York, Maine

This inn is within walking distance to Long Sands Beach and Nubble Lighthouse. We rented a two-bedroom unit here. The room had a king-size bed, a pull-out couch, TV, and a fridge with shelf space; there was also a smaller second bedroom, which contained a king-size bed and a TV. The rooms are well maintained and very clean.

The inn offers a continental breakfast every morning in the main building that includes pastries, bagels, toast, coffee, tea, and juice. There is a small swimming pool and hot tub outdoors that is open seasonally.

Beachview Cottages offer weekly rentals in the summertime. They will rent the cottages for less than a week on the off-season. The cottages are all heated with two bedrooms. They have small living rooms with a pull-out sofa bed and small TV. The small kitchen contains a full-size oven, toaster, full-size fridge, dishes, and silverware.

The cottages are family owned and the owner lives on site. He is always available and doing maintenance on the property. The cabins are directly across the street from Long Sands Beach. The front two cabins offer a beach view. The rest are set down on the property. There is a large field on the property where children can play. You need to bring your own sheets, towels, and toiletries at this facility. Everything else is available. This property is great on a budget.

This inn is located across the street from Long Sands Beach. Some of the second-floor rooms offer an ocean views. We stayed in the standard rooms, but the inn does offer suites. The standard rooms are very clean. Every room has a fridge in it. There are two indoor pools, an outdoor pool, and a work-out room on site. The workout room contains two or three cardio machines and free weights. They have packages midweek and off season that include dinner for two at the Sun N' Surf across the street. The website for this facility is www.anchorageinn.com.

This restaurant is located on Long Sands Beach in Maine. The picturesque windows offer great views while dining. The food is a little expensive, but well worth the money. They offer a variety of specialty dishes. The Anchorage Inn, located across the street, offers a free meal here with a two-night stay. The menu can be viewed at this website.

Brown's specializes in a large variety of homemade ice creams and sundaes. It is open seasonally from May 1 until Columbus Day Weekend. Located near Nubble Lighthouse, Brown’s sits at the top of the rock surrounded by ledge overlooking the ocean. There are eight picnic tables. We usually pick up our ice creams and sit on the rocks next to the lighthouse and watch the waves. It is always the perfect end to a long day.

The amusement park is old-fashioned and hasn't changed much in the 30 years I have been visiting it, so some of the rides are a little dated. At the same time, the game booths are still a dollar and the park is very affordable. The offer day passes to the park and/or zoo for $12-15. They also offer pay-by-the-ride coupons for those that are only going to spend a short time at the park. They offer a large arcade, miniature golf, rides, go carts, batting cages, paddle boat rides in the duck pond, and a zoo.

York has two main beach areas, Long Sands and Short Sands. Long Sands has parking along Long Sands Road, but it fills up quickly in the summer. Many of the hotels along Long Sands Road will let you park in their lots for a fee.

Both beaches have soft white sand, and they are both very clean. Long Sands is the longer of the two beaches. It is less enclosed, so the waves are larger and great for surfing. The Nubble Lighthouse can be seen from the beach on a clear day.

Short Sands Beach is smaller, but has less of a current and much smaller waves, making it perfect for young children. Beautiful shells, including Maine sand dollars, can be found in one piece along this beach. There is a parking lot in front of the beach, but again, it fills very quickly. At the end of Short Sands Beach, there is an arcade called Fun-O-Rama. Small shops and restaurants of all kinds line the street, including the Goldenrod, Parra’s Pizza, and a variety of souvenir shops. On the opposite ends, there are large rocks that are easy to climb. Snails, starfish, mussels, and other aquatic life can be found in the pools among the rocks.