Southern Maine beaches, Ogunquit, Old Orchard and Portland
A phone in the rocks below the Marginal Way
A tide of about 9 feet uncovers wide sand at low water, and rock gives up what sand swallows
A phone that goes down between the rocks on the Marginal Way does not sink, it wedges, which makes it a low water job and a question of whether the spot can be safely reached. Sand is the other half of this page, and there the tide decides, because it rises and falls about 9 feet and uncovers a wide band at low water.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch or phone on the southern Maine beaches, in Portland or in Gorham with a metal detectorist who can search there. Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the coast, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
It is not only phones. People lose wedding bands and Oura rings in cold surf, watches off the piers, and earrings and bracelets on lawns in Gorham. A detector finds anything metal, glasses frames included. Plastic sunglasses are found by eye at low water or by a diver.
Two photos and the state of the tide
Stand where you think it came off and take two photos, one towards the water and one back towards the lifeguard stand, pier or car park. Note the time, because with a tide this big the spot may be under several feet of sea a few hours later. Digging at random only makes the patch harder to read.
Then message us on WhatsApp with the beach, the time, a dropped pin and what was lost. Say whether the tide was rising or falling and whether you had been in the water, because those two answers shape the search more than anything else.
Places we cover on the Southern Maine beaches, Ogunquit, Old Orchard and Portland
- Ogunquit, Main Beach
- Footbridge Beach and North Beach, Ogunquit
- Marginal Way and Perkins Cove, Ogunquit
- Wells Beach and Drakes Island Beach, Wells
- Rachel Carson refuge, Carson Trail, Wells
- Kennebunkport, Goose Rocks Beach and Colony Beach
- Ferry Beach State Park, Saco
- Old Orchard Beach and the pier
- Pine Point Beach, Scarborough
- Higgins Beach, Scarborough
- Crescent Beach State Park, Cape Elizabeth
- Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth
- Fort Williams Park and Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth
- Portland, East End Beach and the Eastern Promenade
- Gorham, home lawns and town parks
- Robie Park and Little Falls Recreation Area, Gorham
Beaches and parks from Ogunquit to Portland
Ogunquit Beach and the Marginal Way
Ogunquit Beach is three miles of white sand, from Main Beach near downtown, over the footbridge across the tidal river to Footbridge Beach, and on to North Beach, with seven lifeguard stations staffed between late June and Labor Day. South of it the Marginal Way follows the rocky shore for about 1.25 miles to Perkins Cove, a working harbour where lobster boats come and go.
Wells Beach and Drakes Island Beach, Wells
Wells has several public beaches, including Wells Beach, Drakes Island Beach and its own Crescent Beach, with lifeguards on duty daily from the last week of June to Labor Day. The sand runs long and flat, so the entrance you walked in by is worth more than the name of the beach. Off Port Road (Route 9), the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge has the Carson Trail, a loop of just under a mile (1.5 km) beside the salt marsh.
Goose Rocks Beach and Colony Beach, Kennebunkport
Kennebunkport has two public beaches. Goose Rocks Beach is a 3 mile stretch off Kings Highway with island views, and Colony Beach sits on Ocean Avenue across from the Colony Hotel. Mark where you sat with a photo of the island view, because the islands line up differently along the beach and that alone can place you.
Old Orchard Beach and the pier
Old Orchard Beach has 7 miles of white sand reaching north to Pine Point in Scarborough. The pier was first built in 1898 and has places to eat and shop, with Palace Playland beside the beach. To the south, Ferry Beach State Park in Saco has a sandy beach on Saco Bay with lifeguards in summer.
Higgins Beach and Pine Point, Scarborough
Higgins Beach is a sandy beach of about 0.6 miles (1 km) in a neighbourhood that dates back to the late 1800s, bounded by the Spurwink River and known for surfing and a shipwreck in the sand. Pine Point Beach runs from the Pine Point jetty along Saco Bay to Old Orchard Beach.
Crescent Beach State Park and Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth
Crescent Beach State Park is about 8 miles south of Portland on Route 77, with a mile long crescent of sand backed by dunes. Kettle Cove sits right beside it with a walking trail around the cove. Lifeguards are on duty from mid June to mid August, and the stands are the easiest thing to count along from.
Fort Williams Park and East End Beach, Portland area
Fort Williams Park is a 90 acre park owned by the Town of Cape Elizabeth and home to Portland Head Light, with rocky shore below the lawns. In Portland, East End Beach sits below the Eastern Promenade, a 68 acre city park looking over Casco Bay where people swim and launch kayaks.
