Stage

Stage Island is located at the southern end of Saco Bay, between the Saco River breakwater and the entrance to Biddeford Pool. Even though it is nearly a half mile from shore, the island is accessible by land at lower tides via an extensive, meandering sandbar that connects it to the Hills Beach neighborhood. When the tide allows, walkers will venture out and back across the sandflats to explore the island on foot.

Also called Monument Island for the navigation aid found near the northeast point, Stage is divided into two parcels by a boundary running southwest to northeast along the spine of the island. The southeast portion is owned by Maine Audubon while the northwest portion is owned privately. Both owners generously allow low-impact visitation and respectful day use of the island.

By water, it is generally easiest to land near the southwest spit of beach that connects to the low tide sandbar. The shoreline slopes very gently here, leading to a long stretch of shallow water at lower tides. When the tide is out, vessels with engines or deeper drafts may have better luck landing at pocket beaches elsewhere along the shore.

The perimeter of Stage Island is pleasant and fairly easy to walk along. The interior of the island is comprised of dense, scrubby vegetation and wetland areas. The monument is tantalizingly close to the shoreline, but it is shielded on all sides by thickets of plants. Visitors are asked to concentrate activity on the beaches and ledges and avoid trampling the upland habitat area.