Simonton Cove is a coastal saltwater cove on the southern edge of Portland Harbor in South Portland, Maine. The cove is directly adjacent to and forms the shoreline for Willard Beach, a four-acre sand and pebble beach tucked between Fisherman's Point and the Southern Maine Community College campus. This beach serves as the primary and most detailed access point for paddlers, offering a public launch with a free parking lot for 75 cars a short walk away on Willow Street. The beach provides seasonal amenities including a bathhouse with restrooms, a snack bar, and outdoor showers. Willard Beach is noted for its gentle surf, making it a suitable launch point, though paddlers should be aware of a posted water quality advisory flag system and are advised to avoid swimming or playing near the stormwater outfall due to occasional elevated bacteria levels. The cove itself offers expansive views of Fort Scammel, Peaks Island, and Cushing Island within Casco Bay, with Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse visible from the shore and accessible via a short trail from the north end of the beach. The area is an active part of Portland Harbor, a major shipping port, so paddlers will share the waters with ferries, lobster boats, and commercial traffic, particularly near the main shipping channel at the harbor's southern entrance. The coastline south of the cove features the cliffside shores of Cape Elizabeth, providing scenic paddling routes. A notable trip described by paddlers launches from Willard Beach, heads south along the Cape Elizabeth coastline for approximately 3.7 miles to a sheltered rest stop at Zeb Cove, and returns, with the option to surf waves back onto Willard Beach. Another documented route uses Simonton Cove Beach as a takeout point after a longer journey from Scarborough Marsh, rounding Portland Head Light. Paddlers should plan for tidal currents, which are noted to be quite strong in the adjacent Scarborough Harbor entrance and marsh systems, and be cautious of shallow hazards like Trundy Reef near Portland Head. The cove is also mentioned as a popular anchorage for local boaters and a viewing point for fireworks displays from Fort Williams.