Popham Beach, Maine
Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2024 5:25 am
So, as promised, I had a wedding shoot in Yarmouth, Maine recently and decided to take the extra hour drive north to Popham Beach where the notorious “quicksand” incident took place that took the news by storm.
First off, this place is a trek. Beautiful scenery makes it worth it but make sure you have a reason to be up here. Park security is present during the day but these guys were awesome as I was there doing photos so they honestly didn’t care if I stayed past their hours as long as I parked elsewhere. After hours, this place is serene. Not a soul in site and absolutely great views of the islands off the coastline. This place does see a lot of traffic but it was just a handful of people by the time I got there.
Took some snaps on my way to the location which is at the mouth of Morse River. It was a decent hike but not too far. Once I was there, it was easy to see how this could occur. The beach was only a few inches above the water line at low tide. Poked around some and found some soft spots but the deepest I could find without any effort was ankle deep.
I figured tides might play a role so I waited around taking some photos while the tide started coming back in some and it did have an effect but not as you all might hope. It was already 9:30pm at that point and I didn’t wanna run the chance of getting stuck while the tide came in (at 11:30ish here) so I started making my way back. The bugs are insane there btw.
Verdict? It isn’t what you might expect but it wasn’t a complete bust. Got to explore a bit, grab some pics and learn a thing or two while there. I definitely recommend it regardless just for the views. Something tells me the conditions have to be just right as while it was definitely soft, it wasn’t anything near unstable enough to feel uncomfortable walking on (just watch your ankles).
Make sure you time your departure, though. There is a narrow slice of beach that goes underwater when the tide comes in so if you wait too long, your choices are to trek over protected grounds (punishable by fine) or go swimming.
Explore safely as always and watch your tide charts before heading out.
First off, this place is a trek. Beautiful scenery makes it worth it but make sure you have a reason to be up here. Park security is present during the day but these guys were awesome as I was there doing photos so they honestly didn’t care if I stayed past their hours as long as I parked elsewhere. After hours, this place is serene. Not a soul in site and absolutely great views of the islands off the coastline. This place does see a lot of traffic but it was just a handful of people by the time I got there.
Took some snaps on my way to the location which is at the mouth of Morse River. It was a decent hike but not too far. Once I was there, it was easy to see how this could occur. The beach was only a few inches above the water line at low tide. Poked around some and found some soft spots but the deepest I could find without any effort was ankle deep.
I figured tides might play a role so I waited around taking some photos while the tide started coming back in some and it did have an effect but not as you all might hope. It was already 9:30pm at that point and I didn’t wanna run the chance of getting stuck while the tide came in (at 11:30ish here) so I started making my way back. The bugs are insane there btw.
Verdict? It isn’t what you might expect but it wasn’t a complete bust. Got to explore a bit, grab some pics and learn a thing or two while there. I definitely recommend it regardless just for the views. Something tells me the conditions have to be just right as while it was definitely soft, it wasn’t anything near unstable enough to feel uncomfortable walking on (just watch your ankles).
Make sure you time your departure, though. There is a narrow slice of beach that goes underwater when the tide comes in so if you wait too long, your choices are to trek over protected grounds (punishable by fine) or go swimming.
Explore safely as always and watch your tide charts before heading out.