Popham Beach State Park
Did you know that you can sign up for a newsletter and alerts from Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands? They will even text you if you want, after you set your preferences! The majority of the time they’ll send monthly newsletters about what is happening all over the state and information about events. It is a wonderful way to stay informed throughout the year. Once in a while it’s used to send out alerts about trail conditions at a park or a major happening, but they actually use it in a unique way for Popham Beach State Park. A message like the one below seemed to get blasted out twice a week all summer long in 2018:
Popham Beach State Park Conditions
07/29/2018 10:52 AM EDTThe parking lot at Popham Beach State Park is currently full. Keep in mind illegal parking will be ticketed and/or towed. We expect parking to be available around 2:30-3pm this afternoon.
That is how popular this place is!
Why do so many people and seagulls flock to Popham Beach State Park? Well, we had to find out for ourselves and we wanted to do it before the crowds rushed in like a Beatles concert, so we chose to go on a sunny 70 degree day in May. It might sound silly that we have never been here before since it’s one of the most visited locations in the state but we are surrounded by beautiful beaches closer to our home. Crescent Beach State Park has been a summer home for us over the years and we fell in love with Ferry Beach State Park last year. So why drive 2 hours round-trip to another one? Well this isn’t your average beach and you have to see it in person to understand what we mean. Our pictures are nice but they don’t do it justice.
Since our last road trip to the eastern most of “everything” in the US, we had another kid! Say hello to Adeline. She was 3 weeks old on this beach day.
Life has certainly gotten busier and we certainly don’t have crap figured out but we are rolling with it…again. We enlisted some local muscle to tag along on this outing.
It’s always more fun when she is around and it was also nice to have her there to help as we learn to juggle with another ball in the air.
We know many of you have been to this beach before so maybe you are only reading this far for more baby pics.
We were not strangers to the Phippsburg area and knew it was all things pretty but we didn’t realize the true landscape of Popham. When you leave the parking lot and get your first glimpses, your eyes don’t know what to focus on. The only way you could possibly capture this beach in a picture, would be from the sky. Even when the parking lot is full, it would be hard to imagine this beach feeling overcrowded. We didn’t see a playground or any of the add-ons that some beaches offer BUT this would be the first time as parents that we could really sit back and relax in the sun. Why? It is so big and so open here, you would have plenty of time to chase down your kid before he/she made it to the water. Also, maybe not a highlight for everyone but with kids, the bathroom/shower set up is outstanding and clean.
We spent a wonderful chunk of the day here. It honestly felt like the quickest 4 hours because there is just so much to explore. When the tide is low, you can walk out to a couple small islands, just make sure to get back before high tide. The water was a lukewarm 41 degrees that day but of course it didn’t stop some people from going in. Luckily there were a few big puddles of warmer water that Eloise had fun playing in.
We never seem to take enough pictures at the beach. This isn’t our day job and because we have other jobs, we just want to relax and have fun! As far as beach state parks go, Popham is a flat out 10. So plan an extra special day on the calendar this summer, leave early, don’t even bother with the camera and explore one of the most beautiful and unique beaches in New England. Think of it like going out to a nice restaurant and treat yourself.
On day trips we often highlight a local spot or two and on this one we had every intention of stopping at Flight Deck Brewing in Brunswick on our way back. Well that didn’t happen with a 24 day old kid and sun-tired toddler. We did have to stop in Yarmouth for gas and that last 15 minutes felt like an hour with loud screams coming from the back seats. Auntie’s tires spun out of our driveway shortly after arrival in Portland. Before you knew it, we were having a quiet dinner on our deck. Lots of emotional highs and lows with an infant, both often short lived but we are back in the game and her first beach trip was a success; which is good because there will be many more to follow.
