Kehaka Beach - Kauai, Hawaii

Address:Kauai, Hawaii

Year after year Maine's largest newspaper chooses Old Orchard Beach as Maine's number one seashore. During the peak summer months, tourists from New England and Montreal pack the sands, and the air fills with the rhythmic sounds of the sea, the jingle of arcade games, the whirl of pier rides, and the enthusiastic French and East Coast noise of children enjoying a day on the shore. And while Old Orchard Beach has been charming folks since the early 1800s, there is still something new, upbeat, and vibrant about this beloved American resort spot. Just 12 miles south of Portland, Old Orchard Beach boasts seven miles of superior sands, an 1800-foot long bustling pier, plenty of affordable beach-side lodgings, and some of the choicest swimming, sunning, fishing and boating on the Maine coast. And with an Amtrak railroad stop just across the street from sand, Old Orchard Beach is easily accessible.

Old Orchard Beach is always a bustle by high tide, so secure your beach spot early. Jog or walk the coastline, swim in the sea, or enjoy the refreshingly low-key surfing scene (Old Orchard Beach has lifeguards on duty patrolling the action). Surfing restrictions near the pier are rarely enforced, and the word on the wave is that the south side of the pier offers some of the better groundswells.

In fact Old Orchard Beach Pier is the center of far more than just surfing. Featured in the 2002 film "In the Bedroom," (recipient of an Academy Award nomination), "The Pier," has become a kind of Maine historical landmark. Lined with a throng of shops, restaurants and clam shacks, and a range of amusement rides (check out Playland Palace's seaside ferris wheel), the pier is the hub of the seashore hustle. The refurbished, wooden Old Orchard Beach Pier (originally opened in 1898) is exactly what a pier should be; old-fashioned fun and a healthy dose of coastal kitsch. Every Thursday night in the summer pier fireworks splash color across the sky and folks enjoy the weekly concerts held next to the pier.

The best way to tap into the fishing action at Old Orchard Beach is to get out on the water with one of the local offshore fishing charter trips. Pull in lobster traps or reel in cod, haddock and wolfish, a day fishing Old Orchard Beach's Saco Bay will bring you home a respectable dinner. If you would rather watch the marine life from a safer distance, whale and dolphin- watching sailing tours are available and can be arranged from Portland. Sea kayak and canoe rentals are also on-site at Old Orchard Beach, allowing you to try your hand paddling the seven-mile shoreline at your leisure.

Getting to Old Orchard Beach is as easy as enjoying the place once your'e there. Visitors generally arrive via State Route 1 or I-98. Amtrak's new Boston-Portland train stops right across the street from the Pier, June through October. Because parking and traffic can be tight during peak summer months, the Amtrak service is a wonderful way to bypass the congestion. For a quintessential East Coast seashore holiday, Old Orchard Beach is a top pick.