there are so many beautiful beaches in southern maine, but when a walk by the ocean and the steady beat of surf are what you need to rewrite a really heinous day, then footbridge beach might just be your happy place. for sure, it's mine. you cross that wooden bridge spanning the estuary and suddenly you're in a different place--the dunes of the cape--but minus the mind-numbing hellscape that is route 3. the beauty of footbridge beach is simply breathtaking.

there's a small paid parking lot (free in the off-season), but it fills quickly on a summer day. plan to walk, bike, take the trolley, or call in a favor from a friend for a drop-off if you want a day at the beach and not at the parking lot waiting for someone to leave. the beach does get crowded--on a hot summer day it looks more like the jersey shore than anything you expect to see in southern maine.

footbridge is seasonally dog-friendly. dogs are welcome from the 2nd week of sept thru the end of march (basically when the plovers aren't nesting). however, the dunes and the endangered plovers are vulnerable at any time of the year, so even in the off-season if your k9 buddy is a wild child, pls keep him/her leashed. the dunes are off-limits to all, at any time. no dogs in the estuary. ever. there is a poop bag dispenser and a trash can at the front gate. (thanks to the town of ogunquit for this.)

on this cold, gray, wet st. patty's day, the beach was mostly deserted and perfect for a long afternoon of bullie ball in the rain with my little buddy. not a great day for photographing, but whatever. bullie gets that dirty dogs have more fun, so at the end of the day, if you're lucky enough that the dog and the car both have sandy bottoms, you're lucky enough.