Scarborough Beach State Park - Scarborough, ME
Scarborough Beach State Park – A Beautiful, Dog-Friendly Escape in Scarborough, Maine
Scarborough Beach State Park stands out as one of the top destinations for outdoor enthusiasts, beach lovers, and dog owners in Scarborough, Maine. While primarily known for its gorgeous, spacious sandy beaches and rolling surf, it also offers wide-open areas perfect for walking your leashed dog along the stunning coastline. With easy access, beautiful scenery, and fresh sea air, it’s a wonderful dog-friendly spot to experience the best of Maine’s coast.
The park’s amenities include food kiosks offering snacks and drinks, rental shops for beach gear, and rustic restroom facilities conveniently located near the entrance. Parking is available for a fee, but visitors should be prepared for a possible wait during busy hours and are encouraged to bring cash. The beach experience is enhanced by clean sands, unique shell and rock collections, and plenty of space to walk or enjoy the ocean view—ideal for dog owners looking for pet-friendly relaxation in southern Maine.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Are dogs allowed off-leash at this park? Dogs must remain on leash at Scarborough Beach State Park.
- Are there restrooms available for owners? Yes, there are restrooms and changing areas, although they are described as rustic.
- Is there a fee or membership required to enter? Yes, there is an entrance fee. Note that payment is cash only.
- Where is the best place to park? There is a main lot and an overflow lot. Early arrival is recommended to secure a closer spot, and bring cash for parking fees.
- Is there a swimming area for dogs? Dogs can accompany owners along the beach, but the designated swim area is for people. Check local regulations for seasonal dog swim policies.
- Are there benches or seating areas for owners? The park offers limited seating and picnic spots, but most visitors bring their own blankets or chairs.
Reviews
The beach itself is 5 stars IMO. It’s gorgeous. But everything else is 1-2 stars. The ‘bathrooms’ are glorified porta potties. They often smell horrible. Some of the staff come across as quite rude and money hungry. They’ll card very obvious senior citizens to make sure they aren’t trying to get in for a discount (used to be free). They decided to charge the elderly this year which I think is absurd. The amount they charge for a daily rate per person should cover whatever expenses they have. In early October they closed the lot closest to the beach and the bathrooms. There was no lifeguards and they were still charging you to enter. I hope the only ppl who would go are season pass holders because there was absolutely no reason to be charging when zero services are being offered. They take advantage of the fact they have a pretty beach.. it’s really unfortunate!
Came specifically to enjoy a beach morning. The beach was not crowded and the weather was lovely. Found some very nice shells.
Beach has easy access and there are restrooms close by.
Beautiful beach. Really nice Sandy beach. Great place to play in the water if the conditions are right for the day you are going and the size of waves are to your liking. Waves change daily. The beach didn’t get to decide what that will be.
My wife really wanted to go to the beach. What wifey wants, wifey gets. What she was expecting to see and what she actually saw didnt match. Alot of rock in the sand and the water is freezing cold. Nevertheless, once you get through the rocky sand walking along the beach is nice.
The Nashville Food Critic
The beach itself is 5 star fantastic, but the parking/entryway is in desperate need of an overhaul
Let’s start positive, the beach. As you approach youre greeted by awesome little food kiosks (smoothies, coffee, snacks, fries, fried dough) and a small rental shop (boogie boards, chairs, umbrellas, etc) as well as a bathroom & changing area complete with fresh water spigots for rinsing sand away. The bathrooms are… “rustic”, but they do the job.
The beach itself is quite large & even on the busiest days leaves ample room if you’re willing/able to walk a bit down either side. Waves can be pretty good by New England standards, with surfers often enjoying them. The beach is mostly fine sand but has areas with tons of extremely cool rocks (be forewarned, you’re not allowed to take any as souvenirs!)
Now the not-so-positive… the entrance bottlenecks traffic into a single lane where the slowest moving humans on earth inform each driver that its cash only, which causes a massive delay in a world where most folks are looking to swipe & go. They have an atm outside that people will literally leave their car (w the line stretching behind then) to withdraw the necessary funds. The longest we waited in line was about 45 minutes
There also seems to be no system/method for tracking the occupancy/vacancy of parking spots… we’ve been directed to the overflow lot across the street which doubles the long walk only to find numerous open spots available much closer (but they’ll still charge you the same amount, regardless how far you have to trudge)
Overall its an amazing beach & well worth checking out… just be prepared for a possibly frustrating entry, a potentially LONG walk depending how (un)lucky you are with parking, & for the love of GOD bring cash to get in with