SCENIC SEACOAST SITES
Kittery Point, Maine
There are not many places to swim between York and Rye. Seapoint is "swimmable"
in season, but "walkable" year round. It’s rugged, primitive and that makes it
just right for that off season or off-hour summer stroll with your four-legged
friends.
Name: Seapoint Beach
Location: Off Route 103 at Kittery Point toward Gerrish Island (but stay on the
old route and look for Seapoint Beach signs).
Resources: Limited parking with additional spaces nearer the beach for Kittery
residents only ($25 fine there for cars without Kittery dump sticker).
Rules: Beach and parking area closed 11 pm to 3 am from May 15 to September 30.
Dogs: Not allowed 10 am – 5pm in summer (June 15 – Sept 10)
Web site: Town of Kittery
Kittery residents have primary use of their only town beach. And like the town
itself, Seapoint Beach is a feisty little place. The first thing you may notice
are the flies. The greenheads can carry away a big bite of flesh in the summer
and flies swarm among the seaweed in a dizzying cloud. There’s lots of seaweed
clumped on the beach in thick bundles like raked leaves. There are plenty of seagulls
and, did we mention, lots of rocks.
Despite the primitive pebbly beach, Seapoint is wrapped in protective signs,
more than a dozen of them, laying out the rules for parking and visiting. Even
the key view from the little parking lot at the beach is blocked by tall metal
signs.
But the Seapoint site is popular, not just because it is a rare swimming spot,
but for its dog-friendly policy. Dogs are banned only during the key summer daytime
hours and allowed on leashes the rest of the time.
And then there is the view, which is largely an open shot toward the blue Atlantic.
There is a narrow band of white sand between the pebbly low tide area and the
dunes. Just getting to Seapoint along the winding Route 103 is a scenic drive
or bike ride in itself, and well worth the trip.
Photos and text by J. Dennis Robinson
CONTINUE WALK to Crescent Beach
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