Ogunquit was named the best beach town in New England, with
Kennebunkport, York, and Old Orchard Beach also making the top twenty.
“We are honored,” said Karen Arel, president of the Ogunquit
Chamber of Commerce. “We know about the beauty of this place, and now the world
knows. We have wonderful people who live and work here, and we just open our
hearts to visitors.”
Yankee Magazine’s July/August 2012 issue names the top
beach towns in New England. To determine the winners, writer Stephen Jermanok
and Yankee’s editors researched, visited, and rated New England beach
towns on a 0 to 10 point scale in fourteen categories including: picturesque
quality, thriving town center, traffic, parking, clam shacks/ice cream stands,
lodging, shopping, rainy day activities, accessibility, public access to
beaches, natural life, solitude, kid-friendly, and water temperature. Ogunquit,
Maine, won with the highest total score of 115 points. Kennebunkport (#7), York
Beach (#11) and Old Orchard Beach (#17) also made the list. New Hampshire’s
Hampton Beach is ranked #19.
“To determine the 25 best beach towns in New England, we
asked which beachfront communities offer the quintessential summer joys of
unfurling a blanket on sand, listening to the waves and jumping them—and then,
sun-kissed and eager for sundown, strolling the streets, and poking into
shops,” says Yankee’s editor Mel Allen. “Which places give you the wonderful
experience of a blissful summer day stretching slowly into the next, and the
next? We’ve ranked towns according to 14 criteria, ranging from the
availability of essential ‘beach food’ (like ice cream and fried clams) to how
close the beach is to town to the accessibility of lodging for all budgets.”
The following towns are included on the list:
11. York Beach, Maine
