the beach today
Wild State-Park Coast

Popham
Beach

Watch the Tide

One of Maine's great natural beaches: a wide state-park barrier of sand at the mouth of the Kennebec River, backed by the granite Fort Popham and a low-tide sandbar out to Fox Island. Everything for a day here and where to eat after.

Today on the Sand

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Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Popham Beach State Park

The main wide sand, Fox Island sandbar at low tide

State park · entry fee

Hunnewell Beach

Just east by Fort Popham, quieter town sand

Roadside · local

Seawall Beach

Wild, undeveloped -- 2-mi walk in via Bates-Morse Mountain

No cars · preserve

Reid State Park

Georgetown, next peninsula east -- sand & rock

State park · entry fee

Small Point / Hermit Island

Private campground beaches at the peninsula tip

Campground access

Head Beach

Small Point cove, sheltered swimming

Small fee · local

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Bath

20 min north

The City of Ships -- Bath Iron Works, the Maine Maritime Museum and a walkable brick downtown

Georgetown

35 min east

Reid State Park and the Five Islands lobster wharf, the prettiest harbor in Maine

Boothbay Harbor

50 min east

Classic harbor town -- puffin and whale cruises, the botanical gardens and windjammers

Brunswick

35 min north

Bowdoin College, a lively Maine Street and the gateway to the midcoast

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Popham Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Popham Beach, the water is 61°F, surf is running 2–3 ft and the air is 62°F. Wind is 5 mph from the ENE and the UV index peaks at 5 (moderate) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 240 minutes right now. Today’s tides: High 4:05 AM, Low 9:56 AM, High 4:18 PM, Low 10:39 PM.