Southern Maine Beach Hop: 3-Day Coastal Escape

Southern Maine’s beaches are the state’s warmest and sandiest, and you can reach all of them without the long drive to the Midcoast. This 3-day itinerary runs from Kittery to Portland, and every price, opening time and beach rule below was checked against the town or the operator on 6 September 2026.

Before you go. Two things decide whether this trip works: the calendar and the ordinances. Most of the amusements shut down within days of Labor Day, and every beach town here regulates surfing by its own bylaw with fines running from $100 to $500. Both are covered in place below. Check the Maine Healthy Beaches status table the morning you go for any water quality advisories.

Day 1: Kittery to Ogunquit, The Classic Coast

Morning: York

• Nubble Lighthouse from Sohier Park - The view everyone comes for, from the parking area on Nubble Road. The light itself sits on its own island and is not open to visitors.
• Short Sands Beach, York Beach - Walk the beach, arcades a few steps back from the sand. Surfing and surfboards are prohibited here from 1 May to 15 October under the Ellis Short Sands Park Ordinance, with no early-morning or midweek exemption. Long Sands, a mile south, splits into a Swim Zone and a Mixed Use Zone from 14 June to Labor Day, 9am to 5pm.
• Parking - York charges $4.00 per hour, enforced 15 April to 31 October, seven days a week, 8am to 10pm. Kiosks take cards. (Town of York)

Late Morning: Cape Neddick and Ogunquit

• Cliff House - Clifftop resort on Bald Head Cliff in Cape Neddick, worth the drive-by even if you are not staying.
• Marginal Way - Paved clifftop footpath running between Ogunquit Beach and Perkins Cove, with benches the whole way. The town publishes maps rather than a distance; allow an unhurried hour each way with stops. Storm repair is funded by the Marginal Way Preservation Fund.
• Perkins Cove - Finish the walk at the working harbour and its footbridge. The town lot here is $6.25 an hour with a 3-hour limit, so it suits a walk and a meal, not a beach day.

Afternoon: Ogunquit Beach

• Lunch at Barnacle Billy’s - On the water at Perkins Cove since 1961, still run by the Tower family. Open daily from 11am, closing at 8pm outside July and August. The original runs to 25 October this year; the larger Barnacle Billy’s Etc. next door runs to 1 November.
• Ogunquit Beach - 3.5 miles of sand, reached from the Main Beach lot, the Footbridge lot or North Beach. Main Beach is $9.00 an hour or $50 for the day; Footbridge and North Beach are $8.00 an hour or $45.00; Obeds is $6.25 an hour or $36.00. Lots run 8am to 9pm and paid parking is enforced 17 April to 31 October. An unpaid ticket is $75 plus fees. (Town of Ogunquit)
• Ogunquit has no surfing ban of its own, but lifeguards may designate where boards can go.

Evening

• Dinner at M.C. Perkins Cove - Two floors and a deck over the water at 111 Perkins Cove Road, open daily 11:30 to 9:00. Book ahead in season.
• Ogunquit Playhouse - No longer only a summer house: the 2026 season runs The Producers to 26 September, Small Town from 1 October to 1 November, and a December production. The Playhouse does not publish ticket prices on its site, so call the box office on 207-646-5511, 10am to 5pm.

Lodging: Ogunquit, from motels to boutique inns.

Day 2: Wells to Kennebunkport, Beaches and Dock Square

Morning: Wells

• Breakfast at Maine Diner - 2265 Post Road. Closed Wednesdays. Current early-fall hours are 7am to 2:30pm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 7am to 8pm on Saturday. The diner’s own directions page puts it “an hour and a half North of Boston and thirty minutes South of Portland”.
• Wells Beach - Paid lots at Eastern Shore, Mile Road, Drakes Island and Crescent Beach charge $5.00 an hour, 8am to 6pm, from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through the Monday of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Casino Square at the end of Mile Road and Harbor Park are free. No overnight parking. (Town of Wells)
• Wells Harbor is off limits to swimmers and surfers year round. The harbor ordinance is blunt: “Swimming or surfing is prohibited at all times within the confines of the mooring basin and in the areas between the jetties.”
• Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge - The Carson Trail is a one-mile, mostly level loop on gravel and boardwalk through salt marsh, with numbered interpretive stops and benches. Accessible to wheelchairs and strollers, no bicycles, dogs on a leash. The entrance is on Port Road, Route 9, just past the Maine Diner. Parking is limited.

