Reid State Park

Each year thousands of visitors enjoy Reid State Park’s long, wide sand beaches like Mile and Half Mile, which are rare in Maine.

Things to Do

Swimming and surfing are popular – Mile Beach is considered one of the best surfing spots in New England. The park also offers two popular trails. The 2.14-mile Ski Loop Trail is best accessed from Todd’s Point Road. It makes a loop through the northern area of Reid State Park with one section near a sizeable pond and bog area.  Across the road from the pond is a historic one-room schoolhouse. As conditions allow, this trail is groomed in the winter for cross-country skiing. The Little River Trail, a 1.4-mile trail, can be accessed from Todd’s Point and it follows the meandering Little River, which is home to a wide array of birds that feed on the small fish and plants of this area.

Enjoyed as a recreational resource, the beaches are also essential nesting areas for endangered least terns and piping plovers and resting and feeding areas for other shorebirds. Rarer than beaches along Maine’s coast are large sand dunes, like those at Reid. For a geologic tour of the beaches visit The Geology of Mile and Half Mile Beaches.

From the top of Griffith Head, a rocky headland overlooking the park, visitors can view sweeping seascapes and spot the lighthouses on Seguin Island, The Cuckolds, and Hendricks Head. Visitors can also see several islands, including: Damariscove, a thriving fishing community in Colonial times; Outer Head, protected as a tern sanctuary; and Southport, where noted naturalist Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring.

Click here for more information.