On the first of October, a leashed dog became welcome on the sand at Crescent Beach. On the second, dogs at Cliff House Beach Park could come off leash at any hour, as long as their handler had voice control. At Robinson Woods the calendar mattered less than the clock. From October on, the leash comes off at 3 p.m. instead of 5.
Three properties, three landowners and three different starting lines all point the same way. Each fall the off-season widens where a dog can walk in Cape Elizabeth, but no single rule covers the whole town. The State of Maine, the Town and the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust each write their own rules, and each one keys its schedule to something different: a date, a season or an hour.
Three owners, three clocks
| Property | Who sets the rules | Off-season dog rule | When it starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crescent Beach, Kettle Cove, Two Lights state parks | State of Maine | Leashed pets allowed on the beaches | October 1, through March 31 |
| Cliff House Beach Park | Town of Cape Elizabeth | Voice or leash control, all day | October 2, through April 30 |
| Robinson Woods | Cape Elizabeth Land Trust | Off-leash window opens at 3 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. | October, through May |
| Fort Williams Park off-leash area | Town of Cape Elizabeth | Voice or leash control, no seasonal change | Year-round |
The table lays out the dates. The sections below cover the details on each property that a dog owner needs to know.
The state beaches: leashed, and still paid
Maine's park rules allow leashed pets on state park beaches from October 1 through March 31 and keep them off from April 1 through September 30. That covers Crescent Beach State Park at 109 Bowery Beach Road, Kettle Cove State Park next door off Kettle Cove Road, and Two Lights State Park off Route 77. The state's park rules also require a leash, physical control of the animal and immediate waste cleanup.
The fees don't take an off-season break. The state collects them year-round at entry booths or self-service stations. The posted day-use fee for an adult Maine resident is $6 at Crescent Beach, $5 at Two Lights and $3 at Kettle Cove, per person, per day. So at the same booth, a winter walk at Kettle Cove costs half of what a visit to Crescent Beach does.
The parks are normally open from 9 a.m. to sunset, but the state notes that gates sometimes close before sunset. When that happens, visitors may park legally outside the closed gate and walk in, as long as they don't block access. The 9 a.m. opening matters more in the off-season. As November afternoons get shorter, the legal walking window at the state beaches shrinks from the evening end.
Cliff House Beach Park: the Town's full flip
The Town's rules work through categories. Chapter 7 of the Cape Elizabeth dog ordinance sets three: no dogs, dogs on leash only, and dogs under voice or leash control. A property's designation can change by place, time of day, month or event.
Cliff House Beach Park uses all three. From May 1 to October 1, the Town's property designation sheet allows voice or leash control from 6:00 to 8:59 a.m. No dogs are allowed from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and dogs must be leashed from 6:01 p.m. until sunrise. From October 2 through April 30, the whole day falls under voice or leash control. In summer, dogs get about three hours a day there with the leash off. Through the off-season they get every hour.
The ordinance spells out what "voice control" means, and the definition is stricter than many owners might assume. A dog under sight and voice control returns immediately to its handler's side when called and stays there. A dog that approaches another person and stays within 10 feet of them without that person's consent is not under voice control. On municipal property, handlers must carry a leash for every dog, and one person may have no more than three dogs off leash. The Town's ordinance index lists Chapter 7 as effective September 13, 2023.
Robinson Woods: a 3 p.m. rule with fixed exceptions
The land trust measures its season in hours. At Robinson Woods Preserve, dogs must be leashed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m., they may be off leash if they stay in sight and under voice or leash control. From October through May, the 5 p.m. cutoff moves up to 3 p.m.
A few parts of the preserve stay leash-only at every hour. Those are the Canter Way easement, at the private landowner's request; the Wildflower Trail and the fields, because the habitat is sensitive; and anywhere within 10 feet of a public road or parking area. Under easements held by Maine Coast Heritage Trust and the Town, the preserve can't be used for business-related dog walks. CELT also asks visitors to use the trails during daytime only, so in practice the off-leash window runs from 3 p.m. to dusk.
