Things To Do in Ogunquit
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Ogunquit Attractions
The village center is good for an hour or two of browsing among the boutiques, or sipping a cappuccino at one of the several coffee emporia. From the village, you can walk to scenic Perkins Cove along Marginal Way, a gorgeous mile-long ocean-side pathway that departs across from the Seacastles Resort on Shore Road. En route, it passes tide pools, pocket beaches, and rocky, fissured bluffs, all worth exploring. This is one of Maine’s best public trails. The seascapes can be spectacular, but the Way can also get extremely crowded during fair-weather weekends or toward sunset. Early morning is a good time to avoid crowds.
Perkins Cove, pictured above, accessible either from Marginal Way or by driving south on Shore Road and veering left at the Y-shaped intersection, is a small, well-protected harbor that attracts many visitors and is often heavily congested. A handful of galleries, restaurants, and T-shirt shops cater to the tourist trade from a cluster of quaint buildings between harbor and sea. (If teeming crowds and tourist enterprises are not the reason you came to Maine, steer clear of Perkins Cove.) An intriguing pedestrian drawbridge is operated by whoever happens to be handy.
Beaches in Ogunquit
Ogunquit’s main beach, see above, is more than 3 miles long, though its width varies with the tides. This beach appeals to everyone: the livelier scene at the south end near the town itself; the more remote and unpopulated stretches to the north, with their sand dunes; and the clusters of summer homes that lie beyond. The most popular access point is the foot of Beach Street, which runs into Ogunquit Village. This beach ends at a sandy spit, where the Ogunquit River flows into the sea; here you’ll find a handful of informal restaurants. It’s also the most crowded part of the beach. Less congested options are Footbridge Beach (turn on Ocean Avenue off Route 1 north of the village center) and Moody Beach (turn on Eldridge Avenue in Wells). Restrooms and changing rooms are maintained at all three beaches.
