance to Somes Sound. Two months after its establishment, the mission was burned to the ground by Colony of Virginia Captain Samuel Argall. Following the raid, the island became a point of boundary contention between French and British colonies until 1759, when British troops took control of the Acadia region. During the 19th century, the island saw a boom in farming and lumbering industry work and became a popular hub for artists with the opening of the Hudson River School. In the late 19th century, island tourism increased as the rusticator movement made the Maine coastline a popular tourist destination for Gilded Age New Englanders, though many tourist attractions were destroyed as part of a 1947 island-wide fire. In 1919, Lafayette National Park, which was renamed Acadia National Park in 1929, was established to preserve much of the island’s land as a natural refuge. In 1969, the College of the Atlantic was established as the island’s first and only institute of higher education.
Attractions
Today, Mount Desert Island is recognized as the second-largest island on the American East Coast, second only to New York’s Long Island. The island has a year-round population of more than 10,000 and welcomes at least 2.5 million annual tourists to its attractions. It is home to four main town areas, including Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, and Tremont, which all offer a variety of tourist attractions and overnight accommodations.
Bar Harbor, which was first settled in 1763 and originally named Eden, is home to a population of more than 5,000 today and has served as a popular tourist destination since the late 19th century. The town is the home of the largest portion of Acadia National Park, which spans more than 47,000 acres of land throughout the Schoodic Peninsula and Isle au Haut region. The park is operated year-round and showcases a visitor center with historical exhibits, a 50-mile carriage trail network, 158 miles of hiking trails, and three overnight campsites. An official park restaurant, the Jordan Pond House Restaurant, is operated mid-May through late October and serves lunch, dinner, and tea fare.
Mount Desert, which was incorporated in 1789 and is home to a population of more than 2,000, spans the villages of Hall Quarry, Northeast Harbor, Otter Creek, Pretty Marsh, Seal Harbor, and Somesville. A United States Coast Guard facility is maintained in Southwest Harbor, which is also home to the headquarters of Hinckley Yachts and Ellis Boat Company. The town of Tremont, located on the island’s southwestern side, is also referred to as “the backside” and is home to Bass Harbor, which serves as the terminus for several island ferry lines.
A wide variety of natural activities are offered throughout the area, including a two-mile hiking trail on Bar Island, an island attached to mainland Bar Harbor via a sandbar land bridge exposed during low tide conditions. Mountain climbing opportunities are offered around nearby Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak on the Eastern seaboard. More than 20 cruise ships service the town’s harbor throughout the summer and fall seasons, offering a variety of excursion and nature-viewing cruise opportunities throughout the Maine coastal region. Area attractions include the George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History, the Mount Desert Oceanarium, and the Abbe Museum, which celebrates the indigenous cultures of the Wabanaki Confederacy. A variety of dining and shopping options are also offered within Bar Harbor’s historic downtown district, and a number of hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, and campground accommodations are offered throughout the island.
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More Ideas: Peaks Island
Located within Casco Bay off the eastern coast of the United States, Peaks Island is incorporated as part of the city of Portland and is best known for its historic designation as “Maine’s Coney Island,” though the island’s amusement attractions are no longer standing.
History
Peaks Island has been known by several names throughout its recorded history, including Pond, Michael’s, Munjoy’s, and Palmer’s Island. Following the island’s resettlement in 1716, the island began to be referred to by its modern name of Peaks Island, assumed to refer to Captain Joseph Peake. As the largest island within Casco Bay, the island measures 1 ½-miles long and ¼-mile wide. For much of its history, the island’s economy was dominated by farming and fishing, but during the late 19th century, the island gained national notoriety as a popular summer tourist destination for Gilded Age rusticators from New York City and New England. During this period, the island was home to several prominent theaters and amusement attractions, including the Greenwood Gardens Amusement Park, which offered an open-air roller rink, a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a dance hall and bandstand, a beerhaus, an observation tower, a shooting gallery, a bowling alley, and the Greenwood Garden Playhouse, which served as a popular touring site for theatrical productions aiming to head to Broadway. The success of Greenwood Gardens throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries earned the island the nickname “the Coney Island of Maine.” Other prominent structures on the island included the Gem Theater, the Pavilion, and the Union House Hotel.
Tourism to the island began to decline in the 1920s, and a series of fires on the island throughout the early 20th century resulted in the destruction of a number of attractions, including a 1936 fire that destroyed 17 structures, including the Union House Hotel. Only the Avenue House Hotel and several structures from the Greenwood Gardens complex remain standing on the island today. During World War II, the island was home to several military structures, including Battery Steele, which held two 16-inch guns. Throughout the 20th century, the island regained its historic quaint atmosphere and became a popular summer destination for artists and retirees.
Attractions
Today, Peaks Island is the most populous island within the Casco Bay and is located approximately three miles from downtown Portland, Maine. Though the island has attempted to secede as an independent town, all efforts have failed and the island remains incorporated as part of the city of Portland. The island’s year-round population hovers just under 1,000, though summer tourism substantially increases population numbers. In recent years, the island has attempted to distance itself from its Gilded Age amusement heritage and regain a small-town, family-friendly atmosphere.
Peaks Island is accessible from the mainland via the Casco Bay Lines passenger transit service, which transports more than one million annual travelers to eight islands within Casco Bay and provides mail service and education transportation for island residents. The service, which began year-round transit in 1878 as the Casco Bay Steamboat Company, was rebranded as Casco Bay Lines in 1919 and taken over by the nonprofit Casco Bay Island Transit District corporation in 1981. Daily ferry service is provided from Portland and nearby Bailey, Chebeague, Great and Little Diamond, Long, and Cliff Islands and Diamond Cove. A variety of scenic tours and special excursion cruises are also offered, including music cruises featuring local musicians and special event cruises in correlation with major holidays.
