Crescent Beach State Park is public recreation area on the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, United States. The park is open from 9AM to sunset daily unless otherwise posted at the gate. Dogs are not allowed April 1st to September 30th on the beach. The state park features a mile-long, crescent-shaped beach for swimming and sunbathing, fishing, sea kayaking, and trails for hiking and cross-country skiing.

Geology

The park's 1.4-km pocket beach is subject to erosion from wind and water. Measurable erosion seen in 2005 and 2007 also occurred at the smaller, adjoining pocket beach known as Kettle Cove.

Ownership

The state has leased 100 acres of the park from The Sprague Corporation (owned by the privately held Black Point Corporation) since 1961. In 2013, the state's lease was extended for five years at a cost of $500,000. Under the original 50-year lease, the state paid $1 per year for use of the land, an amount that increased to $10,000 annually with a series of one-year lease extensions that began in 2011. The state has expressed interest in purchasing the entire property, one of the largest revenue-generating parks in Maine, when the current lease expires in 2018. In 2012, the Maine State Employees Association (MSEA) protested the possible privatization of the park by Governor Paul LePage's administration, saying privatization would endanger the entire public park system.

Gallery