1. Anchorage Inn
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 363-5112
Address: 265 Long Beach Ave.
Description: Put the word motor in front of inn and you get a better idea what this sprawling gray complex is like. It’s more motel than inn and has 200 rooms, many with water views, three swimming pools, and all the modern conveniences. The location of the Anchorage on Long Beach Avenue puts you right across the street from Long Sands Beach, which means you’re right in the middle of the York Beach hullabaloo, like it or not. There’s a fitness center on-site, the rooms are nice if not posh, and the new pool in the atrium is a cool, hourglass-shaped indoor wonder. Some rooms have whirlpools, and all have private baths, color TVs, and air-conditioning. With its grassy lawn and gray shingles, the Anchorage is a step up from most of the other motels that line the beach here, but not a gigantic step up. (It’s one of the rare places open year-round, however, and also has a cool catch phrase—Why Resort to Anything Less.) Rates vary widely depending upon room and season.
2. Union Bluff Hotel
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (207) 363-1333 or (800) 833-02
Address: 8 Beach St.
Description: This big, white hotel dates back to 1868 and imparts a little class to the honky-tonk atmosphere of York Beach, towering over rocks not far from the sands—at least from the outside. All white clapboards, balconies, and turrets, it’s reminiscent of the grand hotels of yore. The rooms are not as nice as all that—they tend toward the modern motel end of things—but they’re comfortable enough, and the views out across the water are superb. There are more than 60 rooms, with a variety of amenities. Some have fireplaces, others whirlpools, but all have private bath, cable TV, and air-conditioning. Family-style eats are available at the Beach Street Grill, and the hotel has access to local golf courses in season. It’s not a bad place to stay at all, but it’s not the cheapest.
3. Short Sands Beach
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: Route 1A
Description: On the other side of Cape Neddick from Long Sands Beach, Short Sands is just that, a petite crescent compared to its lengthy sibling. The sands are so short here, in fact, that the beach completely disappears when the tide is high. So make sure you check the tide charts before you pay a visit. Like Long Sands, Short Sands has metered parking off Route 1A, bathhouses, restrooms, and lifeguards in high summer. All of the amusements of York Beach—the stores, the amazing Goldenrod candy store, York’s Wild Kingdom, the playground, the arcades, the basketball courts—are within easy walking distance, so families tend to like the beach here.
4. Brown’S Old Fashioned Ice Cream
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 363-1277
Address: 232 Nubble Rd.
Description: You’d figure that Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry’s fame, might know a thing or two about ice cream, so when he goes nominating an ice-cream stand as one of the 10 best in the nation, it must mean something. He did just that for this low-slung brown ice creamery near the Nubble Light, calling it “the quintessential summer ice cream stand” in the pages of USA Today. Not bad for the neighborhood favorite that has been scooping out cones since 1967. Try the Maine Survivor flavor. To be fair, Ben goes on to say that the ice cream here is good, but the view is the real treat. Still, the cold stuff holds its own.
5. The Goldenrod
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (207) 363-2621
Description: Best known for its saltwater kisses, the century-old York Beach favorite also makes 135 flavors of homemade ice cream dished up at an old-fashioned marble soda fountain, as it should be.
6. The Goldenrod
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 363-2621
Description: More than a candy store, this old York Beach favorite is a veritable candy factory, and it’s been at it for more than a century. Most famous for its taffy, the Goldenrod produces nine million Goldenrod Kisses a year—that’s 65 tons of fun—using an 1896 recipe created by the shop’s founder. (The secret science of saltwater taffy is reportedly understanding the weather.) There are 12 flavors—try the peanut butter or wintergreen—and you can watch it all being turned into sticky goodness right in the windows of the shop. The place also has a host of other treats, from fudge to barc to peanut brittle to candy corn, and there is still a penny candy counter where little suckies cost, yep, a penny apiece. Quite aside from being a sweet and aromatic stop, the Goldenrod has an anachronistic appeal, taking you back to summers long past with its old building, marble soda counter, and stone fireplace—classic stuff that will entertain moms and dads almost as much as the kids.
7. York’S Wild Kingdom
City: York Beach, ME
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (207) 363-4911
Address: Route 1
Description: This York Beach institution is much more than a zoo. There are plenty of beasties about, sure—they number in the hundreds now, from llamas and lions to elephants and bears to camels and sloths to everyone’s favorite, Rewa the Bengal tiger. But there are also go-karts, arcade games, Skeeball, haunted houses, minigolf, batting cages, bumper boats and paddleboats, rides upon rides, and all the snacks you could eat. (This place is just a short walk from York Beach.) A variety of scheduled shows—like elephant shows and Wildlife Theatre educational programs—and other events occur on a daily basis, so be sure to call ahead for times. The Wild Kingdom is a full-fledged amusement park, and if you’re into that sort of thing, it’s very amusing. Admission prices do not include go-kart or pony rides, which cost extra. In the high season—basically when school is out—the zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the park from noon to 9:30 p.m. Special rates for children.