This "beach" is so overcrowded. Believe me, I get its summer. Also, boardwalk was extremely…read moredirty. You can smell sewage as you walk past restaurants . It was my first time here, and it will be my last. Not impressed.

While on a 6 state exploration of the upper NE US during the late summer. My friends and I stopped…read moreat several beaches in Maine and NH. This was the best. The combination of easy parking along the very long beach and the countless options of dining and shopping along the boardwalk was a great way to spend an afternoon into the evening.

This review is intended for loud tourists from MA that don't know how to park their Abrams…read moretank-sized car. DO NOT GO THERE. If someone has told you that this is a beautiful beach park with fabulous views, they were dead wrong. If you think it might be a great place to fire up a grill and relax, you are sorely mistaken. If you got the crazy idea in your head that this would be the perfect way to spend a summer day, I say, no way, Jose. This place is not for you. Keep on trucking in your monstrous SUV. The fried dough at Old Orchard Beach is calling out to you.

Parking, $25, very close to the beach, or strangely, $25 per person, to park outside the gate and…read morewalk in. Big picture: Quiet remote secluded beach front, with wooded winding gravel walkways along its coast, and interior park pavilion for hosting larger parties. Details: You're going to have to scramble down boulders and rocks, to get down to the water. Most of the shore beyond the boulders and rocks is river stone, with scant areas of sand. Relatively convenient restrooms. Never jammed with people, like the wide sandy NH and MA beaches. Bring your own food and drink, there's nothing nearby, but does have picnic tables. Constant breeze, quite cool as of late afternoon.

This is a great spot to try out if you are visiting with young children. There are several picnic…read moretables under shady trees to enjoy a snack. The playscape is beautiful with a fun zip line feature and plenty of climbing, slides, and swings for different ages. We enjoyed the playground first then walked over to the small beach which wasn't too crowded and perfect for an hour of cooling off in the water and searching for cool rocks. There is an outdoor shower for washing off after the beach by the bathrooms. The only thing we were surprised about was the lack of garbages, not a big deal as we just put our garbage in our bag to throw away later.

The way to Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse was closed for renovation so we ended up just checking…read moreGreat Island Common. It's actually a large enough place with plenty of parking and had some good amount of spots for gatherings/picnics/BBQ. I didnt feel like it was the most beautiful place although the view of the harbor was. I enjoyed the little painter decor that they have and that wide open feel of just standing by the waters. However i felt like the place needed some TLC. Idk. The gentleman by the entrance was very kind and sweet though and allowed us to just check the area for some quick pics for free as we didnt stay too long for this visit.

Plum Island Beach, in Newburyport, is a great & lowkey beach on the North Shore to go to!…read moreThe beach is clean & pretty quiet, mostly locals. Much less congested compared to the popular beaches in MA & no traffic jams. I usually only come here if I'm planning a trip to see my friends in Newburyport ;) Not sure how much the parking is; I park at a friend's house. Very calm beach ONLY THING IS, avoid going in the month of July, OR be very careful of the greenhead flies! They are everywhere here during that month & their bites hurt lol. Not sure if greenheads are only specific to this beach in particular, however, I've only really ever experienced this here.

Visited plum island beach river side of it. I was sad to see how much they let things go there but…read morestill charge $15 to park?Trash on the beach / glass. The wooden wall way was closed off on the parking lot side and on the beach side the stairs/ramp removed. The view is still beautiful. They no longer have life guards on duty..

Got to relax on the beach mid-September and it was perfect. The part we were at is nice and rock…read morefree, plus they had a sand rug as you enter that beach that made it easy to get to. The water was cold but was nice to dip my feet in. They do charge for parking until October I believe but it was Girl Scouts love State park weekend so it was free for us. There are both parking meters or you can use Yodel.com for convenience. They have a bathhouse at the parking lot that is clean and has an outdoor shower too. Plus I saw a children's park and a cookout area. Overall lovely park and I'd love to come swimming here in the new england summer months!

Ok park with good access to the beach. It gets very crowded in the summer, but we were always able…read moreto find a spot on the beach. Sites are water and electric only - they have a dump station with 4 lanes which is convenient. Few trees and kind of close together. One negative for us, it's really priced for Massachusetts residents. They charge an extra for non-MA residents (Like $40 more per night).

