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.
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. It is where local families put toddlers.
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.
Out of season the problem disappears entirely. Late September and early October are the best weeks of the year here: warm water, open restaurants, empty lots.
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 here is genuinely complicated: under long-standing Maine law confirmed by the courts, the dry sand above the high-tide line at Moody is privately owned, and public use is restricted to the wet intertidal strip. Walk it, do not settle on it. 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.
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 side of the spit is shallow and warms over the sun-heated flats at low tide, which is where local families take small children.
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 where it becomes Moody Beach the dry sand is privately owned under Maine law, so stay on the wet sand there.
