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Fort Williams Park

4.7 (132 reviews)
Open 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

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Mel S.

Beautiful park with the beautiful Portland Head Light Lighthouse. Multiple parking lots (advice: don't come in a day where there's a marathon like we did - the parking was tough). There are a couple of foos trucks onsite, including the Cousins Maine Lobster truck. Plenty of picnic tables to sit at. Rows of outhouses for bathrooms available. Bring bug spray and sunscreen!

Melissa B.

On Mother's Day Sunday, Tony Vanoy Noël Teel Calliope & I visited the Head Lighthouse located in Fort Williams Park in Portland Maine It was free to enjoy the Lighthouse itself is closed to the public. Season doesn't begin until Memorial Day! Because of my handicap plaquard we didn't have to pay fee for parking! We strolled the baby around the park, the cliffs and rock overlooks & the Lighthouse! It was extremely windy & cold! But even still it was a lovely sunny day!

10/23/25 530pm
Long H.

Came around 530pm and was told by the park rangers that the park will close around sundown/sunset, so we had about 30 minutes left. This park is truly beautiful. The light house over looks the beautiful ocean and on a rock cliff. I wish we had more time to explore, but even with the small amount of time we had, we enjoyed it very much, Definitely a must place to come and see. You can easily spend the whole day here, great place to even have a picnic.

Susan S.

A definite when in Portland. Beautiful lighthouse and interesting history. Please note that there is nowhere to throw trash. You Carry In - You Carry Out. Plan for that. Idea: take an Uber there and get dropped off right at the lighthouse!

Kurt V.

Truly a breathtaking experience. It is almost spiritual to be in Fort Williams Park and see the rocky cliffs and shoreline along with the Portland Head Lamp, which is truly one of the most iconic lighthouses in north America. The park is open daily, year around, sun-up to sundown and is free to visitors. If you are in the area, this is a must-see as it is quintessential New England!

Shanina S.

Fort Willams Park is a 90-acre park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine and has numerous historical sites. Fort Williams Park is famous for having the Portland Head Light on its grounds, and the park also houses the decommissioned and largely demolished United States Army post Fort Williams, which was operational during World War I and World War II. Fort Worth Park has trails to walk and there are different parts of the park you can enjoy. The park also has a variety of food trucks so if you're hungry you don't have to worry about leaving the park. Additionally, there is a bus provided in the park to take a tour. The park has a scenic view and the park is free but you do have to pay for parking.

Frank W.

A must see when in the area as demonstrated by the large number of people in and around the lighthouse, but there is so much more including trails and historical sites to be seen.

Proof I was here
Shannon G.

Kind of a bummer. We literally just wanted to run up the hill, take a picture and leave. You have to pay for parking. I feel like it used to be free when I lived here. And the minimum time is 2 hours for $5.00 I don't think we were here longer than 15 minutes. We used the porta potty and took our pictures and we left. Not $5.00 worth, and didn't take us 2 hours. Would be nice if you could pick your times in 30 min increments at the very least.

Beautiful views.
Lisa B.

Breathtaking views of the light house. Nice clean park with nice walking trails around the park.

Sanjay G.

Cape Elizabeth, Maine is home to Fort Williams Park and Portland Head Light. So history: constructed in 1787 and served through both World War I and World II, Fort Williams was finally decommissioned in 1962. Fort Williams and the surrounding acreage were purchased by the Town of Cape Elizabeth just two years later, in 1964. The former army post is now home to a 90-acre park featuring picnic facilities. small trail- the Cliff Walk begins (or ends, depending on where you start) at Portland Head Light. The .4 mile, one-way gravel trail is rated "easy", Views of Ram Island Ledge Light and Casco Bay Islands can be seen on a clear day. The park includes picnic sites, grills, playing fields, tennis courts, a playground, a beach, sledding hills, historic buildings, and the oldest lighthouse in Maine. It is open year-round, from sunrise to sunset. Dogs are allowed on leash, aside from designated off-leash sections.

John E.

You can find Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth at 1000 Shore Rd, 04107. There are several dedicated parking lots, I think the best way to take in the park is to use the lot closest to the entry then walk to the lighthouse via one of the many trails or roads. The park has several stages of development going on, phased in over years - quite the project and worthy of the scenic landscape. The ultimate destination for tourists is the lighthouse - I have it reviewed in a dedicated Yelp page for Portland Light. Once you've experienced the lighthouse, lightkeeper's house and gift shop walk to the native garden as its well worth seeing - pleasant and fragrant walk due to the flowers. The air here is terrific. You can extend your walk into a hike using the well marked paths.