Odiorne Point State Park is a public recreation area that opened in Rye, New Hampshire in July…read more1972. It is administered by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation. The park is located along the Atlantic seacoast in Rye, not far from Portsmouth. The area is the site of the Pannaway Plantation: the first European settlement in New Hampshire. Settled in 1622, the plantation was completely abandoned by the 1630s when the settlers moved to nearby Strawberry Banke. The land was settled in the mid-1660s by the Odiorne Family, whom the park is now named after. From 1942 to 1947, the park was the home of Fort Dearborn. The ruins of the deactivated World War II-era fort can still be seen today. Today the park is home to hiking trails, bike paths, a playground, picnic areas, pavilions, and a Seacoast Science Center which opened in 1992. My family and I visited Odiorne Point State Park this summer while we were heading to Maine for a summer getaway. We had some time to kill before we could check in to our AirBnb, so we decided to stop at the park. We had fun exploring the grounds and my two sons especially enjoyed playing on the nautical-themed playground. The highlight of the park is the Seacoast Science Center. There are all sorts of exhibits devoted to the conservation of marine and coastal environments. My two sons loved learning about whales, local shellfish populations, the local fishing industry, the fight against ocean pollution, and underwater exploration. There was even a cool gift shop where we picked up a few things. Whether you live in the area or you're just passing through like us, Odiorne Point State Park is a fun place for the whole family!

I feel the need to preface all of my nature reviews with this: being 90% forested and having around…read more3500 miles of coastline, Maine (and NH) has a tremendous amount of spaces, walkways, paths, and trails of all kinds and of all levels. There's something for everyone. What I'm reviewing is how a spot compares to similar outdoor spots in my personal opinion. Being in nature - and remembering to carry in, carry out - is always five stars! :) Parking? Yes. Loop trail? Yes. Well marked signs? Yes. Element of surprise? Yes. I was looking for state parks in New Hampshire and this one caught my eye because of the name, if we're being honest. It sounded magical! So was the way it was advertised: "picnickers can enjoy sweeping views of the ocean and rocky shore, and explorers can uncover evidence of past military occupation. An extensive network of trails wind through the dense vegetation and traverse the park. [t]he property is also renowned for its... seven distinct habitats that can be visited within an hour's walk. Although the spectacular rocky shore is the one of the most notable, the woodlands, uplands, salt marsh, freshwater and salt ponds, and sandy beach (non-swimming) combine to create one of the region's most diverse nature walks." I like a little bit of everything, and this sounded like it had just that! The first time I came I bought a pass online; when we arrived it was a freak snowstorm and we were the only ones there. So we had a literal winter wonderland to play around it. The views from the coast were lovely and offer plenty of picnic tables to sit and enjoy yourself at, but exploring the woods that day was even more amazing - we spent a lot of time with a big buck who kept finding himself lazily meandering on the same trail as us. Thank goodness for binoculars! And the element of surprise! There was also some tremendously graffitied old batteries, a breakwater (that becomes nearly inaccessible when the tide is high; reversely when the tide is low that same area exposes a Sandy beach), there's an area called Pirate's Cove, an old cemetery, and Dolphin Fountain (which looks like it belongs in France, not NH). This became an immediate favorite! I can't wait to come back and see it in Spring and Summer! (SIDE NOTE: There's also the Seacoast Science Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, that provides educational exhibits related to the seacoast area for a separate fee; but, I haven't been able to check that out yet!)

Watching the sand sculpting was fun. What a job they do to make such awesome pictures come to…read morelife. The final afternoon count down had spectators milling about, myself included, as they finished up a week's worth of crafting. The gates were opened in the afternoon so people could get up close and cast their People's choice vote. The north part of the beach was closed off around 5 to prepare for the night time fire work's celebration. There was talk of sky divers but we didn't see any. There was a slight rain drops that sprinkled in but nothing that seemed like a show stopper. Worth going to see and I was surprised that with as many viewers it was not a mob scene and people were pleasant and respectful during viewing and photos. Thumbs up!

Took my mother in-law here quite a few years ago it was our first time seeing this it was awesome…read moreto see the sculptures and all the detail and hard work all the participants put into there works of art. This was definitely worth wading through the crowds.

One of my favorite New England beaches for the superior waves. Attracts lots of local surfers plus…read moretourists that rent surfboards from the shop across the street. Luckily, the surfers don't clash with the swimmers, bodysurfers, and boogie boarders and all share the waves. The parking lot is very small, with metered parking. Better yet, plenty of free, on-street parking if you're willing to walk. High tide takes up a good portion of the beach, so it can get cramped if it's crowded. Pretty beach, family friendly.

My favorite beach. Very small though. Hard to get parking once the day progresses. Very clean…read more Water is cold. Onsite bathroom and changing facility. Lifeguards start at 10 am so don't drown before then. Very popular spot with surfers in the early morning and evenings. Not too too rocky. You wouldn't be able to fly a kite here.. too small. People bring their dogs in the early morning even though there are no dogs allowed so watchout that you don't step in a poop.