Midday: Kennebunk Beaches

• Gooch’s, Middle and Mother’s beaches, plus Parsons Beach - Quieter than Ogunquit, rockier at the edges. Kennebunk beach parking permits are $30 a day, $100 a week, $200 for the season, required 15 June to 15 September. The town’s ordinance changes on 1 January 2027: the season extends back to 15 May and permits become licence-plate specific.
• Or: Goose Rocks Beach, Kennebunkport - The town calls it “a 3-mile stretch of beach”. Permits are $40 a day, $200 a week, $325 for the season, $10 for residents, and enforcement runs only from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, 8am to 5pm. Outside those dates and hours you do not need one. (Town of Kennebunkport)

Afternoon: Kennebunkport

• Lunch at The Clam Shack - On the bridge at 2 Western Ave, Kennebunk, not Kennebunkport, whatever the crowd on the Dock Square side suggests. Open daily from 11am.
• Dock Square - Shopping, galleries and the crossing point between the two towns.
• Ocean Avenue - The scenic run out past Walker’s Point and Spouting Rock. Walker’s Point is a private residence; the view is from the road.

Late Afternoon

• Colony Beach - One of Kennebunkport’s two public beaches, across from the Colony Hotel on Ocean Avenue. The 1914 hotel has its own private beach, which is a different thing.
• Or: a guided sea kayak paddle - Several outfitters run trips from the Kennebunk River. Rates vary by operator and are not published consistently, so book direct.
• Or: the Bridle Path - Flat walking and cycling between Kennebunkport village and Cape Porpoise.

Evening

• Port Lobster Co. - A family seafood market at 122 Ocean Ave with a takeout Seafood Shack: lobster rolls, fried haddock and scallops, chowder. It publishes no opening hours anywhere on its site, so call 207-967-2081 before you set out, and treat it as an early meal rather than a late one.
• Ice cream at Rococo - The scoop shop and dessert bar have moved to 8 Western Ave in Kennebunk, over the bridge, with 13 or 14 rotating flavours. The original 6 Spring Street shop in Kennebunkport now opens only Friday to Monday. Its posted hours have not been reliable, so check before crossing town.

Lodging: Kennebunkport or Kennebunk, or stay put in Ogunquit and day trip.

Day 3: Old Orchard Beach and Portland

Morning: Old Orchard Beach

• The beach - The town’s own description is “world famous for its 7 miles of white sand”, running from Pine Point in Scarborough to Camp Ellis in Saco. Watch for rip currents; red flags on the lifeguard stands mean rip conditions. (Town of Old Orchard Beach)
• Surfing here has one safe answer. Under §42-173(b), the strip on the northerly side of the pier out to 125 yards is the only water in town open to surfers at all times in summer. Everywhere else is closed to boards from 9am to 5pm between 21 June and Labor Day.
• The pier - Games, food and shops out over the water. Individual businesses set their own hours and most do not open early.
• Palace Playland - Five acres, more than 28 rides, and a 24,000 square foot arcade with over 250 games, right on the sand at 1 Old Orchard Street. The rides run through Labor Day and then close for the season; from the following day the arcade alone stays open, Fridays from 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from noon, shut Monday to Thursday. Day passes are priced by height, not age: $52.50 over 48 inches and $44.00 under on a weekday, $54.50 and $46.00 at weekends and on holidays, and a season pass is $188. They cannot be bought online, only at a ticket booth on the day. There is no set closing time; it depends on weather and crowds.

Midday: Scarborough

• Lunch at Ken’s Place - 207 Pine Point Road, a seafood restaurant serving the beach since 1927, open Mon to Sun 11am to 9pm in season.
• Scarborough Beach State Park - A state park run under a public/private partnership by Black Point Resource Management, so the statewide park fees do not apply here. Admission is $5.00 for Maine residents with ID and $9.00 for non-residents. Open 9am to 7pm, beach lot 8am to 7pm. No dogs from 1 April to 30 September.
• Higgins Beach - Good surf, and the strictest rule on this route. Scarborough Chapter 605 closes Higgins to surfing from 11am to 5pm, 15 June to 15 September, and the town operates no lifeguards at Higgins or Ferry Beach. Early and late are the legal windows in season.

