Editor’s Note: This is a partial list of swimming holes, beaches and pools in northern and eastern Maine provided by NEWS reporters. For a more comprehensive list of sand beaches on the Maine coast, check out Page 6 of Delorme’s Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY

HOULTON AREA

BROWN SAND BEACH, off Fire Road E, Route 159, Lower Shin Pond in Mount Chase. Sandy beach with shallow water. Good for children. No facilities, but stores and restrooms nearby.

CREASANT PARK, New Limerick. Take Creasant Park Road, off Drews Lake Road in Houlton. Gravel beach, marked swimming area with ropes and floats; grassed and shaded picnic area with picnic tables, toilet facilities and parking.

ST. JOHN VALLEY

BIRCH POINT on Long Lake at Madawaska. Public swimming and picnic area located off Birch Point Road, next to St. Michael’s Catholic Chapel. Facility open seven days a week through Labor Day from early morning to 10 p.m. No lifeguard, except from 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays. Restrooms, changing areas, three picnic tables, cooking grills. Volleyball court, tetherball area, playthings for young children, plenty of parking.

EAGLE LAKE PUBLIC BEACH. Easily accessible on Old Main Street, off Route 11, open daily through Labor Day until 11 p.m. No lifeguard. Picnic area with six tables under canopies, benches, public restrooms and changing rooms.

ST. AGATHA. Public beach open daily through Labor Day. Located along Route 162 on west shore of Long Lake. Picnic tables, cooking areas, restrooms, changing rooms, boat landing facility.

FORT KENT PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL. Off Pleasant Street, open seven days a week. Public swimming 1 to 4 p.m. daily, adult lap swimming 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

VAN BUREN COVE ON LONG LAKE. Town operates public beach and swimming area on southwestern tip of Long Lake. No lifeguard. Facility open seven days a week. Boat launchings, landings available. Carry-in, carry-out facility for trash. Site is 11 miles from Route 1 by the Lake Road.

NORTHERN PENOBSCOT COUNTY

MORGAN’S BEACH on Cold Stream Pond. Off Route 155 in Enfield, offers swimming, picnicking and roller skating. Day use fee 25 cents per person, $1 for parking.

STOVER BEACH on Cold Stream Pond. Off Route 188 at end of old fish hatchery road in Enfield. Offers swimming, boat launch.

PRINCE THOMAS PARK on Mattanawcook Lake in Lincoln. Located off Main Street. Swimming, picnic area, boat launch.

SILVER LAKE in Lee. Located off Route 6 on Arab Road. Swimming area, picnic facilities, restrooms, boat launch.

MATTAWAMKEAG WILDERNESS PARK beach area on Mattawamkeag River. Located 7.6 miles off Route 2. Beach area, picnic, barbecue facilities. Day use fees $3 per person.

JERRY POND in Millinocket. Family swimming, picnicking, fishing. At Best Western take right onto Massachusetts Avenue and go to four-way stop sign. Take right on a dirt road for about one-eighth of a mile.

MILLINOCKET LAKE DIKE. Eight miles from Millinocket on Route 157 across from North Woods Trading Post and Big Moose Inn. Swimming area.

TOGUE POND BEACH and ABOL BEACH. In Baxter State Park. Swimming and picnicking.

JO MARY LAKE CAMPGROUND. Beach located 15 miles south of Millinocket or 15 miles north of Brownville Junction on Route 11. At the sign turn onto a dirt road and go 5 miles. Day use visitors $5 per carload. Visitors should sign up at Northwoods gate. Swimming, picnicking, paddleboat rentals, boat launch, small convenience store.

BANGOR AREA

STILLWATER RIVER on College Avenue Extension in Old Town is cool, crisp and refreshing. The water’s not quite as still there, so it’s a little nicer than swimming at Webster Park in Orono, though that will do in a pinch. Also fun, but not exactly swimming, is launching an inner tube at the Steam Plant parking lot on the University of Maine campus and floating down to Webster Park.

OLD TOWN. Indoor pool at Old Town-Orono YMCA is open for public swim 1-4 p.m. and 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday, and 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Sunday. Old Town residents swim free, nonresidents can swim for 50 cents. Pool staffed by lifeguards.

Three outdoor wading pools in Old Town, one at Perkins Avenue playground, one at Herbert Gray School, one at French Island playground. Wading pools between 3 and 4 feet deep, open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

If chlorine isn’t your thing, there’s also a favorite local spot, complete with a rope swing, on the banks of the Stillwater River behind the Old Town McDonald’s.

NADEAU-SAVOY MEMORIAL PARK. Gould’s Landing on Pushaw Lake a popular swim area in Orono. This summer marks the first year the beach will be staffed by the Orono Parks and Recreation Department. Essex Street north out of Bangor takes you directly to lake.

LURA HOIT POOL, Hampden’s municipal pool, a local attraction. Also a swimming hole off Papermill Road on Souadabscook Stream where the town used to run its summer program. No lifeguard and people need to park their cars and walk in. There is a small beach.

PISCATAQUIS COUNTY AREA

PEAKS-KENNY STATE PARK in Dover-Foxcroft. Scenic backdrop, far from traffic, a favorite of locals and tourists alike. Located on Sebec Lake off Greeley’s Landing Road in Dover-Foxcroft. Park offers about 500 feet of sand beach, lifeguard on duty during day. On humid days, the beach fills up rather quickly, so it’s best to arrive early in morning.

