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Ogunquit
See main listingThree miles of sand, the Marginal Way clifftop walk, and Perkins Cove's galleries - southern Maine at its most photogenic.
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Guide
Ogunquit Beach, Maine: Entrances, Parking and Tides
9 minute read•updated
Coast
Choose Main Beach for Ogunquit’s downtown end, Footbridge for the Ocean Street approach, or North Beach for the northern access. For a full beach day, compare the daily rate before paying by the hour. These are entrances to the same beach system, not three separate beaches to tour by car.
Updated September 2026
Choose the entrance for the day you actually want on the sand. The three main approaches do not need three separate visits, and a parking decision works better when it follows the activity rather than becoming the activity. A beach block and a Marginal Way walk can both belong to an Ogunquit stay without being compressed into one hurried circuit.
The current town table below supplies the dated parking comparison. The detailed descriptions add the differences between village access, the footbridge approach and the northern end. Read the review figures as dated listing context, not a reason to switch lots once the day has begun. For a shorter visit, the cove or a coastal walk can be the main purpose; for a full beach day, protect the time on the sand and choose food around that base.
Related planning guides: Can You Swim in the Ocean in Maine?; Maine Ocean Temperatures: Four Stations, 4.5°F Apart.
Which Ogunquit beach entrance should you choose?
Choose the entrance that fits the place where you will spend the day. Ogunquit has Main Beach at the end of Beach Street, Footbridge at the end of Ocean Street and North Beach approached along Bourne Road, then south at its end. The chamber's directions distinguish the entrances; the town's fee table supplies the current parking prices. [1] [2]
| Lot | 2026 hourly rate | Daily rate | Published hours | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Beach | $9 | $50 | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Downtown-end beach day |
| Lower Lot | $8.25 | $46.50 | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Another town-listed beach-area option |
| Footbridge | $8 | $45 | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Ocean Street approach |
| North Beach | $8 | $45 | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Northern beach access |
| Perkins Cove | $6.25 | Three-hour limit | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Cove visit, not an all-day beach base |
The town's 2026 paid season runs April 17–October 31. Payment is due on arrival at the lot meter or through the listed Passport or ParkMobile systems. The prices belong to the named lot and year, not to every private space with a beach sign. [2]
Should you pay hourly or choose the daily rate?
For a short visit, the hourly price is the useful comparison. For a full day, compare the listed daily rate with the intended length of the stay: six hours at Main Beach's posted hourly rate is $54 before any payment-service fee, versus the posted $50 daily rate. At Footbridge or North Beach, six hours at $8 is $48 versus the posted $45 daily rate. Those are calculations from the town's table, not separate discounted offers.
The parking decision should support a full beach block. Driving between the three entrances simply repeats the arrival task. The southern-coast itinerary therefore gives Ogunquit its own day, rather than adding three beach lots to a York and Kennebunkport afternoon.
How does Perkins Cove fit with the beach?
Marginal Way and Perkins Cove are a different part of an Ogunquit day from time on the sand. The three-hour limit in the town's Perkins Cove parking row makes that distinction practical. Use the cove as the main outing for a walk-and-village day, or give the beach the main block and keep the coastal walk separate. [2]
What if you are comparing Ogunquit with another beach town?
The Maine coast comparison separates Ogunquit's beach-and-walk combination from York's beaches, Kennebunk's beaches, Kennebunkport's beaches and Old Orchard Beach. Each town's parking arrangement belongs to that town. A paid session in Ogunquit does not create a pass for the rest of the southern coast.
What should you skip when planning an Ogunquit beach day?
Skip three entrance changes, a Perkins Cove space for an all-day beach stay and an assumption that autumn parking is free. Choose Ogunquit lodging for the part of town you intend to use, and keep property parking terms separate from municipal lot rates. The Maine seasonal guide explains when this becomes a coastal-walk trip rather than a summer beach holiday.
What other planning questions does this route raise?
Which Ogunquit beach lots have the lower daily price in 2026?
