Kennebunk Beach Webcam, Gooch’s Beach, Maine

Live Beaches Maine United States 📍 Gooch's Beach, Kennebunk, Maine, USA

📍 Location

About this webcam

The Kennebunk Beach Webcam looks out from the Seaside Inn across Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk, on the southern coast of Maine. In the foreground, a lawn set with white lounge chairs runs down to a band of dune grass behind a dark fence, and beyond it the sand meets a long line of breaking surf. The open Atlantic fills the middle of the frame out to a flat horizon. On the left, a low rocky point topped with trees sits beside a long, dark line of rocks that looks like a jetty, which fits the inn’s position near the mouth of the Kennebunk River. Walkers pass along the waterline, and the tide changes how much sand shows between the dune and the surf. A caption bar along the bottom of the stream gives the current air temperature and wind.

About Kennebunk Beach

Kennebunk Beach is the neighborhood along Beach Avenue in the town of Kennebunk, and its shore splits into three named stretches: Mother’s Beach, Middle Beach and Gooch’s Beach, which is also called Long Beach. Gooch’s Beach is the long, wide sandy one, used for swimming, surfing and walking, with lifeguards in season and a paved, level sidewalk beside it. Middle Beach is a rockier stretch between Gooch’s and Mother’s, and Mother’s Beach is a small family beach with tide pools and a public playground. The stream’s caption says Kennebunkport, the name many visitors use for the whole area, but the inn’s address, 80 Beach Avenue, is in Kennebunk, a town of 11,536 people at the 2020 census.

The Seaside Inn has a longer history than almost any business in the country. John Gooch arrived in the area in 1637, and in 1667 he was commissioned to live on the oceanfront peninsula at the mouth of the Kennebunk River and ferry travelers across it. The same family has run the inn ever since, which makes it one of the oldest companies in the United States, and the current owners are Trish and Ken Mason. Today it has 22 rooms, stays open year-round and is the only hotel directly on Gooch’s Beach. Dock Square, the shopping and dining center of Kennebunkport, is about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) away.

Weather and Climate in Kennebunk Beach

Summers on this part of the Maine coast are warm rather than hot. July is the warmest month, with average highs of about 26 C (79 F) and lows near 16 C (60 F). The sea takes longer to warm up and is at its warmest in August, at around 17 C (63 F), which most swimmers would call bracing. That is the season when lifeguards are on duty at Gooch’s Beach and when parking permits are needed along Beach Avenue. Spring and fall sit between the extremes, and because the water only peaks in late summer, a mild spring day in town can still feel cool down by the surf.

Winter is properly cold. January averages a high of about 1 C (33 F) and a low of about minus 9 C (16 F), cold enough for snow to settle on the lawn and the dune after a storm. The inn stays open through the winter, so the Kennebunk Beach Webcam keeps watching the shore when it is empty, and the temperature and wind readout on the stream is a quick way to check how raw it is on the open shore before heading out.

Things to Do Near Kennebunk Beach

The beach itself comes first. Gooch’s Beach suits a long walk or a surf session, Middle Beach is the place to hunt for sea glass, and Mother’s Beach has tide pools, the KBIA playground and an ADA-compliant Mobi-Mat for getting across the sand. Farther afield, Parson’s Beach off Route 9 is an 800 meter (half-mile) stretch of sand with very little parking, Colony Beach off Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport is a small, sheltered beach beside a long rock jetty that needs no permit, and Goose Rocks Beach runs for about 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) with views of Timber Island.

Dock Square in Kennebunkport is the place for shops, restaurants and galleries, and the white-columned Nott House stands near it. In Kennebunk, the Brick Store Museum on Main Street holds the town archives, and the Wedding Cake House is a Federal-style home known for its Gothic scroll-saw trim. The Seashore Trolley Museum is on the drive in from the south. For open country, the Nature Conservancy’s Kennebunk Plains covers about 607 hectares (1,500 acres) of trails and blueberry fields, known locally as the Blueberry Plains, and the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is also within easy reach. In the holiday season, Kennebunkport’s Christmas Prelude brings visitors back after the summer crowds have gone.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Kennebunk Beach located?

Kennebunk Beach is on Beach Avenue in the town of Kennebunk, in York County on the southern coast of Maine. The Seaside Inn, home of the Kennebunk Beach Webcam, is at 80 Beach Avenue near the mouth of the Kennebunk River, about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from Dock Square in Kennebunkport.

What can you see on the Kennebunk Beach Webcam?

The camera faces the ocean over the inn’s lawn, a fenced band of dune grass and the sand of Gooch’s Beach, with the surf line and the open Atlantic beyond. A wooded rocky point and what looks like a jetty sit on the left of the frame, and a caption at the bottom shows the current temperature and wind.

What is the weather like in Kennebunk Beach?

Summers are warm but rarely hot, with July highs around 26 C (79 F), and winters are cold, with January lows around minus 9 C (16 F). The sea is warmest in August at about 17 C (63 F).

Which beach is the Seaside Inn on?

The Seaside Inn sits on Gooch’s Beach, the long, wide sandy beach at the eastern end of Kennebunk Beach, and it is the only hotel directly on it. Middle Beach and Mother’s Beach continue farther west along Beach Avenue.

Do you need a parking permit for Kennebunk Beach?

Yes, in summer. The Town of Kennebunk requires permits for Gooch’s Beach, Middle Beach and Mother’s Beach from June 15 to September 15. Non-resident passes are sold by the day ($25), the week ($100) or the season ($200) at three kiosks, through the PassPortParking app and at Kennebunk Town Hall.

How far is Kennebunk Beach from Dock Square in Kennebunkport?

The Seaside Inn is about 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) from Dock Square, close enough to walk or bike in for dinner and the galleries.

When is the water warmest at Kennebunk Beach?

August, when the sea averages about 17 C (63 F). Even at its peak the water feels cool, and it is far colder through winter and spring.

Source: Boston and Maine Live