Crescent Beach State Park – Cape Elizabeth, ME

I’ve been coming to Crescent Beach all my life. It’s one of those rare things on the Maine coast – an actual sand beach. There are all the amenities you can think of – picnic tables, a snack shake, and an old metal playground that’s slowly being eaten up by the sand. The old merry go round from my youth, that was just begging for a couple enterprising fathers (it was always the fathers) to get it going fast enough to make you dizzy is gone, but the rest of it is very similar to when I was young.

Not too far from the parking lot, a stream cuts through the beach, which was always my favorite place to play in the water – it’s usually far warmer than the ocean. At the far end of the beach, it hits an area of rocky shore, and those rocks are full of hermit crabs and other tide pool beasties to be found at low tide. My younger niece is the current family member at the right age to be obsessed with that part of the beach.

I’ll confess, now I very rarely come here for the beach anymore. Not too far from the parking lot is a path that leads behind the dunes, and if you follow that path, you’ll find a pond, a meadow, a pebble beach, and finally a forest to walk through. I almost always do this loop when I go – it’s some of the most diverse wildflowers I can find in one go, close to home.

The pond behind the dunes through the seasons.

From the meadow on is my favorite part of this walk. There are usually a fair number of people on the meadow path, but it’s much more spaced out than on the beach, so you can get the illusion that you’re alone. I love the seasonal evolution. The main players are the milkweed, then the goldenrod, and it ends with the fall asters. But there are so many other little flowers hidden among the larger plants – see any of my wildflower entries for examples.

The meadow through the seasons

The pebble beach is probably my favorite spot at the park. There’s very rarely anyone else down here, and even if there is, it’s easy to spread out. The beach has changed a lot over the years with storms coming through. The pebbles have migrated up and down the beach. Right at the spot where you enter is a patch of brick red sand. That area goes in and out of exposure with the movement of the stones.

The island you can see off the shore is Richmond Island. Fun fact: the state doesn’t own this park, they lease it from the Sprague Corporation, who also own Richmond Island. If you can get out there under your own steam, there are trails to explore, and even some first come, first served camping spots.

The pebble beach through the seasons

Some miscellaneous pictures.

I started a tradition at least ten years back of going to Crescent Beach on the summer solstice, as long I’m not away, so I have a fairly good library of pictures on that day over a span of years. But it’s really a great location year round. In the off season, you can see the bones of the place, and it has a much more land back vibe than the height of the summer.

Solstice Views

Park Wildlife