Footbridge and North Beach are listed at $45 daily, compared with Main Beach at $50. Choose the entrance for the planned day as well as the rate.
Can you use Perkins Cove parking for an all-day beach visit?
No. The town’s table gives Perkins Cove a three-hour limit. Choose a beach lot for the full-day sand-focused visit.
Sources (checked September 27–28, 2026)
- ogunquit.org — Municipal beach lots; payment apps; linked current town rates; checked 2026-09-27.
- ogunquit.gov — 2026 parking season, hours and all lot rates; checked 2026-09-27.
Ogunquit Beach is not several beaches. It is one continuous barrier spit running north from the mouth of the Ogunquit River for more than three miles, and the three names people argue about (Main Beach, Footbridge Beach, North Beach) are simply the three places you can get onto it. Choosing between them is a parking decision and a crowd decision, not a sand decision.
Compiled from published reviews, official sites and our own research; assessed remotely without firsthand experience.
One beach, three entrances
The spit has the ocean on one side and the tidal Ogunquit River on the other. Walk far enough in either direction from any entrance and you reach the next one. What actually differs is what is behind you when you put the towel down.
- Main Beach: the end of Beach Street, a short walk from the village center. The biggest lot, the bathhouse, the concession, the lifeguards, and by far the most people.
- Footbridge Beach: reached from Ocean Street off Route 1, about a mile and a half north. Its own lot, a footbridge over the river to the sand, and a noticeably older, quieter crowd.
- North Beach: the far northern end, running into Moody Beach in Wells. Least developed and least served.
Our data lists the accesses under several names, which is worth knowing if you are comparing ratings online. Main Beach at 115 Beach Street and Ogunquit Public Beach at 124 Beach Street are the same stretch of sand recorded twice, and a generic "Ogunquit Beach" entry covers the whole thing.
Ogunquit's beach entrances, ranked
Ranked by rating multiplied by review volume, which rewards a beach that stays good under pressure rather than one that impressed a handful of people on a perfect day.
1. Footbridge Beach, 4.8 from 742 reviews
The highest-rated access in Ogunquit and, on the numbers, the best of the three. You park off Route 1, cross the wooden footbridge over the river, and come out onto sand that is wide, clean and less densely occupied than Main Beach because there is nothing to do behind it. That is the point. Families with older children and anyone who wants to walk rather than sit should start here.
The lot is smaller than Main Beach's and it fills earlier on a hot day, which is the trade for the calmer sand.
2. Ogunquit Beach, 4.7 from 560 reviews
The general entry covering the spit as a whole. A 4.7 across more than five hundred reviews is a genuinely strong number for a beach that handles this much summer traffic. The consistency is the story: the sand is broad and fine along the entire length, the slope is gentle, and there is no rocky section to catch anyone out.
3. Main Beach, 4.7 from 260 reviews
115 Beach Street. The village access, walkable from most of the inns and hotels in the center, with the bathhouse, changing rooms, food and lifeguards. If you have small children or no car, this is the right entrance and the crowding is a fair price. In July and August the sand near the bathhouse is shoulder to shoulder by late morning; walk five minutes north and it thins out dramatically.
4. Ogunquit Public Beach, 4.7 from 120 reviews
124 Beach Street. The same access recorded separately, with the same rating and a smaller sample. Included here for completeness rather than because it is a distinct destination. If a search result sends you to one address or the other, you are going to the same place.
Marginal Way and Perkins Cove
The beach is only half of Ogunquit's shoreline. The Marginal Way, the paved clifftop path running roughly a mile from the village to Perkins Cove, is the other half, and the Marginal Way Preservation Fund entry in our data rates 4.9 from 141 reviews: the highest score of anything in town. It is entirely exposed, has benches at intervals, and is spectacular in a low easterly swell. It is also narrow and busy; go at first light if you want it to yourself. Our Marginal Way guide has the full route.
At its southern end is Perkins Cove, a working fishing cove turned tourist knot, with a pedestrian drawbridge that rates 4.7 from 180 reviews. The drawbridge is hand-operated and lifts for masted boats, which is the closest thing to street theater the town has.
