On weekend mornings this fall, a 1968 GMC carpet van is parked at Camp Ellis Pier selling cinnamon rolls, breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Part of the pier parking lot holds a contractor's staging area. On the old Saco Jetty, a metal fence stops walkers about 800 feet out. None of this was there last October.
The jetty fence is the easiest boundary to see on Saco's shore right now. It isn't the only one. Since October 1, the rules for a walk on Saco's coast depend on who owns the sand under your feet. The city, the State of Maine, a federal construction project and the neighboring town of Old Orchard Beach each set their own terms. Dog owners feel the difference most.
The City's Three Beaches Changed on October 1
Saco's dog rules for its beaches are in City Code 64-10, last amended in March 2021. The code names Kinney Shore, Bayview Beach and Camp Ellis Beach, and it covers them all with one set of rules. From April 1 through September 30, dogs must be on a leash no longer than 12 feet. On October 1 that changes:
From October 1st through March 31st dogs can be off leash if they are under Voice Control and Sight Control.
Two rules stay in place all year. Dogs must be leashed getting in and out of vehicles at the beach. Where part of a beach is roped off or posted to protect piping plover nests, or the nesting site of any other endangered species protected under federal law, dogs can't come within 100 feet. The city repeated the off-leash dates and the leash rule for vehicles in its September 30 seasonal beach notice.
So the city's three beaches now share one off-season rule. The same doesn't hold for the rest of Saco's shore.
Ferry Beach Follows the State's Rules
Ferry Beach State Park is part of Saco's coast, but Maine's Bureau of Parks and Lands sets its rules. State park beaches allow no pets at all from April 1 through September 30. From October 1 through March 31, pets are allowed, but only on a leash under the handler's physical control. Voice control doesn't satisfy that rule. The state's pet rules also require you to pick up after your dog right away.
On October 1, then, both systems changed at once in opposite directions. City beaches dropped the leash requirement, and the state park started allowing dogs for the first time since spring, on a leash.
Getting into Ferry Beach also works differently in the off-season. The grounds' posted season runs from Memorial Day to September 30. After that, visitors park outside the gate and walk in, and the park's facilities are closed. The state's conditions page lists no park programs right now.
The state charges its day-use fee all year, including after the facilities close. The posted rates:
- Maine resident adults: $5
- Nonresident adults: $7
- Nonresident seniors: $2
- Children 5 to 11: $1
- Children under 5: free
- Maine residents 65 and older: free
Goosefare Brook Is Where Saco's Rules End
At the north end of Kinney Shores, Saco's shoreline ends at Goosefare Brook. Past it, Old Orchard Beach's ordinance applies.
Old Orchard Beach organizes its rules around a different season. Its published rules ban dogs from the beach during the daytime from May 15 through Labor Day. During that same period, dogs are allowed from 5 p.m. to dusk on a leash no longer than 12 feet. Outside the owner's property, the town otherwise requires dogs to be leashed or under voice-and-sight control. That reads close to Saco's off-season standard. The town's dog-rules page was published in June 2025, though, so check it before treating it as current for this winter.
That makes three beach dog rules within a few miles of coast, each with its own dates: Saco's city code, the state's park rules and Old Orchard Beach's ordinance. The city and state both switch on October 1, in opposite directions. Old Orchard Beach switches on Labor Day.
The October Dates for the Saco Shore
The city's beach services also wind down on more than one date. Facilities, mats and parking each have their own:
- September 30. The posted season for Ferry Beach State Park's grounds ends. From then on, visitors park outside the gate and the facilities are closed.
- October 1. Off-leash season starts on Camp Ellis, Bayview and Kinney Shore. Leashed dogs are allowed back on Ferry Beach.
- Already gone. The accessibility mats at Bayview Beach and Camp Ellis Beach came out early after the recent nor'easter. The city says they'll go back in next spring.
- October 13. The bathrooms at Bayview Beach and Camp Ellis Pier close for the season. The city says the date could change if conditions require it.
