As much as I love to travel I must admit that I LOVE where I live. Maine is such a special place and there are so many things to do here. Since I won’t be doing any traveling outside of my lovely state any time soon I thought I’d share some of my favorite things to do in Maine, especially in the summer. Well, when I started to type up all the things that I LOVE to do I ended up with a never ending scroll of a post, so I’m breaking it up! Today I’m sharing my favorite beaches in Maine.

Despite being known for our rocky coast, Maine has some really nice beaches. There are plenty to pick from in the greater Portland area for every type of beach goer. Here are my favorite places to soak up some sun and sand.

Crescent Beach is a great choice for families or if you want to spend the whole day at the beach. The waves are fairly gentle, there are shaded picnic spots with charcoal grills, plenty of restrooms and a snack bar. As a child we would meet up with family there all the time throughout the summer months and stay until dusk. There was even a playground with one of those metal slides that was super tall and burned your bathing suited bottom the entire way down. I think the slide is no longer there or has been replaced. Whoever thought a metal slide that would be in the direct sun was a great idea?

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Kettle Cove is not too far from Crescent but it much smaller. There is a decent sized parking lot and because the area is so small it’s not a big deal to run back to your car if you need something. There are pretty walking trails that are meticulously maintained and an outhouse but no snack bar or showers. This is the perfect beach if you only want to hang out for a couple hours and you can grab an ice cream on your way home from Kettle Cove Ice Cream Shack. They have both homemade hard and soft serve. Yum!

Ferry Beach looks out on to the Scarborough River Channel and is sheltered from the force of the ocean by the jetty on the side of the channel. This is my beach of choice. I love the long grass blowing in the breeze and the crystal-clear waves, plus it’s not that busy. They have limited parking so when it’s full it’s full. They have a snack cart and a restroom with showers.

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Reid State Park is a nature lover’s dream – salt marshes, a lagoon with a tidal river, rocky headlands, dunes and sandy beaches. The waves here are pretty great so if you’re into surfing this is a. great choice as well. There is a snack shack, picnic tables and restrooms with showers.

Mowry Beach is a new favorite. Last summer while visiting family in Lubec my aunt brought me here. It’s a quiet (could go without saying, you’re in Lubec) 48-acre conservation area overlooking Deep Cove, Lubec Channel and Canada’s Campobello Island. There are wonderful trails to explore and TONS of sea glass! This one isn’t in the greater Portland area but if you ever go to Lubec, it’s worth a visit.

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There are so many more beaches in Maine but these are my favorites. I also won’t to mention the part of Willard Beach that is near SMCC. It’s a 6 minute bike ride from my home so that is probably the beach I go to the most, is it my favorite? No, but this area of Willard isn’t as busy and there is a pretty trail that you can walk or ride along to get to this section of the beach.

So as we continue our endless staycation I’d love to know your favorite local beaches! Maine is such a beautiful state and there is still so much of it that I haven’t seen.