the sands at popham beach have been eaten up by the hungry ocean. the wide dunes and dune trails used to lead you from the parking lot to the beach, but now they are gone, replaced by pitifully small banks of sand where park rangers have piled unattractive tree trunks and limbs hoping to secure what sand is left. the same powerful storms that wiped out the beach also pulled the quaint, wooden, open-air bathroom/shower facilities into the sea. they rebuilt it out of drab cinderblock.
on monday it was cloudy—a great day for a hike on the beach. the inland temperatures were in the high 80's, but here it was 75 with a good breeze. to me the beach is best when it's cloudy. i don't like to roast in the blazing sun.
i walked out along the curving sand to the granite mound that is fox island. the tide was coming in, but there was still time for me to explore a little and safely get back over the sand bar to the mainland before the bar was surrounded and then covered by the treacherous swirling waters of the 2 p.m. high tide.
at popham you need to leave the island about three hours before high tide unless you don't mind being stranded on the bald, rocky dome until the tide turns.
popham beach at low tide is a beautiful, unique beach to explore.
at high tide it is almost entirely swallowed by salty waves.
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