Great American Beach Towns part 1

Enough with your fancy remote beaches. The Maldives? St. Tropez? With the economy what it is, we'll be lucky to get to the next state on a $73 tank of gas. We want close. We want old-fashioned. We want a town where we can park the car, drag a beach chair and a book to the sand, and then shuffle down the boardwalk in our flip-flops for fried clams and an icy-cold can of beer: a place with fireworks, friendly locals, and sticky scoop shops. So we dug up 11 great American seaside escapes, from classic fun-in-the-sun California to New England colonial charm. Because when it comes to precious summer weekends in the sun, there's no place like home.





Ogunquit, Maine

The sand: Three and a half miles of white-sand beaches on a long hook of land, separated from the mainland by the mouth of the Ogunquit River.

Marine life: Lobster? Ach, you can find that anywhere in Maine. But only in a few select spots along the state's 5,500 miles of rocky coastline will you find actual soft, bottom-inviting sand, and that's outside the hamlet of Ogunquit. To avoid the traffic of crustacean-seeking crowds, you'll also want to ditch the car. Snag a parking spot at Footbridge Bridge early in the morning ($15 for the day) and take the trolley back into town for blueberry pancakes at Bessie's. Then stroll with a cup of coffee through the galleries and too-cute shops. Cross back over at Ogunquit Beach to find the spot you've staked in the sand. Then you're free of obligations until your dinner reservation at Ogunquit's acclaimed Arrows Restaurant. It goes beyond typical beach fare, serving foie gras-and-oxtail dumplings, sea salt–roasted rabbit loin, and mango bubble pudding. And, yeah, Maine lobster, too.
The sanctuary: Book one of the 19 cottages at Dunes on the Waterfront: They have screened porches and Adirondack chairs just 200 yards from the main beach.
Dunes on the Waterfront
Tel: 888 295 3863 - Cottages from $200 a night, with a minimum week stay.
Bessie's
Tel: 207 646 0888
Arrows Restaurant
Tel: 207 361 1100