Tides, water and what to expect
Two things surprise people. The first is the tidal range. At low tide the beach is enormous and you walk a long way to reach water; at high tide the usable dry sand near Main Beach shrinks substantially. Check a tide table for the day before deciding where to set up, and if you want maximum space, go on a falling tide.
The second is temperature. This is the Gulf of Maine and the ocean side is cold: genuinely cold in June, tolerable in late July and August, at its warmest in early September. The Ogunquit River side of the spit is the exception: shallow, backed up over sun-warmed sand flats, and considerably warmer at low tide. The Ogunquit River has strong tidal currents and is not a sheltered toddler-swimming substitute for the ocean beach.
Lifeguards are seasonal and cover the staffed accesses only. There is no lifeguard on the northern stretch.
Time of day matters as much as tide. Early morning is the best light on the water and the only time the beach is genuinely quiet in season, and the trolley and the lots are both empty. Late afternoon is the second window. The day-trippers start leaving around four, the sand reopens, and the water is at its warmest after a full day of sun on the flats. The two hours either side of noon are the worst of everything: full lots, full sand, and a sun that is unforgiving on a beach with no shade at all. There is no natural shade on the spit, so bring your own or plan around it.
Parking is the whole problem
Ogunquit is a small village that receives a very large number of summer visitors, and the beach lots are the pinch point. Both Main Beach and Footbridge Beach have paid town lots that fill on any warm weekend morning, typically well before eleven. Rates and season dates are set by the town and change; check the current posting rather than working from an old figure.
The workaround is the summer trolley, which runs a loop through the village, past the beach entrances and out to Perkins Cove. Park once wherever you are staying, ride the trolley, and skip the circling. Almost every inn in the village is within a few minutes of a stop.
Autumn changes the beach visit, but it does not end the parking season: the town charges through October 31 in 2026. Choose the entrance for the planned outing and keep water conditions and individual restaurant hours separate from the parking calendar.
Nearby beaches, ranked
If the Ogunquit lots are full, these are the alternatives within a short drive, ranked by the same measure.
- Short Sands Beach, York, 4.6 from 1,343 reviews. The busiest beach in the area, with the arcade-and-taffy village directly behind it. Family-oriented and loud.
- Long Sands Beach, York, 4.7 from 1,281 reviews. A mile and a half of sand with metered parking the length of the seawall, which is the most reliable summer parking in southern Maine.
- Wells Beach: 4.7 from 1,079 reviews, 100 Atlantic Avenue. The next long beach north, with a jetty at the harbor end and a lot of it.
- Drakes Island Beach, Wells, 4.7 from 190 reviews. Quieter, backed by dunes and marsh, with limited parking that is effectively resident-first in season.
- Crescent Beach, Wells, 4.7 from 151 reviews. Small and easily missed between the bigger names.
- Moody Beach, Wells, 4.6 from 76 reviews. Directly north of Ogunquit's North Beach and continuous with it. Access at Moody is legally complex. Do not treat the wet sand as a blanket invitation to walk or settle on privately owned intertidal land; use the designated public access information for the beach you intend to visit. See our Moody Beach guide.
- Ocean Front Beach, Wells, 4.7 from 72 reviews, 3 Ocean Avenue. A small access on the Ogunquit–Wells boundary.
Where to eat near the sand
Nothing on this list is a beach shack in the strict sense. Ogunquit's food is village food, five minutes from the water.
- The Lobster Shack, 110 Perkins Cove Road, 4.6 from 1,259 reviews. The best-rated of the high-volume places in town.
- BeachFire Bar & Grille, 658 Main Street, 4.5 from 1,420 reviews. Closest of the big restaurants to the Footbridge entrance.
- The Front Porch Piano Bar & Restaurant, 9 Shore Road, 4.5 from 1,878 reviews. A village institution and the loudest room in Ogunquit.
- Barnacle Billy's, 70 Perkins Cove Road, 4.2 from 2,098 reviews. The most-reviewed restaurant in town and the lowest-rated of the big names, which is what a view like that does to a kitchen. Order at the counter, sit on the deck, keep expectations calibrated.
