Maine's most popular parks and beaches to remain closed - Press Herald

Maine’s most popular state parks are going to remain closed until at least June 1 under a new executive order from Gov. Janet Mills that aims to reopen the state’s economy while still guarding against the spread of COVID-19.

The parks, mostly located along the state’s central and southern coasts, are tourist hot spots with some of the largest beaches in northern New England.

The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands released a detailed list Wednesday of the coastal state parks. The parks were first closed on March 27 following concerns that visitors to the beaches were not following guidelines for social distancing provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Contrl and Prevention.

The closed parks and sites are: Reid State Park, Popham Beach State Park, Fort Popham, Fort Baldwin, Kettle Cove State Park, Two Lights State Park, Crescent Beach State Park, Scarborough Beach State Park, Ferry Beach State Park and Mackworth Island.

Maine has 48 state parks and historic sites, and visitation surged at parks that remained open for day use following the earlier closure of the beach parks.

Mills on Tuesday announced a plan to gradually reopen the state. The plan includes the opening of state parks and public lands for day use only, but noted that most of the state’s coastal parks would remain shuttered until at least June 1 and possibly longer if the number of COVID-19 cases in Maine surges again or the severity of cases becomes worse here.

This story will be updated.

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