What you get when you message Ring Seekers
One person from start to finish
You explain once, and the same person keeps you updated.
Your map and photos go to the detectorist
We brief the detectorist with your dropped pin, photos and timings, including the state of the tide when it came off.
Plain about poor odds
If the phone or the piece of jewelry went deep between the rocks below the Marginal Way, or off a boat in Perkins Cove, we say so before you spend anything.
Rock, sand and turf are three jobs
On rock a searcher works the gaps at low water. On a nine foot tide they work the hour. On a Gorham lawn they can take their time.
Costs settled before anything happens
What a search would come to is worked out with you first, and a fair number of these conversations end there quite happily.
Tides, water and ground on the southern Maine coast
Tides from NOAA
NOAA gives its Portland station a mean tide range of 9.12 feet (about 2.8 metres) and a great diurnal range of 9.9 feet (about 3 metres). That is a big tide, so a wide band of wet sand opens at low water and a ring dropped at the water line can sit under several feet of sea a few hours later. Knowing whether the tide was rising or falling is what tells a detectorist how far down the beach to start.
Sand, rocks and rips
The long beaches from Old Orchard to Pine Point are sand, while the Marginal Way and Fort Williams have rocky shore where a ring wedges rather than sinks. Old Orchard Beach gets rip currents, and that is the water that carries a small thing along the beach instead of leaving it where it fell.
Cold water
Water at NOAA's Portland station averaged about 62F (17C) in August 2025 and about 34F (1C) in February 2025. Cold water shrinks fingers, and rings and Oura rings slip off.
Inland ground in Gorham
Away from the coast there is no tide at all. A ring or bracelet on a Gorham lawn sits in the turf where it fell, which is why a loss there a fortnight ago is still worth a search when the same loss on open sand would not be.
Questions about the Southern Maine beaches, Ogunquit, Old Orchard and Portland
I dropped my phone off the rocks on the Marginal Way. Is there any point?
Sometimes. The Marginal Way is a paved path of about 1.25 miles along the rocky shore from downtown Ogunquit to Perkins Cove, and a phone or metal frames wedged between rocks can be picked up by a detector at low water, if the spot is safe to get down to. Plastic sunglasses need sharp eyes or a diver. Send a photo from the path directly above the spot and you will get an honest answer on whether anyone can reach it.
I lost my ring on Main Beach or Footbridge Beach in Ogunquit. Can someone search?
Often, yes. Ogunquit Beach runs three miles from Main Beach past Footbridge Beach to North Beach, with seven lifeguard stations staffed between late June and Labor Day, so there is usually a stand near where you were. Give us that, the hour, and whether the tide was rising or falling.
My Oura ring or watch came off near the pier at Old Orchard Beach. Will a detector find it?
Both are metal, so a detector picks them up in the sand. Old Orchard Beach has 7 miles of it, with big tides and rip currents, so the pier is the landmark worth measuring from. Tell us which side of it you were on, how far away, and whether the tide was coming in or going out.
My wedding band came off at Crescent Beach or Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth. Where do we start?
With the lifeguard stand or the path you came down. Crescent Beach is a mile long crescent backed by dunes, and Kettle Cove sits beside it with a trail around the cove. A mile of sand sounds hopeless, but people are almost always within fifty yards of where they came onto the beach.
I lost an earring at Wells Beach or Drakes Island Beach. Is that findable?
On dry sand, often. Wells has several public beaches, including Wells Beach, Drakes Island Beach and its own Crescent Beach. An earring is small and quiet under a detector, so what helps is a tight box on the map rather than a beach name. Tell us which entrance you used and how far you walked from it.
I lost my ring at Fort Williams Park or East End Beach in Portland. Can you help?
Often, yes, though they are different jobs. Fort Williams Park has rocky shore below the lawns, where a ring drops between stones. East End Beach, under the Eastern Promenade on Casco Bay, is grass and sand, far better ground.
My ring or bracelet came off on a lawn or at a park in Gorham. Is a search worth it?
Often it is, and inland is the easiest ground on this page. Grass is kinder than sand because nothing moves a lost ring or bracelet once it is down, and a detector reads it cleanly through turf. Robie Park and the Little Falls Recreation Area are the two people name most. Keep the mower off the patch and tell us where you sat.
Southern Maine beaches, Ogunquit, Old Orchard and Portland
Rising or falling is the thing we need to know
Nine feet of tide decides more here than the beach name does. Send the place, the hour, whether the water was coming in or going out, and a pin with a photo on WhatsApp, and you will hear honestly whether a search makes sense.