Ocean view
Jeff C.

Very serene park numerous trails and lighthouses. It's very family oriented. A lobster roll is never more than 10 miles away! I dug it!

Heather B.

Beautiful on any day. Highly recommend visiting! Walk around the lighthouse to see such beautiful views of the water & rocks

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4 months ago

Friendly and knowledgeable staff and with the exception of way to many steps it was a great time and place to visit.

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11 months ago

Great park to visit for the lighthouse, walking paths, and food truck! Paid parking, but very reasonable.

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Review Highlights - Fort Williams Park

The lighthouse itself is gorgeous, and looks very well maintained for being the oldest lighthouse in Maine!

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Portland Head Light - Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light

4.8(365 reviews)
0.1 mi

Definitely visit this if you are in Portland, especially on a sunny day. As much as the Lighthouse…read moreis iconic, the scenery around it is mind blowing. You can also take a walk along the cliff to enjoy the view from multiple directions. It is a good spot for picnic as well, and there are a couple of locations which are close to the water as well. Plenty of parking available, there are multiple parking lots along the property. Definitely recommend it.

While in Portland for lunch, we stopped in some small shops in the area and the lovely lady at the…read moreshop recommended that we check out the lighthouse. She said it was only about 15 minutes from the shop and we decided we would go check it out. The Portland Head Light is one of their most famous light houses according to the locals. It was very cold there but what a sight! We walked round the light house, checked out the cliff sides and walked on the trail. It was a gorgeous day (freezing but beautiful) with the perfect skies for photos of the light house. We were able to read the historic plaques, see the cliffs and the water crashing below us. After visiting the Head Light, we went over to the other portion in Fort WIlliams Park and checked out the old house, military storage areas and I even went down and touched the ice cold Atlantic ocean water that was crashing on the beach. If you are in the area I would highly suggest visiting the Portland Head Light. We were there in the late evening about an hour prior to closing so the coffee truck wasn't open but they do have a coffee & gelato stand right near the Light House. It was an amazing experience and much different than light houses I have seen on the West Coast.

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Portland Head Light - Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light - Lighthouse view

Lighthouse view

Portland Head Light - Portland Head Light

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Portland Head Light

Scarborough Beach State Park - Beach

Scarborough Beach State Park

4.4(16 reviews)
7.3 mi

$10 dollars a person, and an amazing beach! Great waves, plenty of space, and nice staff. Only con…read moreis unless you're here really early, expect to park far away.

I've only ever been to Scarborough Beach during the "off season" - which to them is around November…read more16th to March 31st - because it's not a part of the Maine State Parks Pass. A note on that: - A Maine State Parks Pass is $55 for an Individual Season Pass, $105 for a Vehicle Season Pass. It gets you into dozens and dozens and dozens of parks across Maine, and most of those parks only really check passes from maybe the beginning of May to the end of September. - For Scarborough Beach State Park, which is operated in a public/private partnership with Black Point Resource Management LLC, from April 1st to October 1st it costs $7 per person per visit for residents/$9 for non-residents; from October 1st to November 15th it costs $6 per person per visit for residents/$8 for non-residents; it's $105 for an Individual Season Pass, $140 for a Vehicle Season Pass, $155 for a 24-hour Season Pass. So... it's *not* one of the cheaper options for beach access in the state. Is it glorious in the summer? I don't know. But according to the folks who own this beach: "Scarborough Beach offers some of the best swimming in New England with water temperatures in the high 60's throughout July and August." Is it glorious in the off season? Yes, but... The "yes": it's a long, sandy beach with uninterrupted views of the ocean. It makes for exceptional strolling and thinking and taking in blue space! Know that you have to park on the street, and it's a little bit of a walk to the beach itself, but it's so worth it. The "but": this is one of the most dog-walked beaches I've ever been to (and I rarely see them leashed). Every time I visit there is *a lot* of dog waste bags; one time I found 16 bags of dog poop and 2 used diapers. Yikes.

