1. Shore Acres Golf Club
City: Phippsburg, ME
Category: Golf
Telephone: (207) 389-9060
Address: Sebasco Harbor Resort
Description: The 9-hole course at this oceanfront resort was rebuilt in 2001, and it’s open to nonguests. The panoramas of Sebasco Harbor are phenomenal, and the course takes full advantage of them. Holes are set up such that rank amateurs and experienced duffers alike can choose tees that match their skill level. There’s even a three-hole, regulation-size practice course for beginners. The facilities also include a pro shop, club and cart rentals, and a restaurant and lounge. The views alone are worth the drive down the Phippsburg Peninsula. Open from late April through early November.
2. Head Beach
City: Phippsburg, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: Small Point Rd.
Description: On the same peninsula as Popham Beach, Head is a sand beach of 360 yards that’s a bit of a local secret. Parking is the problem here, but you can pay a small fee and leave your car after the gate on the peninsula and walk over. Hand Beach is a nice strand facing the beautiful eastern edge of Casco Bay.
3. Popham Beach State Park
City: Phippsburg, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (207) 389-1335
Address: 10 Perkins Farm Lane
Description: Sitting on an elbow-shaped peninsula between the Kennebec and Morse Rivers, Popham Beach is a wonderland of sand and surf. The grainy expanse sprawls for 3 miles, by far the longest beach in the Midcoast, and it’s got a little of everything—ledges, tide pools, offshore islands, nearby lighthouses, great shell collecting, picnicking facilities, and on and on. People even ride the fast current of Morse River like a waterslide (Popham’s well known for its riptides and strong underwater pulls, so be careful if attempting these sorts of activities). And beachgoers will often walk across the sands to Fox Island when the tide’s right. Schedule a full day here or you’ll be disappointed. Whenever the sun makes an appearance during the warm-weather months, from the time the park opens in mid-April until it closes in October, there will be people at Popham—lots of them. The beach is the most popular strand north of Portland and south of Acadia, which means the parking lot is almost always full—cars line the approach road for miles on a hot summer weekend. But the beach is so long, it can absorb the thousands who show up, and you can almost always find an uncrowded spot to sit.
4. Seguin Island Light
City: Phippsburg, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: At 180 feet above the sea, the Seguin Island Light is a fairly dramatic lighthouse, and the view from its tower is exceptional, taking in Portland, Mount Washington, and Monhegan Island all at once. Relatively few people ever get to see it, though, because of the fact that Seguin Island is 2 miles from the end of the Kennebec River and is deserted for most of the year. Visitors are welcome to climb the 1795 lighthouse tower, and there’s even a three-room museum on the island filled with lighthouse memorabilia.