Ogunquit: The Town Made for Maine Family Vacations
What exactly makes Ogunquit the best town for Maine family vacations? Well, there’s not much about this town that doesn’t qualify… Before you doth protest our wild claim, give this a read:
Quieter than Kennebunk and more scenic than Kittery, Ogunquit consistently ranks as one of the best small towns in America for Christmas festivals and coastal fun. When you’re adventuring with the kids in tow, navigability and an easy atmosphere are paramount. With a simple yet convenient trolley system, you don’t even have to drive here if you don’t want to. So when you come to Ogunquit for your Maine family vacation, you won’t suffer any parking or traffic woes.
Apart from being the ideal size and unusually laid back, Ogunquit is also graced with considerable natural beauty. Best of all for those on a Maine family vacation, the beaches in Ogunquit are stunning and more kid-friendly than most. Why? Our sandbars. These buffer the currents, prevent steep drop-offs, and soften the impact of heavy waves. Young ones will have an easier time entering the water, and aren’t at risk of getting roughed up by serious ocean forces.
To complement this geological set up, there’s a variety of snack bars, grocers, and family-friendly restaurants arranged close-by to the beach. This means that snacks, lunches, extra bottles of water, or that end-of-day ice cream cone are never too far away. For a quick post-beach fuel-up, we love the fried clams at Barnacle Billy’s.
But what about activities? Yes, even activities for Maine family vacations abound here. One of our favorites is put on by the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. In July and August, the OMAA offers Stories by the Sea: an outside art education program for light learning and hands on art projects. To top off the experience for everyone, they also provide Artful Playdate tote bags (filled with information and art supplies) to any families who visit.
Other Ogunquit family highlights include Marginal Way. The paved coastal walking path even comes with it’s very own Kids Guide. Whale watching, fishing trips, and a shopping scavenger hunt are also great ways to keep the tots on their toes.
At the end of the day, all Maine family vacations live and breathe on the quality of your accommodations. Here at The Dunes, the layout of our cottages balance privacy and communal interaction. Kids can run around the common lawn, make a friend on the shuffleboard court, and skip down to the river’s edge without ever going out of sight of your private porch. You can learn more about our grounds and landscape on these pages, but we figured it’d be best to end on a note from a guest who has made The Dunes her basecamp during Maine family vacations for generations:
“My grandparents are long gone, but as I discovered when I visited The Dunes with my husband and daughter last year, the simple pleasures it has offered my family for so many decades — the river and ocean, tidy, cozy cottages and air scented by the ocean mingling with pines – are still alive and well.” – Lee McIsaac
Read more of her exquisite memories here.