DOVER-FOXCROFT MUNICIPAL BEACH. Located a short drive from Peaks-Kenny State Park off Greeley’s Landing Road. Beach surrounded by privately owned camps but open to public. Certified American Red Cross trained lifeguard on duty noon-5 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Beach area closed at dusk. Piscataquis Regional YMCA conducts swim lessons Monday and Wednesday for participants who have signed up for summer program.

LITTLE LAKE WASSOOKEAG in Dexter. More than 100 feet of silky sand. No lifeguard, town provides bath house, boat launch, campground. Beach is off Route 23 on Crockett Road.

GREENVILLE. May share local public swimming hole or public beach at Lily Bay State Park with a wandering moose. Red Cross municipal beach on Moosehead Lake is secluded from Pritham Avenue by a stand of trees. The approximately 280-foot beach is somewhat rocky. Lifeguard on duty when swimming lessons are conducted by recreation department.

Approximately 200-foot park beach, also on Moosehead Lake, has no lifeguard on duty. Playground facilities, outhouses. Take Lily Bay Road from Greenville to reach park.

MONSON. Small public beach in Monson a favorite of locals. Located off Route 15 on Blanchard Road, public beach offers about 300 feet of shore frontage. No lifeguard. Toilet facilities on property.

ROCKLAND-BELFAST AREA

BARRETT’S COVE in Camden. Swimming on Megunticook Lake. Parking well off Route 52, grass areas for children to play, portable restrooms, barbecue facilities.

CHICKAWAUKIE LAKE, owned by city of Rockland. Located on Route 17 in Rockland, open to public. Lakeside swimming hole has beach, boat launch, ample parking. Lifeguards on duty during day, bathhouse on site.

DRIFT INN BEACH, Port Clyde. Roughly 13 miles down St. George peninsula. Take a left at Drift Inn Road. Parking for about 12 cars in town-owned lot. Sandy beach about 5 acres in size, public access. No fees to park. No lifeguards.

LAITE PARK, Camden. Off Bayview Street just south of village. “Pocket park” surrounded by fine homes. Swings, restrooms, stairs down to small beach with float on Camden Harbor. At lunchtime Wednesdays in July and August, free musical entertainment in the park.

LAKE ST. GEORGE STATE PARK. Off Route 3 in Liberty. Popular spot for family swimming. Admission charge, bathhouse, restrooms, barbecue area, small playground, lifeguards, roped-off swimming area. No sand beach to lie on, but a pleasant grassy lawn.

LINCOLNVILLE BEACH. An 850-yard white-sand beach that gives Lincolnville Beach. Parking can be a challenge, lot just off Route 1 often nearly full with customers at Lobster Pound Restaurant. No charge for using beach or for parking. Along with gradual drop-off, which makes the beach a favorite for young families, Lincolnville Beach has classic Maine scenery: small fleet of lobster boats; regular comings and goings of Margaret Chase Smith ferry; and Islesboro island, about 3 miles away.

LUCIA BEACH, Birch Point State Park in Owls Head. Follow Route 73 from Rockland, take left at North Shore Drive in Owls Head, then right onto Ash Point Drive, travel past Knox County Regional Airport, bear right at fork, take right at Dublin Road, follow about a 1/4-mile to Ballyhac Road on left, follow road, bear left at fork, follow to state park. Ample parking. No lifeguards, but a ranger five days a week (no coverage Thursdays and Fridays). Dogs must be on 4-foot leash. No open fires, except in picnic grills. No fees.

SANDY POINT BEACH. At mouth of Penobscot River just below Verona Island and Bucksport. Beach texture gravely in spots, still comfortable to sit on. State purchased 1,370-yard-long beach and adjacent marshlands in late 1980s as part of first Land for Maine’s Future program.

Turn east off Route 1 across from Rocky Ridge Motel and head down hill until you can go no farther. Ample parking at beach, no restroom facilities. With the river fighting the tides, there can be some interesting currents, but they generally pose no threat to swimmers near the beach. Beach drops off precipitously into the water.

SWAN LAKE. Waldo County residents looking for freshwater cooldown head to Swan Lake State Park (directional signs from Routes 141 and 139) in Swanville. The park is located at shallow end of lake. The mild water and shallow depths are perfect for young families and waders.

For saltwater swimming, many locals head for the town landing in Northport.

ELLSWORTH AREA

BEECH HILL POND in Otis. Deep, clear pond lined with small cottages and homes. From Route 1A in Ellsworth falls take Route 179-180 turnoff near Sunrise Glass. Turn left onto Route 180 near Graham Lake. Follow 180 to Otis, turning left onto West Shore Road just before Otis General Store. Beach and public boat launch immediately to right. No lifeguard.

SAND BEACH in Acadia National Park. Probably best-known ocean beach in eastern Maine. This 300-yard long beach actually made up of shell fragments. Located on Park Loop Road inside the park.

WASHINGTON COUNTY

ROQUE BLUFFS STATE PARK. Best freshwater swimming in western and central Washington County, 60-acre pond at park, open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to half-hour before sunset. Lifeguard available, depending on how many people are swimming, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. No lifeguard is available on ocean side of park, but people do swim there. The 275-acre park, with its distinctive rose-lined pebble beach, has hibachi grills, picnic tables, restrooms, changing rooms near pond. A 4 1/2-mile trail system available for hiking. Park is 10 miles south of Machias, reached from Machias or Jonesboro by way of Roque Bluffs Road, which runs off U.S. Route 1 in both towns.

MACHIAS MOTOR INN has $4-a-day pass that entitles user to swimming pool, lockers, changing room. No lifeguard. Anyone under 16 must be attended by an adult. Machias Motor Inn is on Route 1, just before Helen’s Restaurant as the traveler heads out of Machias.