Updated August 2026
Best beaches in Maine by water quality
Maine has 104 public beaches in the EPA monitoring dataset, 53 of them with enough bacteria samples to grade. 8 earn an A for consistently clean water, while 8 grade an F for frequently exceeding the safe-swimming limit. Full ranking below.
| Grade | Beach | County | % over limit | Samples | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Crescent Beach | Cumberland | 0% | 42 | Excellent |
| A | Fortunes Rocks Beach | York | 0% | 35 | Excellent |
| A | Scarborough Beach | Cumberland | 0% | 30 | Excellent |
| A | Popham - Center Beach | Sagadahoc | 0% | 27 | Excellent |
| A | Middle Beach (Biddeford) | York | 0% | 22 | Excellent |
| A | Fort Foster - Pier Beach | York | 0% | 20 | Excellent |
| A | Wells Beach | York | 2.3% | 86 | Excellent |
| A | Mitchell Field Beach | Cumberland | 2.8% | 36 | Excellent |
| B | Moody (Ogunquit) | York | 3% | 33 | Good |
| B | Stovers Point Preserve | Cumberland | 3.1% | 32 | Good |
| B | Footbridge (Ogunquit) | York | 3.1% | 32 | Good |
| B | Long Sands Beach - South | York | 3.3% | 61 | Good |
| B | Sand Beach | Hancock | 3.6% | 28 | Good |
| B | Crescent Beach (Kittery) | York | 5% | 40 | Good |
| B | Broad Cove Reserve | Cumberland | 5.3% | 114 | Good |
| B | Kettle Cove Beach | Cumberland | 5.3% | 38 | Good |
| B | Drakes Island Beach | York | 5.6% | 72 | Good |
| B | Crescent Beach (Wells) | York | 5.7% | 35 | Good |
| B | Pine Point | Cumberland | 6.3% | 48 | Good |
| B | Oob - Central | York | 6.5% | 201 | Good |
| B | Pemaquid Beach | Lincoln | 6.7% | 45 | Good |
| C | Oob - Ocean Park | York | 7.1% | 85 | Fair |
| C | Long Sands Beach | York | 7.6% | 197 | Fair |
| C | Hills Beach | York | 8.6% | 35 | Fair |
| C | Sea Point Beach | York | 8.9% | 45 | Fair |
| C | Hadley Point | Hancock | 9.1% | 33 | Fair |
| C | East End Beach | Cumberland | 10.1% | 119 | Fair |
| C | Colony Beach | York | 10.3% | 107 | Fair |
| C | Fort Foster - Horn Point | York | 10.3% | 39 | Fair |
| C | Bay View | York | 10.5% | 38 | Fair |
| C | Laudholm Beach | York | 10.6% | 47 | Fair |
| C | Sandy Beach | Knox | 10.8% | 37 | Fair |
| C | Higgins Beach | Cumberland | 11% | 145 | Fair |
| D | Mackerel Cove | Cumberland | 12.4% | 105 | Poor |
| D | York Harbor Beach | York | 13.3% | 60 | Poor |
| D | Wells Harbor | York | 14.7% | 156 | Poor |
| D | Goochs Beach | York | 17.3% | 104 | Poor |
| D | Short Sands Beach | York | 17.3% | 52 | Poor |
| D | Mothers Beach | York | 17.4% | 144 | Poor |
| D | Lincolnville Beach | Waldo | 17.5% | 57 | Poor |
| D | Hulls Cove | Hancock | 17.5% | 40 | Poor |
| D | Seal Harbor | Hancock | 17.9% | 67 | Poor |
| D | Town Beach | Hancock | 18.6% | 43 | Poor |
| D | Kinney Shores | York | 20% | 105 | Poor |
| D | Willard Beach | Cumberland | 21.5% | 233 | Poor |
| F | Laite Beach | Knox | 25.7% | 74 | Failing |
| F | Cape Neddick Beach | York | 28% | 118 | Failing |
| F | Middle Beach (Kennebunk) | York | 29.4% | 143 | Failing |
| F | Goodies Beach | Knox | 29.7% | 111 | Failing |
| F | Goose Rocks | York | 32.6% | 267 | Failing |
| F | Ferry Beach (Scarborough) | Cumberland | 34.6% | 107 | Failing |
| F | Little Beach | York | 37% | 73 | Failing |
| F | Riverside (Ogunquit) | York | 37.1% | 175 | Failing |
Download the full Maine beach safety ranking
All 53 graded Maine beaches with their Beach Safety Grade, exceedance rate, sample counts, and program status — from EPA monitoring data. Enter your email to download; you'll also get swim-advisory alerts. A grade is a multi-year classification, not a same-day safety clearance.
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