A Family Adventure


in the mountains, ocean, and air

Pine Point and Popham Beaches

June 24, 2023
Emilie Phillips

I am super excited to report our first kayak trip to the ocean this year. It more than made up for rain cancelling flying events the last few weekend. This weekend was also the weekend Isaac started his three week sleep away camp in Maine.


Pine Point Beach


Return to the beach

It was almost 6 pm and thick fog by the time we put in the water in Scarborough Maine. Isaac had taken a while to pack and mentally ready himself to leave home. The pouring rain arrived in NH before we left. Thankfully, we drove faster than the storms blew. We didn’t have to change from street clothes into wetsuits in a deluge.


Pine Point Beach is similar to many other beaches in NH and Maine. The front side of the barrier peninsula has a parking lot with facilities and a nominal fee. On the back side of the tip of the peninsula, there is a boat ramp. This boat ramp even had a toilet.

We paddled out the Scarborough River to the end of the jetty. Isaac spotted some white caps a little farther away from shore. I hadn’t expected to find anything surfable (5 second period), but we actually caught some rides. The beach kept fading in and out of view into the fog. I was glad Tyson has a built-in compass on his deck. After an hour, we headed back. The paddle was the right duration for Tyson’s hamstrings.


Photos from Pine Point Beach

GPS track to Pine Point Beach

Popham Beach


Seal and Pond Island Light

The next day, we put in at Fort Popham. As the wind shifted between land breeze and sea breeze, conditions alternated between blue skies and pea soup fog. Our original plan was to paddle around the corner to the beach and play, the same as at Pine Point. That wouldn’t require research or charts. Our plans changed when we arrived at Fort Popham. We found current rushing out of the Kennebec River towards rocky islands. That current could quickly carry us to the islands. In an hour or two it would subside and we could paddle back. There were fun eddies behind the Sugarloaf islands. Ocean waves crashed off the far side of South Sugarloaf and Pond Islands.

It looked glorious. If only I knew which islands were public, we could work our way to the ocean with plenty of stretch breaks for Tyson’s hamstrings. We saw standing waves in the outflow between Pond Island and Wood Island. Seagulls squawked at us. Terns dove for fish. Cormorants tried to dry their wings in the patches of sun. Eider ducks flapped low over the water, slapping their wings against the water. Seals watched us everywhere we went.


The island that looked most likely to be public — Pond Island — turned out to be closed for bird nesting according to the sign we found. We skipped the biggest waves and headed to the beach. Tyson and I played in surf over a submerged sand bar. Isaac parked his kayak onshore and went swimming.


We returned to the car with plenty of time for a seafood lunch before dropping Isaac off at camp. 


Photos from the morning at Popham

GPS track to Popham Beach and back

Written June 28, 2023

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Comments (1)

  • Looks like such fun!
    Jonathan i ending his first of two weeks of camp in Sebago.
    Where is Isaac?

    Reply