All Casco Bay Lines ferries dock at the island’s Forest City Landing, which has been the island’s docking site since the 1880s. Most island travel is accomplished on foot or by bicycle, with golf cart rentals available from Island Tours or Mike’s Carts during the tourist season. Visitors wishing to explore the island via golf cart are advised to book in advance, as rentals book early during the tourist season. Bicycles and kayaks may also be rented at Brad and Wyatt’s Bike Shop.
Island attractions include the Fifth Maine Museum, which honors the Fifth Maine Regiment of the American Civil War, the Eighth Maine Regiment Memorial, which preserves a living history museum lodge, and the Umbrella Cover Museum. Natural attractions include the Backshore, Sandy Beach, Centennial Beach, and Cairn Beach. The island’s business district is located along Island Avenue, offering a variety of shops and galleries, including Take a Peak, the Richard Boyd Art Gallery, Peaks Beads, and Peg’s Pots, Etc. Restaurants on the island include the Cockeyed Gull, and the restaurant of the Inn on Peaks. Pastries such as cinnamon buns are offered at the Peaks Cafe, while freshly-roasted coffee is served at Peaks Island Coffee Roasters. The island is also noted for its Down Front ice cream parlor, which serves 21 flavors of premium ice cream and soft serve. Overnight accommodations are available at the Inn on Peaks, the Eighth Maine Oceanfront Lodge, and through weekly private cottage rentals. Annual special events include the Peaks Island Music Association’s summer concert series and holiday concert and the annual PeaksFest community festival, held in June.
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More Ideas: Hermit Island
Located in Small Point, Maine, Hermit Island is the site of a popular family-friendly seasonal campground, offering rustic campground sites, eight private beaches, hiking and boating experiences, and a snack bar and camp store.
History
Hermit Island’s name was coined by Small Point resident Sumner Sewall, who visited the island as a child and encountered an isolated cabin belonging to an old man who lived a hermit lifestyle. Following a career as an airline executive and a term as the state’s governor from 1941-1945, Sewall returned to the Small Point region. In 1948, he and his two sons purchased the island’s land for the purposes of starting a lobster trapping and selling business. As a result of falling revenue and increasing taxes, Sewall laid out 14 campground sites along the island’s shore and began a campsite rental business in 1952. Throughout the late 20th century, the campsite grew to become one of the largest campgrounds in the region.
Attractions and Campsites
Today, Hermit Island Campground offers 271 campsites in a historic, family-friendly campground setting. The campground is open for reservations on Memorial Day through Columbus Day, with limited operations between Memorial Day and mid-June and between Labor Day and Columbus Day. It is accessible via a sand causeway from mainland Small Point and remains rustic in nature, offering no electricity or running water at campsites. Campsites accommodate tents, trucks, and pop-up trailers up to 25 feet in size. All campsites offer picnic tables, fire pits, and parking for one car, with free bathrooms and hot showers offered at a central site.
Visitor check-in is handled at the campground’s Kelp Shed, which also serves as an information desk and posts notices about guided nature walks offered throughout the season. A sand volleyball court, outdoor ping-pong tables, a pool table, and video games are offered at the Shed for visitor entertainment. Behind the Shed, a Snack Bar offers picnic table and deck seating and serves standard American fare such as hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Ice cream from local chain Gifford’s is also available. A Camp Store sells groceries and sundries, including clams and lobsters for campfire cooking, and a Gift Shop sells souvenirs such as t-shirts, jewelry, and books. Two docking facilities are offered for visitors with boats under 20 feet long, with reservations required for extended boat docking.
Swimming and bathing opportunities are offered at a variety of sites throughout the island, including the Bath Tub. Eight white sand beaches are located throughout the island, with most accessible only to Hermit Island Campground campers. Head Beach, which is located near the campground’s entrance, is the only public-access beach on the island, offering ample visitor parking and public restroom facilities. Sand Dune and West Dune Beaches are located within the campground facility and are directly accessible via footpath from several campsites. Nearby, Lagoon Beach offers sunset-viewing opportunities over the Sunset Lagoon region of the island, and Spring Beach offers a hidden getaway along the shores of a forested area. The unmarked Bounty Cove Beach serves as a popular sunbathing spot, while Sailboat Beach offers tide pooling experiences and Sand Dollar Beach offers opportunities to collect sand dollars that have washed ashore. Most beaches are only accessible via hiking trail, and visitors are advised to exercise caution due to terrain and water conditions.
A number of hiking trails are offered on the island, including the Red and Blue Trails, which travel along the island’s coastline and provide ocean views. The Orange Trail travels along the island’s forested interior and provides access to several of the island’s beaches. Spring Beach Trail follows the path of an old wagon route, while the three-trail White Trail system leads to the island’s northern coast. Wildlife watching opportunities are provided along most trails, including opportunities to see bird and deer species. Biking opportunities are also offered for island visitors, though bikes are not allowed on hiking trails.
Kayak and canoe rentals are offered by Seaspray Kayaks, located within Sand Dune Beach. Fishing is allowed along the island’s waters, and guided fishing trips are offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Guided tours by the island’s staff biologist are offered periodically, including tide pooling, wildlife watching, and hiking trips. A variety of narrated boating excursions are also offered aboard the island’s official Yankee vessel, including nature excursions and sunset tours. Visitors wishing to register for Yankee tours during their stay should book tour slots early, as tours fill up quickly during the campground’s peak season. The full seasonal Yankee tour schedule can be found on the campground’s website.