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Scarborough Beach State Park - USLA Lifeguards

USLA Lifeguards

Scarborough Beach State Park
Scarborough Beach State Park - New boardwalk makes getting onto beach easy

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New boardwalk makes getting onto beach easy

Jewell Falls

Jewell Falls

4.2(13 reviews)
6.3 miNasons Corner

This hike is a nice place to take a short stroll for the locals but not a place I would recommend…read moretourist to come. First off, it is only about half mile from parking to the waterfall. So total hike was only 1 mile. it is a WALK, not hike. Good for families with young ones. Be very aware that the mosquitoes here are super HUNGRY! I have never gotten so many bites within such a short time inside a hike! I got 6-7 bites all over my legs just from hiking here for 30 mins. My husband got 8+ bites all over his body! Luckily my little one only got 1 bite. We were all over Maine in the last 2 weeks including kayaking and out at Acadia national park. All outdoor activities and barely got any bites until now! There are other trails here too but after getting so many bites, we wanted to run away as fast as we could! I wish I didn't come here. View and waterfall are not worth it for trade off of these hungry hungry mosquitoes!! *sooo itchy* :-/ Bring bug spray if you wanna come!

Jewell falls is a waterfall of water flowing from the Fore River and is named for Tom Jewell who…read morewas one of the founders Portland Trails and very much alive today. Did you know that Portland Trails started in 1991? He donated the land around the falls and the rest of the land the trail walls through is a mix of public and private land. You see evidence of this with many marked signs that designate private property -- good to respect these so we can continue to walk these trails. Somehow I got lost off my usual path I take and ended up going on the greater fore river sanctuary trail loop around and across the railroad tracks, but the boardwalks were great! Back to the falls, if you start at the trailhead near Brighton ave, it's less than 0.25 miles of a walk. The falls are made of horsetails of rushing water over large slabs of rock. The trails are really well maintained and there's not too many people. You can definitely still hear traffic from some parts but there are a few quiet enclaves.

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Jewell Falls
Jewell Falls
Jewell Falls - My friend on the tracks at the entrance!

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My friend on the tracks at the entrance!

Western Promenade

Western Promenade

4.7(9 reviews)
3.5 miWest End

Great place to catch a portland sunset and look at some gorgeous, old houses. Get there early.read more

The West End is a promenade that's located on the edge of an area called Brahmall Hill and is…read morecurrently listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It's got beautiful and historical architecture with it's Victorian homes (and, apparently, former sea captain homes as well), stunning views of NH's White Mountains on clear days, spacious green areas and walking paths, a tree swing, the Western Cemetery fraught with our cities deceased wealthier ancestors, great walking areas, and it even once won an award from the Portland Phoenix for having one of the best secret spots to make-out in a tree (I kid you not). To me, the Western Prom is the established, composed, unruffled older sister (who's probably quite proper and likes garden parties) to the Eastern Prom. I'd like to think I've got a little West End in me, and it's fun to pretend I belong there when I'm picnicking and watching the planes come in and out of PWM from a distance. I've seen kiddos practicing lacrosse here with their dad, people relaxed under trees reading, friends playing a pick-up game of bocce while drinking something out of red solo cups. There used to be more events held here (... the legendary Halloween parade is not to be missed); so hopefully those concerts and outings begin to happen again!

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Western Promenade - Sunset

Sunset

Western Promenade
Western Promenade - Live music tonight! Three more Wednesdays, Sunset Concert Series

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Live music tonight! Three more Wednesdays, Sunset Concert Series

Peppermint Park

Peppermint Park

4.0(2 reviews)
3.5 miEast Bayside

Every time I see this park it looks considerably nicer than it did the time before. It's meant to…read morebe apart mostly for toddlers and grade school children. Although at first I was turned off by the no dogs sign I realized that in Portland with our Somalian community that if dogs are allowed to play in the park Somalian children may not want to or be able to for religious reasons. It's a tiny park not really good for dogs anyway. The first time I saw this park it was midsummer and probably minutes from sunset, it didn't look as nice as it did the next couple times and perhaps it's because it's actually been cleaned up or repainted, or perhaps it's because the rough elements hasn't been seen in any of my following passing by's. I believe now that the neighborhood daycares and/or preschool uses park that parents are getting stricter and the police as well about keeping the drug addict and troublemakers and homeless winos from using the park 4 there less child oriented usages.. The park is at Cumberland and Montgomery and had a to jungle gyms and 10 benches and some grassy areas to sit or play or picnic on. If I was a kid I would give it a 5 star

This is a good park however there is litter everywhere which is disappointing. The equipment is…read morestill in good condition and they even have a little shower for hot days. If a local organization did a clean up day this park would get 4 stars.

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Peppermint Park

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Fort Williams Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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