East End Beach — Attraction in Portland

It's a beautiful place for being right In downtown Portland, great place to bring dogs and kids to get a taste of the ocean and run around on the beach. There's some history in the gazebo up around the eastern promenade area and decent foraging at low tide for those looking for sea glass, shells, or other treasures.

My 4 Stars about this beach is that it is not to clearest water that you will see in Maine. People come to this beach and think "This is it?" without realizing that this is just one of the myriad of beaches the state has to offer. The amount of boats on coming through the harbor sometimes can murk up the water and there was at least one jellyfish sighting during a heatwave in 2021.

TL;DR: Its great for walking/jogging and nice for a dip if you can't get out of Portland but otherwise I recommend other beaches if you want to get a taste of the beauty of...

June 2023 - with so much rain this Spring, we had to get out and walk on the rare occasion of a nice evening. Even with a heavy haze the views are still spectacular. We enjoy sitting and watching the dogs play after 5 PM.

BEACH? No, don't come looking for a huge stretch of sandy beach and swimming. It's a small beach area. People come here for the views, the trail, the activities (kayak, boarding, train ride, food trucks). If you're looking for a beach to lounge on all day, head for Old Orchard Beach or Willard Beach or any of the options nearby.

2021 - Each time I walk or ride the Eastern Prom trail and visit East End Beach, I am reminded why so many people come to...

The beach itself is okay. Dog owners let their dogs run free here, and we’ve never encountered a really aggressive dog while here. However, the beach itself is clearly used for night drinking. I had to watch where I was walking to be sure I didn’t step on broken glass. This is fine if you don’t have young children and you want to wear shoes on the beach, but I couldn’t let my 2 year old run around the beach because of the glass and off-leash dogs. I would give the trail it is off from 5 stars though. The eastern prom trail is beautiful and people always have their dogs on leashes on the trail itself, I just wish the beach were nicer. It looks gorgeous from...