Afternoon: Portland

• Eastern Promenade - Walk the trail above Casco Bay.
• Fort Williams Park and Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth - The park is free, sunrise to sunset, year round. Parking is $6 for a two-hour minimum then $2 an hour, card only, at the Picnic Shelter, Parade Ground, Ship Cove and Central lots; the Overflow lot is free. The museum is $2 for adults, $1 for ages 6 to 18, free under 6, open 10am to 4pm from Memorial Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The tower opens to the public only on Maine Open Lighthouse Day.

Evening: Old Port

• Dinner at Eventide Oyster Co., 86 Middle Street - Oysters and the brown butter lobster roll. Reservations open only two weeks ahead, so set a reminder rather than trying to book from home in advance.
• Old Port walk - Cobbles, brick and chandlery architecture between Commercial and Congress.
• Drinks at Novare Res Bier Cafe - Belgian beer down an alley off Exchange Street. Sunday to Thursday 11:30am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday to 1am, kitchen until 11pm.

Lodging: Portland, or drive home from here.

Beach Comparison

Warmest water: Old Orchard Beach, shallow and slow-draining over seven miles of sand. Widest sand: Ogunquit Beach, 3.5 miles, and the walk in over the footbridge. Best for families: Wells Beach, gentle slope, free parking at Casino Square and Harbor Park. Quietest: Goose Rocks Beach, residential, with a three-mile strand and no commercial frontage. Rockiest and prettiest: the Kennebunk beaches, Gooch’s through Mother’s. Best surf: Higgins Beach, but only outside 11am to 5pm from mid-June to mid-September, and with no lifeguard on duty. For a surf day that is legal all day in summer, the northerly side of the Old Orchard Beach pier is the one reliable answer in southern Maine.

Essential Beach Info

Water temperature

Maine’s water is cold even in August. Rather than a month-by-month table, check the current reading before you pack: NOAA publishes daily coastal water temperatures for the Gulf of Maine buoys, and the numbers move several degrees with wind and tide within a single week. Bring a wetsuit if you intend to be in the water for more than a dip.

Parking and permits, 2026

• York: $4.00 per hour, enforced 15 April to 31 October, 8am to 10pm daily.
• Ogunquit: Main Beach $9.00/hr or $50/day; Lower $8.25 or $46.50; Footbridge and North Beach $8.00 or $45.00; Obeds $6.25 or $36.00; Perkins Cove $6.25/hr, 3-hour limit; Jacobs and Upper $2.25/hr, 2-hour limit. Lots 8am to 9pm, enforced 17 April to 31 October. Ticket $75 plus fees.
• Wells: $5.00 per hour, 8am to 6pm, Memorial Day Saturday to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Casino Square and Harbor Park are free.
• Kennebunk: $30 day, $100 week, $200 season, 15 June to 15 September. Changing 1 January 2027.
• Kennebunkport, Goose Rocks: $40 day, $200 week, $325 season, $10 residents, enforced Memorial Day Saturday to Labor Day, 8am to 5pm only.
• Scarborough Beach State Park: $5 Maine resident, $9 non-resident, per person.
• Other Maine state parks: charged per person, not per vehicle. Adult resident $6, adult non-resident $8, children 5 to 11 $1, under 5 free, non-resident seniors $2, Maine residents 65 and over free. (Maine BPL)

Budget for parking properly. A single day at Ogunquit’s Main Beach lot costs more than the whole three-day parking allowance most beach itineraries quote.

What the beaches actually offer

Facilities vary far more than a summary suggests. Wells and Ogunquit have restrooms and food at the main lots. Higgins Beach and Ferry Beach in Scarborough have no lifeguards at all, and lifeguard cover everywhere else in southern Maine winds down around Labor Day rather than running through September. Chair and umbrella rental exists at the busier beaches but rates are not published, so ask on the day.

Dining Highlights

Lobster and fried seafood

• The Clam Shack, 2 Western Ave, Kennebunk, on the bridge. Open daily from 11am.
• Ken’s Place, 207 Pine Point Road, Scarborough. Since 1927, 11am to 9pm.
• Barnacle Billy’s, Perkins Cove, Ogunquit. From 11am, closing 8pm outside high summer.
• Bob’s Clam Hut, 315 US Route 1, Kittery. Fried clams since 1956, 11am to 7pm.
• The Lobster Shack at Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth. Daily 11am to 8pm in spring and autumn, to 8:30pm in July and August.

