Quick Details
The waters along Crescent Beach provide a wonderful environment for a paddle! You’ll view the gorgeous coastline from a completely new perspective, get some exercise and glide across the waters near the beach looking out for seabirds and seals. There are often small waves breaking on the beach, so prepare to get wet while launching!
Enter the park for free! If you make an online reservation with Portland Paddle the entrance fee to enter the park is included. Just show your reservation at the gate and you won’t have to pay. Please note that there is sometimes a line at the gate, so it may take a few minutes to enter.
Please Note: Maine’s coastal waters are cold year-round and feature swift currents, boat traffic and rapidly changing conditions. You are responsible for your own safety when renting.
We require most paddlers to stay in the cove adjacent to Crescent Beach State Park. Experienced sea kayakers with capsize recovery skills may roam further, potentially heading to the much more exposed waters along Richmond Island.
Children ages 7 and up can paddle with Portland Paddle, but there are additional restrictions that apply. Ages 7 through 12 should be in a tandem kayak with an adult. Only children 10 and up can SUP and they must be accompanied by an adult. Staff may increase these age limits due to weather and sea conditions.
You will not be required to pay the entrance fee to Crescent Beach State Park if you present this reservation confirmation at the gate. Please be ready to present this confirmation on your phone or on paper before you approach the gate.
There is plenty of parking at Crescent Beach, and the park also has public bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, picnic tables, walking trails and a food truck.
We require that anyone renting our kayaks stay within a designated “Shore Zone” unless someone in their group is a skilled kayaker with experience rescuing a capsized kayak. This Shore Zone is large enough for most groups to paddle within for a couple hours or more. You can learn the capsize recovery skills required for taking our kayaks beyond the Shore Zone in our “Kayak Rescue Clinic”, which is offered most Sundays at the East End Beach in Portland, or through a private lesson.
We require that you bring a working cell phone with you in a dry bag that we provide. This policy is in line with standard recommendations by the Coast Guard and other marine authorities to always have a means of communication when boating on coastal waters.