Robinson Woods is a connector as well as a destination. CELT says its parcels there offer more than 5 miles of year-round trails and a link along the Cross Town Trail between Fort Williams and Kettle Cove. One walk along that line passes through all three rulebooks: land trust trail, Town park and state beach.
Fort Williams: the Green and a restored battery
Fort Williams Park sits at 1000 Shore Road. It's the one property in this guide whose dog rules don't change with the season. The Town's designation sheet sets an off-leash area under voice or leash control. The rest of the park is leash-only, and dogs aren't allowed on the playing surfaces.
According to that sheet, the off-leash area starts at the south edge of the Central Parking Lot. It runs west along the south side of the Heavy Equipment Storage Building and behind the Officers' Row garages to Harrison Road. From there it follows Merriman Road, which is included, along the north edge of Delano Park to the water. It then turns north along the shore and west across The Green to Battery Blair, and returns to the south edge of the parking lot. The Town's park dog flyer adds that dogs must stay leashed between the parking lot and the off-leash area, and that the three municipal playing fields are off limits. The designation sheet dates from 2020 and the flyer is older still, so check the posted signs at the park or call the Town before you count on the exact boundary.
The off-leash loop now ends at a landmark the park just finished restoring. At the July 13, 2026 Town Council meeting, the Fort Williams Park Committee reported that the Pond Pavilion, the Goddard Mansion revitalization and Battery Blair were all completed in fiscal year 2026. The new Children's Playground was open but still waiting on the relocation of benches and statues and the removal of the old playground. According to the council meeting report, future work on Powers Road will focus on lower-cost pieces such as striping, shoulder reinforcement, crosswalks and fencing.
An early-morning loop that follows every rule
Because the rules run on different clocks, the order of stops matters. Here is one sequence built on the published schedules:
- Robinson Woods before 9 a.m. Off-leash is allowed under sight and voice control, except on the Wildflower Trail, the fields, the Canter Way easement and within 10 feet of a road or parking area.
- Cliff House Beach Park, any time. Voice or leash control applies all day through April 30.
- Kettle Cove after 9 a.m. Leashed dogs are allowed on the beach once the park opens, and the day-use fee still applies.
- Robinson Woods after 3 p.m. The leash can come off again until dusk.
The ordinance and preserve rules above are general information, not legal advice. Signs on site and the Town or CELT have the final word for any given day.
Coming next to Robinson Woods
The next change on this map is about who can reach the woods. On September 21, 2026, the Town Council voted unanimously to give $50,000 to the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust for a universal access trail and parking redesign at Robinson Woods. The money comes from the Town's Land Acquisition Fund and covers about 12 percent of the project's $412,000 cost.
The plan upgrades a half-mile of existing trail to US Forest Service accessibility guidelines. The path will be six feet wide with an average grade under five percent, and it will end at Robinson Pond. Along the way it includes 140 feet of boardwalk and five wheelchair-accessible resting areas, designed for people with limited mobility and families with strollers. Two ADA-accessible parking spaces will go at the trailhead. The existing Pond Cove parking area will be fully redesigned so that cars no longer back out into the pedestrian right-of-way and Shore Road traffic.
The project dates back to 2019. That year a 50-acre parcel was conveyed to the land trust on the condition that it add ADA-accessible parking and trail access. As of the Town's report, CELT had raised $211,000 and was working to turn a $50,000 challenge match into $100,000. Executive Director David Briman told councilors he was confident the project would be fully funded. No construction dates have been announced. Until work begins, Robinson Woods' 3 p.m. rule, its leash-only zones and the Pond Cove lot all stay as they are.
The ground a dog can cover in Cape Elizabeth depends on where you start the walk, and that's also true when you're choosing a home here. If being able to walk out the door to a preserve, a park or a winter beach is on your list, Mary Libby can show you which streets connect to which trails. Schedule a free consultation and bring your dog's favorite walk with you.