Breakfast

• Maine Diner, Wells. Closed Wednesdays. 7am to 2:30pm most days, to 8pm Saturday.
• Congdon’s, Wells. Doughnuts on this site since 1955, open daily 6am to 2pm.

Portland

• Eventide Oyster Co., 86 Middle Street.
• Novare Res Bier Cafe, off Exchange Street.

Budget Estimate

Per person, two people sharing, three nights.

Lodging: $400 to $700, and it swings hard with the season and the town. Meals: $200 to $300, mixing counter service with two sit-down dinners. Beach parking: $60 to $120. Three beach days at southern Maine’s coastal lots is $45 to $50 a day unless you use the free Wells lots or visit Goose Rocks outside enforcement hours. Attractions: a Palace Playland day pass alone is $52.50 to $54.50 per person over 48 inches.

Ways to spend less

• Stay in Wells or Saco rather than Ogunquit or Kennebunkport.
• Use the free Wells lots at Casino Square and Harbor Park.
• Bring lunch. Supermarket supplies beat beachfront prices by a wide margin.
• Come in June or after Labor Day, when lodging rates drop sharply.
• Fort Williams Park is free, and its Overflow lot is free parking.

What to Pack

Beach: swimsuits, more than one, because nothing dries fast here. Towels, since hotels rarely let pool towels leave the property. Sunscreen and a reason to reapply it. An umbrella or pop-up, because shade is nonexistent on open sand. A cooler, chairs, and water shoes for the rocky ends of the Kennebunk beaches.

Clothing: cover-ups, sun hat, sunglasses, a warm layer for the evening, casual dining clothes, and a rain jacket.

Other: a waterproof phone case, a book, sand toys if you have children, and coins or a card for the parking meters. Ogunquit and Wells both take the ParkMobile app.

When to Come

July and August: warmest water, busiest beaches, highest prices. Late June: lower rates, cooler water, thinner crowds. September: the quiet reward. The water holds its late-summer temperature for a few weeks after the crowds go, lodging drops, and parking is easier. What closes is the amusements, not the coast: Palace Playland’s rides and Funtown Splashtown both shut for the season the day after Labor Day, and lifeguard cover ends around the same time. Swim with more caution than you would in August. October: paid parking still runs to 31 October in both York and Ogunquit, so the beaches stay usable, and Barnacle Billy’s serves to the end of the month.

Extend Your Trip

Add a day for

• Portland itself: museums, the food scene, and the Casco Bay islands.
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire, just over the river from Kittery.
• More beaches: Crescent Beach, Pine Point, Ferry Beach.
• Sebago Lake, if you want to swim in genuinely warm water.

Combine with

• Acadia, three days further up the coast.
• The White Mountains, inland to the west.
• Boston, south down I-95.

Family Additions

• Palace Playland, Old Orchard Beach. Rides through Labor Day, arcade on weekends after that. Passes by height, bought at the booth.
• York’s Wild Kingdom, York Beach. Zoo and rides, open 23 May to 27 September 2026.
• Funtown Splashtown USA, 774 Portland Road, Saco. Closed for the season from 8 September 2026, so this is a July and August plan, not a shoulder-season one.
• The arcades at York Beach and on the Old Orchard Beach pier, plus mini golf in most of these towns.

For teenagers, surfing is the obvious draw and the one thing worth reading the rules on first. Wells bans it in the harbour year round, York’s Short Sands bans it outright from May to mid-October, Higgins Beach closes to boards from 11am to 5pm in season, and the northerly side of the Old Orchard Beach pier is the exception that stays open all day. Paddleboard and kayak rentals, and whale watching out of Portland, have no such restrictions.

Why Southern Maine Beaches?

If you want sand rather than granite, water you can actually get into, and a short drive from an airport, southern Maine beats the Midcoast. The beaches here are genuinely sandy, the water reaches something you can swim in by August, and Portland is close to all of it.

This is not wilderness Maine. It is vacation Maine, where families have rented the same cottages for generations, eaten fried clams from the same windows, and come home sunburnt. Nostalgia, ice cream, and the smell of sunscreen. Sometimes that is the trip you want.