- October 15. Paid and permit parking at the city's beach lots ends for the year, and beach parking is free in the off-season. Saco's 2026 resident permit, $25 for the first car and $5 for a second, isn't needed after this date.
- March 31. Off-leash season ends on the city beaches, and the state's leashed-only window at Ferry Beach closes. Both switch back the next day, April 1.
So from October 1 to October 13, the city's beaches allow dogs off leash and the bathrooms are still open. After October 15, parking at Bayview and Camp Ellis is free. A Ferry Beach visit still costs the state fee, and dogs there still need a leash.
Camp Ellis Has a Federal Work Zone Until 2027
The fourth set of rules on Saco's shore is the newest. On June 30, 2026, the city, Maine's congressional delegation and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leadership announced the start of construction on the Section 111 Shoreline Damage Mitigation Project, known locally as the jetty spur project. It's a 750-foot stone spur jetty built at a right angle to the existing Saco Jetty to change how waves hit the shore and reduce erosion.
The Army Corps awarded the construction contract to Mohawk Northeast for $24,434,100, within a $45 million total project. The Corps expects construction to finish in August 2027. Under the project plan, the city takes over operation and maintenance once it's built.
Because the work is at sea, a walk at Camp Ellis this fall mostly involves watching it. At the June launch, crews were laying marine mattresses offshore as the foundation for the spur. Saco Bay News reported the event. Stone comes by freight from Vermont to South Portland and then by barge, according to the City Administrator's April report. Contractors estimate that each 50-foot section of the spur takes about a month, which means 15 sections over the length of the project.
The project changes what you can reach on foot. Walkers can go out on roughly the first 800 feet of stone on the existing jetty, up to the metal fence. The city asks people not to go around the fencing or enter the work zone near the spur at any time. That applies to dogs as well. Off-leash rules cover the beach, and the jetty past the fence is a construction site.
The sand comes after the stone. According to the Army Corps, the first beach nourishment at Camp Ellis follows the spur's completion and is currently scheduled for 2028, depending on environmental coordination and temporary work-area easements.
Where to Stop After the Walk
Camp Ellis now has two weekend options within sight of the jetty fence. Emma Lou's Bakery opened on September 14 with a city ribbon-cutting. Owners Eddie and Halie fitted out the 1968 GMC van with a commercial kitchen and serve at Camp Ellis Pier on weekend mornings. They also travel to area events, and their Facebook and Instagram pages say where they'll be next. "We have been visiting Saco and Camp Ellis all of our lives and it felt like the best possible location to launch our truck," Halie told the city.
Camp Ellis General Store & Lobster Pound serves coffee, pastries, sandwiches and lobster rolls. Its posted fall 2026 hours are Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The page carries no publication date, so confirm before you go. Huot's Seafood Restaurant is nearby at 29 Eastern Avenue. Its site doesn't list current hours.
Inland on Main Street, Sea Salt Lobster at 660 Main is open daily for lunch and dinner and does takeout. Its back patio is listed as welcoming dogs, with a covered outdoor area and heat lamps. That will matter more as October gets colder. Farther down Main Street, Downtown Market by Swell opened in September at 206 Main. It's a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant and market from the owners of Swell Nitro Coffee, in the space Vic & Whit's held for nearly 50 years.
On days when wind keeps you off the beach, the Saco Dog Park on School Street, part of Pepperell Park, is the city's inland option. The city closed it for one day in August for survey work tied to long-range planning for Pepperell Park. A 2025 redesign concept for the park remains a proposal.
If you want a weekend that isn't at the beach, Saco Main Street's Pumpkin Harvest Festival runs October 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Dyer Library and CK Burns School, with live music, rides and more than 90 vendors.
Bedard Homes & Realty, led by Victoria Bedard with master builder Kevin, follows the Saco coast from Camp Ellis to Goosefare Brook, including the spur jetty schedule and the 2028 nourishment plan. If you own near the water, or have wondered what the next two years of jetty work mean for that stretch of shore, Bedard Homes & Realty would be glad to walk through it with you. Request a consultation.
