Sandy Point Beach Park
Sandy Point Beach
This post was originally published June 8, 2017.
The weather has been very Irish lately. Between the ever-present clouds and the sprinkling of rain, I’ve been met with some warm sunny days worthy of June. With the breeze bouncing lilac petals off my windshield, I drove along the Penobscot River until I reached Stockton Springs, Maine and the little public beach that’s nestled there.
When I arrived, Sandy Point Beach Park was only occupied by a couple and their two dogs. I wasn’t surprised to find the beach mostly mine for exploring with many kids still in school, but I know come mid-summer, the beach will be full of families swimming and picnicking.
Branching off the parking lot, there are about 2 miles of wooded trails that are worth walking. The birds and squirrels kept me company while I hiked the dirt paths that were occasionally dressed with a series of wooden planks in the places where Maine’s infamous mud season might prove to be more problematic. I kept my fingers crossed that I would see a bear but had no such luck.
Sandy Point Beach is one of the few sandy beaches in the Northern half of the state. In areas, the shore remains gravelly but nothing a pair of sandals couldn’t handle. From the shore, I watched a bird swoop down into the water from the broken remnants of a pier and return to the sky with a fish clamped in its beak. Loons are common at the beach and every now and then seals will swim upriver from the harbor.
The beach embodies a lot of the things I admire about Maine. Not only is the area filled with wildlife, including a deer that I spotted on the drive home, but a sense of community floods over the sand as much as the river does. The roads are posted with signs saying “Please Drive Like Your Kids Live Here”—I’ve never been so politely told to slow down. Strangers will wave as you pass by, and an “Emergency Dog Box,” containing a first aid kit, was placed under one of the benches on the beach. It’s obvious that the locals greatly respect the area, and it’s impossible not to respect it as an outsider too.