- The Greenery Cafe, 369 Main Street, 4.6 from 1,077 reviews. Breakfast, and the sensible start to a beach day.
For the rest of the town, see things to do in Ogunquit.
Sources: 2026-09-13 — Ogunquit parking information, Ocean Rescue, beach water-quality information and National Weather Service rip-current guidance.
Frequently asked questions
Which entrance to Ogunquit Beach is best?
Footbridge Beach rates highest at 4.8 from 742 reviews and has the calmer sand, because there is nothing behind it but the parking lot. Main Beach at the end of Beach Street rates 4.7 from 260 reviews and is the right choice if you are walking from the village or have small children who need a bathhouse. All three entrances open onto the same continuous spit.
Is Ogunquit Beach free?
The sand is public and free to use. The parking is not. Both Main Beach and Footbridge Beach have paid town lots, and rates and season dates are set by the town and posted at the entrances. The summer trolley is the way to avoid the question entirely if you are staying in the village.
How cold is the water at Ogunquit Beach?
Cold. This is the Gulf of Maine, and the ocean side is bracing in June, swimmable for most people in late July and August, and at its warmest in early September. The Ogunquit River has strong tidal currents. The river mouth and tidal flats are different settings from the designated ocean bathing areas.
How long is Ogunquit Beach?
Over three miles, running north from the mouth of the Ogunquit River along a barrier spit to Moody Beach in Wells. You can walk the whole thing at low tide. The northern end has no facilities and no lifeguards, and the adjoining Moody Beach has separate access restrictions; wet sand alone does not establish permission to continue.
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Footbridge Beach
See main listingFootbridge Beach lives up to its name. You reach it by walking across a short, scenic footbridge that opens onto a long, wide stretch of soft sand. It's one of the quieter options in Ogunquit, especially if you visit off season, and dog owners particularly love it for a calm afternoon walk.
The views here are genuinely stunning. You'll see the coastline wrap around the end, and on a clear day the light on the water feels almost cinematic. Visitors praise the sand quality and the cleanliness of the beach. There's no foot wash station, but that's a minor quibble. One recent visitor noted that the beach and the footbridge itself attract respectful, lovely crowds.
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Ogunquit Beach
See main listingThis is the big, popular beach in town. Wide stretches of white sand, plenty of room to sunbathe and picnic, and good swimming when the water's not too cold. Parking is right along the shoreline, and there are bathrooms on site. It fills up in summer, but visitors report it's busy without feeling overwhelming.
The beach is clean and well maintained. The water is cold and clear, and the whitecaps pattern nicely against the rocky coastline. Ogunquit Beach also hosts community events like Christmas by the Sea in December, which includes a bonfire and fireworks on the sand. Even regulars say it doesn't lose its appeal: one visitor wrote that no matter how many times they return, it feels magical.
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Main Beach
See main listingMain Beach is smaller and more intimate than its neighbors. The soft sand and expansive shoreline at low tide make it a good spot to relax and take in the scenery. Parking and restrooms are available in the lot next to the beach.
The water is cold, but the warm, friendly atmosphere makes up for it. Families with young kids find it appealing, especially for wading and floating. One visitor brought five children and found the inlet calm and safe for swimming, though there are no lifeguards on duty. Tide matters here: the beach shrinks as the tide comes in, so arriving early gives you more space.
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Ogunquit Public Beach
See main listingThis is a busier, more action-oriented beach. Clean sand, good parking and restrooms, and lifeguards on duty during peak season. It's popular with families and groups who want to play games and swim together.
Ogunquit Public Beach has a gentle inlet and current that make it fun for floating on tubes, which visitors mention as a highlight. Information about tides and currents is posted on site, which is helpful since the tide comes in further throughout the day. Parking fills up, so arriving early is wise. Plan on walking a bit for cheaper parking if you arrive later. Expect crowds, especially on warm days, but the beach is large enough to find your own space.
