Crescent Beach State Park is state-operated, public recreation area on the Atlantic Ocean in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, United States. The state park features a mile-long, crescent-shaped beach for swimming and sunbathing, fishing, sea kayaking, and trails for hiking and cross-country skiing.[3]

Crescent Beach State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Location in Maine
Location	Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Maine, United States
Coordinates	43°33′53″N 70°13′41″W[1]
Area	242 acres (98 ha)[2]
Elevation	7 ft (2.1 m)[1]
Established	1966[3]
Operator	Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Website	Crescent Beach State Park

Geology

The park's 1.4-km pocket beach is subject to erosion from wind and water. Measurable erosion seen in 2005 and 2007 also occurred at the smaller, adjoining pocket beach known as Kettle Beach.[4]

Ownership

The state has leased 100 acres of the park from The Sprague Corporation (owned by the privately held Black Point Corporation)[5] since 1961. In 2013, the state's lease was extended for five years at a cost of $500,000. Under the original 50-year lease, the state paid $1 per year for use of the land, an amount that increased to $10,000 annually with a series of one-year lease extensions that began in 2011. The state has expressed interest in purchasing the entire property, one of the largest revenue-generating parks in Maine, when the current lease expires in 2018.[6]^{[needs update]} In 2012, the Maine State Employees Association (MSEA) protested the possible privatization of the park by Governor Paul LePage's administration, saying privatization would endanger the entire public park system.[7]

References

External links

• Crescent Beach State Park Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry