Wells has seven miles of sand, which is more than any of its better-known neighbors, and the town has quietly kept a reputation for being the place you drive through on the way to Ogunquit. Choosing a Wells Maine beach is really a choice between four distinct stretches with different parking, different crowds and (in one case) a genuinely complicated question about who owns the sand you are standing on.
The four beaches, compared
Ratings and review counts below come from our Maine places data. Note that a couple of these beaches appear more than once in the data under slightly different map pins, so we have used the entry with the largest sample in each case and said which one.
| Beach | Rating | Reviews | Best for |
|---|
| Wells Beach | 4.7 | 1,079 | Facilities, families, the main event |
| Drakes Island Beach | 4.7 | 190 | Quiet sand, marsh on the back side |
| Crescent Beach | 4.7 | 151 | The middle stretch, fewer people |
| Moody Beach | 4.6 | 76 | Long walks; read the ownership note |
Wells Beach, 4.7 from 1,079 reviews
100 Atlantic Ave. The main beach and the only one in town with real infrastructure behind it: a metered municipal lot, restrooms, a lifeguard presence in season, and a short strip of shops and food across the road. The sand is wide and flat, which matters more here than it sounds. The tide range on this coast is around nine feet, so at low water the beach roughly doubles and you get a hard-packed flat you can walk a mile on.
It is also the busiest. In July and August the lot fills by mid-morning on any decent day and the overflow parks on the residential streets behind, which are signed and enforced. The jetty at the north end where the Webhannet River meets the sea is the best part of the beach and the least crowded, because it is a walk from the lot.
Drakes Island Beach, 4.7 from 190 reviews
Off Drakes Island Road, at the north end of the town's sand. Not actually an island, a low neck of land with the ocean on one side and the salt marsh of the estuary on the other, which is why it feels separate from the rest of Wells. It is the quieter beach, the one families with small children tend to prefer, and the water is marginally calmer because of the way the point sits.
The parking lot is small and it is the constraint on the entire experience. There is no meaningful overflow and the surrounding streets are resident-permit. Arrive early or arrive after four. Our Drakes Island guide has the detail on access and the marsh side.
Crescent Beach, 4.7 from 151 reviews
Off Gold Ribbon Drive, in the middle of the town's shoreline between Wells Beach and Drakes Island. Small lot, no facilities, and a stretch of sand that is genuinely underused given it sits between the two busiest beaches in town. If you have chairs and a cooler and do not need a bathroom, this is the pick.
Moody Beach, 4.6 from 76 reviews
The southern end, running down toward the Ogunquit line. It is a long, straight, handsome piece of coast and it has the most complicated legal status of any beach in Maine.
Here is the honest version. Under Maine law, waterfront owners hold title down to the low-water mark, and the public's rights on that intertidal strip are limited to fishing, fowling and navigation, a colonial-era formula that Maine's highest court applied to this beach specifically. In practice: you can walk the wet sand between the tides, but the dry sand above the high-tide line in front of the houses at Moody is private property, and it is posted as such. There is very limited public parking. This is not a "beach day" beach unless you are staying in one of the houses. It is an excellent low-tide walk.
Two smaller ones worth knowing
- Ocean Front Beach: 4.7 from 72 reviews, 3 Ocean Ave. A short pocket at the southern end of the Wells Beach strip, reached from the same road system.
- Wells Harbor Beach: 4.5 from 17 reviews, at Harbor Park, 331 Harbor Rd. Small, sheltered, on the harbor rather than the open ocean. The waves are nothing, which is exactly why it works for toddlers.
The harbor itself is worth twenty minutes regardless. Wells Harbor Community Park (4.7 from 288 reviews) has the bandstand, the playground and a view over the boats, and it is the best rainy-morning option in town that does not involve the highway.
Parking, honestly
Parking is the entire difficulty of a Wells beach day and the reason people leave frustrated. The municipal lots at Wells Beach and Drakes Island are metered or permitted seasonally, they are small relative to demand, and the residential streets behind every beach in town are permit-only and actively ticketed. The seasonal trolley that loops the beach roads is not a novelty. It is the correct way to do a hot Saturday. Check the current rates and permit rules on the Town of Wells site before you go; they are set each season and they change.
The other consequence of the tide range: at high water on a busy August afternoon, the usable dry sand at Wells Beach shrinks to a fraction of what it is at low tide, and the same number of people are on it. If your day is flexible, look up the tide before you look up the weather.
Where to eat between swims
Wells punches far above its size on beach food, largely because Route 1 through town is lined with it.
- Wells Beach Lobster Pound: 4.6 from 823 reviews, 321 Webhannet Dr. The closest good seafood to the sand.
- Fisherman's Catch Restaurant: 4.6 from 1,825 reviews, 134 Harbor Rd. Overlooks the marsh; the highest-rated of the big three.
- Mike's Clam Shack: 4.4 from 3,075 reviews, 1150 Post Rd. The most-reviewed seafood address in Wells.
- Billy's Chowder House: 4.4 from 2,967 reviews, 216 Mile Rd. On the road between Route 1 and Wells Beach, with marsh views.
Our Wells restaurant guide covers the rest of the town, including the places that are not seafood.
When the beach is not the answer
Wells has a second, quieter set of shoreline: the salt marsh and the barrier-beach system behind the sand, which is protected land rather than beach town. The Wells Reserve at Laudholm (4.8 from 347 reviews) has trails through the estuary that reach the shore at a beach you can only get to on foot. On a foggy morning, or a day when the beach lots are already full, it is a better use of the time. We cover it separately in our guide to the Wells Reserve and the town's nature preserves.
For the wider picture of the town (lodging, the outlet shops, the harbor) see our Wells page, and Ogunquit is five minutes south if you want a beach with a walkable village attached.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the best beach in Wells, Maine?
Wells Beach, for most people, 4.7 from 1,079 reviews, and the only one with restrooms, lifeguards, a real parking lot and food across the road. If you want quiet over facilities, Drakes Island Beach carries the same 4.7 from a much smaller crowd, and Crescent Beach in the middle is the least busy of the three.
Do you have to pay to park at Wells Beach?
Yes, in season. The town runs metered and permit parking at the beach lots through the summer, the residential streets behind them are permit-only and enforced, and rates and rules are set by the town each year. Check the current ones on the Town of Wells site rather than trusting a number in an article. The seasonal beach trolley avoids the problem entirely.
Is Moody Beach public or private?
Both, in a way that catches people out. Maine waterfront owners hold title to the low-water mark, and the public's rights on the intertidal strip are limited to fishing, fowling and navigation. A rule the state's highest court applied directly to Moody Beach. You can walk the wet sand at low tide; the dry sand in front of the houses is private and posted, and public parking is minimal. Treat Moody as a walking beach, not a sitting one.
Which Wells beach is best for small children?
Wells Harbor Beach at Harbor Park (4.5 from 17 reviews) if you want almost no surf. It sits on the sheltered harbor rather than the open Atlantic, with the playground and bandstand of Wells Harbor Community Park (4.7 from 288) right there. For a proper ocean beach with lifeguards and bathrooms, Wells Beach is the safer choice, and Drakes Island is the calmer of the two open-ocean options.
