Old Orchard Beach
Old Orchard Beach, ME
Old Orchard Beach centers on a wooden pier that's been rebuilt more than once since 1898, with an amusement park's worth of rides, fried dough stands, and a nightly summer fireworks show that locals set their evenings around. Seven miles of hard packed sand stretch out on either side, wide enough that the crowd around the pier thins out fast once you walk a few blocks.
The pier and fireworks give it a genuine old school beach town energy few other Maine beaches have, though the amusement strip crowd is a lot for anyone looking for quiet sand.
How we score beachesPark free on the street south of downtown instead of paying for one of the private lots near the pier. It's a short walk, and the sand down there is exactly the same.
Metered street parking and private paid lots (around $20 a day) surround downtown and the pier. Free street parking is available south of downtown.
The beach is flat, hard packed sand, easy walking from the street to the water at most points downtown.
Dogs are banned from the beach 8am to 6pm from May 1 through September 30. Outside those hours and months, dogs are welcome.
Water stays cool even in summer, rarely climbing past the mid 60s, typical of the Maine coast. July and August bring the pier's nightly fireworks and the thickest crowds of the year.
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