Parks & Recreation

Fundraiser for Storm Damage
Thanks to the generosity of KDK Screen Printing and Embroidery and beautiful artwork by Sally Fisher, we are selling apparel with all proceeds going towards the rebuilding of the Pemaquid Lighthouse Park and Pemaquid Beach. The best part (other than raising money to rebuild the parks)- everything can be shipped so if you live out of the area you can purchase merchandise and have it sent to you. We hope you love the merchandise as much as we do.
Use the QR code or click this link to purchase.
Fundraiser picture
 
     If you would like to donate money towards the rebuilding                effort you can mail a check to:
Bristol Parks and Recreation, 1180 Bristol Rd, Bristol, ME 04539
You can also donate via Paypal by clicking here, or you can donate at one of our donation boxes at the Lighthouse.
You can choose to have your donation go to either Lighthouse Park or Pemaquid Beach.
 
  Bell tower

Storm Debris
  Please do not remove any trees, driftwood, or other natural material from the beach if you are cleaning.  The trees and driftwood will be repurposed for dune restoration again this year.  The seaweed and downed vegetation we want to leave in place to hold the dunes and catch sand until we can do more restoration work in the spring.  
 
At the Lighthouse, please do not remove anything from the park.  Visitors and staff have been finding a lot of different items including rusted metal pieces, horseshoes, pottery, etc.  Until we know what they are or who they may belong to, we prefer they are left at the park.  Additionally, please do not remove any wood or brick.  While it may seem like random wood, it may be part of someone's house or other historical building and they may want it.  The bricks will all be re-used when the Bell House rebuilding begins so we need all of the bricks that are there to keep it on the National Historic Register.
Thank you all for caring so much about our parks and we promise we will do our best to have everything repaired and looking good as soon as we can.
Tractor Entry Trees  Tree by Boardwalk no Seaweed

Ellingwood Information Center 

1180 Bristol Road
Ellingwood Information Center is now closed for the season.  
If you need assistance, you can call the office at 207-563-1800 or email bristolparks@tidewater.net and someone will get back to you.
 

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park

Pemaquid Lighthouse Park will open for the season May 8, 2024.

The gates stay open year round so you are welcome to walk around the grounds, but all of the buildings and restrooms are closed until then. 


Pemaquid Beach Park

Pemaquid Beach is now closed for the season.

Opening Day will tentatively be May 25, 2024 depending on the weather.


**Bristol Parks and Recreation now accepts all credit/ debit cards including ApplePay and GooglePay**


Bristol Parks Passes

Resident and non-resident season passes and discount passes for the Lighthouse and Beach are available.


General Information and Contact

If you have questions about any of our Parks and Recreation locations you can email BristolParks@tidewater.net or call us at 207-563-1800

For more specific questions you can email Shelley 

SGallagher@BristolMaine.org


Bristol Parks Merchandise is now available online!!

Online Store

Tee-ShirtParks MugParks Sweathshirt


Cabot Lyford Sculpture

An enlarged life-size sculpture of a heron, by the late Cabot Lyford of Pemaquid Beach village, is being offered to Pemaquid Beach Park. Cabot was one of the best-known American sculptors of the last half century, whose monumental works are displayed in Portland (the dolphin outside the Regency Hotel), on the Portsmouth waterfront, and elsewhere in Maine and nationwide. Cabot's wife, Joan, was not only instrumental in preserving the marsh behind the beach but also founded the Beachcomber's Rest nature center that Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust volunteers now operate each summer. The sculpture will commemorate the efforts of all those involved with those projects which have resulted in the unique facility we have today and celebrate the enduring beauty of the beach which can now be intact for future generations. For a town with many artists, Bristol does not have a lot of public art – this would be a first. Bristol Parks is trying to raise $25,000 toward the bronze casting of this sculpture. 

Donations can be mailed directly to Bristol Parks at 1180 Bristol Road, Bristol, ME 04539. 

Please contact Bristol Parks at bristolparks@tidewater.net or (207)563-1800.


* Tobacco Free Parks Policy: All Bristol Parks facilities are tobacco free effective May 4th, 2012. These facilities include: Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park, Pemaquid Beach and Park, Bristol Swimming Hole, Ellingwood Information Center and Park, Visitors Center and the Rock Schoolhouse.

Staff Contacts

Name Title Phone
Clyde Pendleton Commissioner - Chair (207) 677-2500
Sandra Lane Commissioner (207) 563-2134
Laurie Mahan Commissioner (207) 677-3725