Pemaquid Beach Park

A Rare Sandy Beach on the Midcoast

Sandy beaches are scarce on Maine’s Midcoast. The shoreline here is defined by granite ledges, cobblestone coves, and rocky headlands. So Pemaquid Beach Park, a quarter-mile stretch of white sand in the town of Bristol, feels almost out of place. The sand is fine, the water is protected, and the whole setup is geared toward families with kids who want to swim and build sandcastles without fighting surf or sharp rocks.

The beach is run by Bristol Parks and Recreation and sits in the village of New Harbor on the Pemaquid Peninsula, about 10 minutes by car from the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in Maine.

The Beach

The sand at Pemaquid Beach is fine-grained and white, closer to what you would expect on Cape Cod than on the central Maine coast. The beach curves gently along a protected cove; waves are typically small, which makes it a good spot for young children.

The water is cold, as it is everywhere in Maine. Expect temperatures in the mid-50s to low 60s in the warmest part of summer. Most kids do not seem to notice, or at least they stop complaining after the first five minutes.

How the Tide Changes the Beach

The tide on Johns Bay moves nine to ten vertical feet and rewrites this beach twice a day. At low tide the water pulls back across long, gently sloped flats, roughly doubling the sand; the shallows run out a long way — ideal for toddlers — and tide pools form in the rocky areas at both ends. At high tide the sand narrows to a strip and the water is deep enough for real swimming much closer in.

The best window is an incoming afternoon tide: the flats bake in the sun through low water, and the returning sea picks up a few degrees of warmth as it slides back over them. It is still Maine ocean water, but the shallows can feel almost reasonable. Check a tide chart for Pemaquid Harbor before you go.

2026 Fees, Hours, and Season Passes

Pemaquid Beach Park is town-run, and the prices reflect it. From Bristol Parks and Recreation’s 2026 fee schedule:

• Daily admission: $5 ages 12 and up, $1 ages 5 to 11, free ages 4 and under. Active military and disabled veterans with military ID are free.
• Gate hours: 8 AM to 5:30 PM in July and August; 9 AM to 4:30 PM in June and September, weather permitting.
• Season: Staffed June through early September; accessible the rest of the year with no services and no fee.
• Passes: A non-resident season pass is $100; the better deal for most visitors is the beach punch pass — $35 for 10 admissions, shareable within a group. Both are sold at the Ellingwood Information Center on Bristol Road. Bristol residents and real-estate taxpayers get an annual park pass free.

Rates are set by the town; check the official Pemaquid Beach Park page for the current schedule. The beach office is 207-677-2754.

Parking is one large lot beside the bathhouse, with no separate charge — admission is per person at the ticket booth, not per car. On hot July and August weekends, arrive before noon.

Facilities

The bathhouse has restrooms, changing rooms, and outdoor shower towers for rinsing off before the drive home; picnic tables sit near the lot, and an ADA-compliant boardwalk runs to the sand. The park rents beach chairs, umbrellas, and boogie boards if you would rather not haul your own.

The snack bar here is better than the name suggests. Mimi’s on the Beach, right on the boardwalk, is run by three sisters who named it for their mother — she ran the original beach shack in the 1980s. The menu runs from fried haddock and fish tacos to burgers, kids’ meals, and ice cream.

Rules worth knowing: no dogs from May 1 through October 15 (the entire staffed season), no fishing, no watercraft of any kind — kayaks, paddleboards, surfboards — and the facility is tobacco-free.

Nearby

The Pemaquid Peninsula is packed with things to do. Pemaquid Point Lighthouse is the headline attraction, but the area also includes:

• New Harbor: A working fishing village with lobster shacks and boat tours to Monhegan Island
• Colonial Pemaquid State Historic Site: Archaeological remains of an early English colonial settlement
• Round Pond: A tiny harbor village with a general store and lobster pound on the dock
• Damariscotta: The nearest full-service town, about 20 minutes north, known for oysters and a lively downtown

When to Go

July and August are the prime swimming months. The water is at its warmest (such as it is), the gates open earliest, and Mimi’s is serving. The beach fills on hot days but rarely feels uncomfortably crowded because the sand stretches long enough to spread out. September weekdays are lovely if you do not mind the cooler water and shorter hours.

Getting There

From Damariscotta, take Route 130 south for about 13 miles to New Harbor, then turn right on Snowball Hill Road and follow signs for Pemaquid Beach Park.

From Portland, the drive is about 100 minutes via Route 1 and Route 130. From Rockland, head south on Route 1 to Damariscotta and then follow Route 130.

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