Top 10 Things to Do (Story Ideas)

in Old Orchard Beach Maine

Like David Letterman’s Top 10, there are certain things about Old Orchard Beach that are worth listing. Let these story ideas provide inspiration, or an excuse to come to the beach:

1. If you want to find the Best Beach in Maine – ask the locals. Here are the results: Old Orchard Beach is the perennial winner of the Best Beach Award in the Maine Sunday Telegram’s 23 year Readers’ Poll.

2. Good old fashioned fun is always the name of the game at Old Orchard Beach. For over two centuries Old Orchard Beach has welcomed vacationers for beachfront amusement and family fun. In fact, Palace Playland is New England’s last remaining beachfront amusement park. Old Orchard Beach is the place to treat your family to a classic Ferris Wheel Ride, or a traditional treat of cotton candy, and a day at the Beach.

3. The Pier is the place – Old Orchard Beach’s centerpiece and historic landmark is open day and night, entertaining visitors as it has for over a century. The marvelous Pier extends 500-feet out over the ocean and dates back to 1898. Today the Pier is a hub of happenings with shops, restaurants, and a lively night club. The Pier continues to be the place for people watching, and for viewing the weekly fireworks show.

4. Commune with nature, captain your own boat. Just a few miles from the popular beach resort town is Maine’s largest saltwater marsh. Here you can paddle a canoe or kayak quietly among aquatic birds and wildlife as you explore a serene estuary.

5. Escape from expensive coffee bars and redundant food chains - treat yourself to some old fashioned Maine treats. Have a classic ice cream float at the century-old Ocean Park Soda Fountain, just a mile from the famous Pier in a quiet beachside haven. Or try famous Pier Fries, homemade, hand cut and hard to resist.

6. Lobster lovers, come close to the source! Old Orchard Beach is the place to dig into the crustacean sensation. Lobster pounds, clam shacks and restaurants throughout Old Orchard Beach all feature Lobster served bake stuffed, in a chef’s special dish, or just steamed with drawn butter. There is nothing better.

7. Take the A Train, A for Amtrak that is! You can reach the Beach by train, just like back in the olden days when visitors first came to Old Orchard Beach in 1873. Amtrak’s Downeaster runs to the Old Orchard Beach Train Station, next to the Visitors Welcome Center and just a block to the beach, ten times daily in the summer.

8. Education on vacation – Old Orchard Beach has sand bags of history from apple orchards and Indian attacks, to Lindburg landing planes on the Beach, and Big Bands the likes of Duke Ellington playing on the famous Pier. The Harmon Museum offers history and happenings of historic Old Orchard Beach.

9. Link the Lighthouses while you tour Maine’s famous landmarks. Close by on our coastline is Maine’s oldest lighthouse commissioned by George Washington in 1791, and the unique Two Lights State Park, plus several other nearby lighthouses in Biddeford, Kennebunkport and York – each lighthouse has its own legend and lore.

10. Beware the sand traps at Old Orchard Beach. Over a dozen 18-hole golf courses are a short drive (sand wedge?) from the famous beach. Old Orchard Beach is also home to numerous mini-golf facilities for the future golf tigers to practice their putts.

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