Popham Beach State Park

About this park

Popham Beach State Park protects 605 acres of dune and sandy shoreline at the mouth of the Kennebec River in Phippsburg, and is widely regarded as one of the finest and most scenic sand beaches anywhere on the Maine coast. Its long, open stretch of sand, framed by dunes and the distinctive offshore Fox Islands, gives it a scale and openness rare among Maine's smaller, more enclosed pocket beaches. The beach sits directly across the river mouth from the site of the 1607 Popham Colony, an early English settlement founded the same year as Jamestown, and the park's name and nearby historic markers connect visitors to that early colonial history even though the actual colony site lies across the water. The beach's shifting sandbars and strong tidal currents at the river mouth also make it a place where the shoreline itself visibly changes from year to year, a dynamic coastal geology that draws repeat visitors curious to see how the beach has shifted. Because of its beauty and easy access, Popham Beach is one of the most heavily visited state parks in Maine during summer months, with parking lots frequently filling by mid-morning on warm weekends. The park has no campground, functioning purely as a day-use beach, and nearby Fort Popham State Historic Site, a Civil War-era coastal fortification at the very mouth of the river, offers an easy add-on stop for visitors already in the area.