The Best Beaches in Maine

Old Orchard Beach

Maine’s classic seven-mile honky-tonk beach with a pier and the Palace Playland amusement park — wide, flat sand backed by paid lots and meters that fill fast on summer days.

Main Beach

A three-mile sandbar between the ocean and the Ogunquit River, with warmer river-side water for kids — the Main Beach lot is among the priciest in the state and sells out by mid-morning.

Wells

A long, gently sloping family beach with a jetty at the harbor end and quieter sand than its Ogunquit and OOB neighbors — paid town lots and meters that still cap out on the hottest weekends.

Higgins Beach

Scarborough’s low-key surf beach, popular with longboarders and known for the wreck of the Howard W. Middleton at low tide — parking is the catch, with one small paid lot and resident-only streets, so most surfers arrive early.

Cape Elizabeth

A mile of sheltered sand a short drive from Portland, with calm water and a snack bar — a state park that charges day-use admission and closes the gate when it hits capacity on hot afternoons.

Georgetown

Mid-coast Maine’s first state-owned saltwater beach — two sandy stretches (Mile and Half Mile) backed by dunes and ledges, with paid lots that fill on warm summer weekends.

Phippsburg

A stunning, broad expanse of sand at the mouth of the Kennebec with sandbars to Fox Island at low tide — mind the strong currents, and arrive early before the state lot fills and the gate closes.

Acadia National Park

Acadia’s rare sandy cove tucked between pink-granite cliffs on the Park Loop Road — frigid water, jaw-dropping views, and a small lot that fills very early, so come at dawn or take the Island Explorer shuttle.