With warm weather arriving this week, we are celebrating Maine’s incredible system of 32 state parks across the state as a great way to get outside. Maine’s state parks and public lands range from sandy beaches along the coast to hiking mountain summits and exploring waterfalls. With a purchase of a State Park Pass, you can visit these beautiful places year-round and support our public lands and parks.
Visiting all of the state parks in a year is a great family bucket list activity. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite state parks below, and scroll to the end for more information on the State Park Pass.
Sebago Lake State Park
Casco, Maine
Portland Region
Sebago Lake State Park opened to the public in 1938 as one of the five original state parks. This forested lakeside park is situated on the shore of Maine’s deepest and second-largest lake which provides year-round recreation for thousands of visitors each year. Near the foothills of the White Mountains, the park’s 1,400 acres features sandy beaches, extensive woodlands, ponds, bogs, a river, and diverse habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal life. Swimming, sport fishing, camping, and boating are some of the summer activities enjoyed by visitors. The park’s 250-site campground is a popular destination for family vacationers and provides lasting memories season after season.
Popham Beach State Park
Phippsburg, Maine
Brunswick Region
Popham Beach State Park is a popular beach park covering 605 acres at the mouth of the Kennebec River as it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Facilities include bathhouses, fresh-water solar rinse-off showers, and charcoal grills. Visitors can walk to Fox Island at low tide, but are warned to pay attention to the quick-rising tides so as not to get marooned.
Grafton Notch State Park
Newry, Maine
Western Maine Mountains Region
Grafton Notch State Park lies just north of Sunday River ski resort in the Western Maine Mountains. Perhaps the most easily accessible waterfall in the state, Screw Auger Falls lies in a spectacular canyon inside the state park along the Bear River in the Mahoosuc Range. Drive along Route 26 through the park and be sure to see the other well-marked scenic pit stops, including Moose Cave, a 45-foot canyon to explore with wooden stairs and platforms winding through the canyon. At the stop for Screw Auger Falls, there is a large parking area and several picnic tables and bathrooms nearby. A well-defined path with guard rails provides safe places for looking into the gorge, but take care if wet and with small children or pets.
Camden Hills State Park
Camden, Maine
Midcoast Region
Camden Hills State Park is a 5,710-acre park with a scenic vista atop Mount Battie with sweeping views of Camden, Penobscot Bay, and surrounding islands. On a clear day, visitors can see Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park. There are over 30 miles of trails within the park, with summits including Mount Megunticook, Mount Battie and Bald Rock Mountain. The park is located only a few minutes north of Camden.
Cobscook Bay State Park
Dennysville, Maine
Downeast Region
The wildlife-rich waters of Cobscook Bay surround this 888-acre park on three sides, providing opportunities to watch birds and observe the ebb and flow of the region’s impressive tides. Cobscook, the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tribal word for “boiling tides,” aptly describes this setting where the tidal range averages 24 feet and can reach 28 feet (compared to a 9-foot average tide along Maine’s southernmost coast). Cobscook Bay State Park is a great base for family camping and explorations in easternmost Maine. Many of the park’s 106 campsites (both for tenting and RVs) border Whiting Bay, a sheltered inlet within the larger bay. The park offers a boat launch for those with the experience to handle boating in challenging conditions, with rapids created by fast-moving tides.
A Down East magazine feature story “Could Cobscook Bay be the Next Mount Desert Island?” explored how the new Cobscook Shores network of fifteen waterfront parks and other developments around Eastport and Lubec set the stage for a robust future tourist and recreation industry. Locations within Cobscook Bay with extreme currents and whirlpools are noted on this map here.
Learn more about Maine’s State Parks Pass on the state website:
- $55 for an Individual Park Pass (admits the person who signed the pass)
- $105 per Vehicle Park Pass (valid for the person/family members only who signed the pass and all occupants in up to a maximum size 17-passenger vehicle)
- If you are a Maine resident and 65 years of age or older, you are admitted free with proof of age, no park pass needed. Purchase the special Annual Vehicle Senior Pass ($45) at any Maine State Park (proof of age is required – senior must be present).
Please note that park passes are not accepted at Acadia National Park, Allagash Wilderness Waterway, Baxter State Park, Maine Wildlife Park, Peacock Beach, Penobscot Narrows Observatory, Penobscot River Corridor, Scarborough Beach, Songo Lock, or Swan Island.
