gooch's beach

After completing our yearly 14 hour drive for our annual one month stay throughout coastal Maine, we decided to let our pooch stretch his legs at Gooch's beach: a truly breathtaking locale. The beach is dog-friendly after 5pm and before 9am, which is absolutely fantastic. A must-see!

Beautiful long flat beach with the kennebunk River jetty at one end (a fun place to swim from in summer!) and rocky tidepools at the other end (see the little pink Maine shrimp swimming there in December). Perfect for long, peaceful walks and beachcombing. Nice shallow slope for children, too.

Goose Rocks is a great place to visit with many out of the way places to see. It is not far from Kennebunkport.

Walked here every morning with my dog while staying in the area. We were in Wells but drove to Kennebunk just for this beach which is very dog friendly. The beach is beautiful in the off season. Lot's of folks walking their dogs off leash. Dogs can be off leash if you have voice control. People walking here are so friendly we had such a great time. Wish I could move here! There was a house for sail facing the beach, only $2.3 million. A bit out of my league! At least we can walk the beach for free!

Fine beach to walk, surf or have a picnic. Enjoy the views and watch the surfers. Parking can be tight on occassion and it is a little cool in October.

My favorite beach in the world and we have traveled. I find very relaxing with the river nearby, the boats, the rocky area in the distance. Perfect size, perfect sand, best a low tide.

The beach wasn't too crowded despite the season. The water was relatively warn and it was easy to find a nice spot to watch the kids swim. The waves were fun, but not dangerous.Parking requires a permit (we got a guest pass with our cottage rental), and can be a bit of a pain unless you get to the beach early in the morning.

We parked at the far end of the beach, not cheap at $20 (but all the beaches cost that much so get over it) and plan to be there for a good long time. We stopped here after some early morning shopping in the very quaint town of Kennebunkport, very pleased with the beach as there's plenty of space. Nice, chilled day on a well preserved beach.And eider ducks and other bird life too, we had a nice day.

We love, love, love Gooch's beach. We took our dogs on vacation and loved that we could walk them on the beach every morning from 6-9AM and again in the evening from 5-9PM. It is like doggie Disney land in the mornings with at times over 40 dogs running and swimming on the beach off leash (if they are friendly and will come when called). I hope everyone stays respectful of the beach and cleans up after their dogs so this privilege is never taken away. We also went to the beach at "people time" and it was great. When the tide is out the beach is huge and never felt crowded. Parking can be a little tough but there are lots of spots - you may just need to drop off your crew with chairs and beach gear and then go buy a parking pass from the machine and find a spot on the street. There are porta-potties but no snack bar. Town is close with lots of lunch options to bring back.

Great beach for family, kids, friends, couples or just to sit and relax.Flat beach with good walking. Small waves, life guards on duty, parkingis pay by the hour via kiosk. Great beach to just sit and relax!

This must be how Kennebunk is able to pay for snowplowing in the winter. For $20, you could park near Fenway Park in Boston, and for $20 you can park until 11p.m. at Gooch's Beach, even if you only want to stay for an hour or two. Overall the beach is clean, but it is also next to a so-called "private beach", whose "owners" seem to not know what a public good is.

It says you need a permit and to pay for parking but evidently they are one in the same. We just wanted an hour or so on the beach but parking is daily and $20. The beach is pretty though!

Great Waves! Check out a surfing lesson at Aquaholics! The best! Easy parking, good room to walk at low tide, nice and clean

At first glance there is nothing particularly spectacular about this beach. The sand, though white and powdery, isn't as fine as other beaches and has quite a bit of rocks in it. Furthermore, there's also a hefty amount of dried seaweed on the beach. However, it's somewhat expansive and has gorgeous views of the pretty houses on either end which reminds me of Bondi beach in Australia. We were there yesterday during the July 4th weekend and surprisingly enough, there weren't the throngs that I expected there to be. There was enough space for everyone. The 60 degree water though was a tad too cold for dipping beyond ankle deep and only for a few short minutes (still, I've seen a few brave souls venture out and swim). Nonetheless, it was a gorgeous beach day... perfect for relaxing and enjoying the sun.The towns of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport both require non-residents to purchase permits to park on the street next to the beach. The permits can only be purchased at certain areas in town such as the visitor center, chamber of commerce and police station. We were lucky enough to find an open spot on the road to the beach, a few blocks away and therefore didn't have to obtain a pass.Overall, this is a great beach to spend time in. It's not too far from town and is easily accessible. I like that it's not mobbed like other more famous beaches and yet still provide fun and relaxation.

A family favorite--the beach is easy to get to, never a problem parking, and always something to do. We like to stroll the beach down to the jetty and then jump into the surf and walk down towards the point near the Narragansett