|
|
And perhaps most importantly for those of us addicted to mini-golf, Wells Beach Maine has loads of mini-golf courses, including one of the best mini-golf courses in the entire region - Wonder Mountain.
It's impossible to describe how much I love playing mini-golf at Wonder Mountain...though all the other mini-golf places in Wells Beach Maine are a blast, too - and there's a lot of mini-golf in Wells.
In short, Wells Beach Maine is FUN!
Insider Tip
When I want to play "big girl" golf, my husband I go to Merriland Farm in Wells Maine. Especially for us golf newbies, there's no better par 3 course in the area. Surrounded by Maine blueberry bushes, close enough to the ocean to smell it, this golf course also includes a fine restaurant - Merriland Farm Cafe.
Getting to Wells Beach from York is ridiculously easy - just take Route 1 North, go through the towns of Ogunquit and Moody, and there you are...Wells Maine! Most of the attractions, mini-golf and the like, will be found along Route 1.
Another option, useful on busy summer weekends, is the Maine Turnpike. The Turnpike is a toll road, but summer weekend traffic is usually better heading south to York on Route 1 than north from York on Route 1.
You'll miss about 50 Maine antiques shops and other sights along Route 1, of course, but you can always check them out on the way back down to York.
For those who don't feel like driving, explore Route 1 from York to Wells while riding the excellent and inexpensive Shoreline Explorer public transportation system (late June to early September). With many stops along the way where you can hop out and do some shopping or dining and routes to Ogunquit and Kennebunkport, the Shoreline Explorer makes getting there half the fun!
Click here for the Wells Maine trolley schedule
Wells Beach Maine is one of the sandiest, longest stretches of beautiful beach on the entire coast of southern Maine. It's just a perfect Maine beach. You can walk for miles and miles, holding hands, feet in the water, seagulls circling overhead...
Take Mile Road off Route 1 to get to the main beach, or continue on Route 1 North to Drake's Island Road for a quieter section. Parking is available in either area.
Click here for a great map of Wells beach
Sure, Wells beach and its' nearby tourist attractions are Maine must-sees.
But anything with the heading "Wells Maine Tourism" also has to include:
The Rachel Carson Natural Wildlife Refuge
The refuge was established in 1966 in cooperation with the State of Maine to protect valuable salt marshes and estuaries for migratory birds. The refuge in Wells is one of eleven divisions between Kittery and Cape Elizabeth.
The proximity of the refuge to the coast and its location between the eastern deciduous forest and the boreal forest creates a composition of plants and animals not found elsewhere in Maine.
The Carson trail is a lovely one-mile walk along an upland edge which offers vistas and close-up views of one of southern Maine’s most valuable ecosystems. Leashed dogs are allowed on the Carson trail, so I often bring the pooches with me on this walk.
Sometimes even vacation can feel hectic if you have been go, go, going for awhile - the Carson trail at Rachel Carson Natural Wildlife Refuge is the antidote.
The Wells Auto Museum
Route 1, Wells, ME 04090. Admission.
1-207-646-9064
Open daily in the summer/fall season, The Wells Auto Museum offers up New England's largest display of "Brass Era" antique cars. The Gould family collection includes many rare and unique pieces with the oldest vehicle manufactured in 1894!
Alongside the car collection you will also find several vintage motorcycles and a fair amount of automotive memorabilia. For the kids, there are vintage games, nickelodeons, and music boxes spread throughout the museum, all in working order.
I don't know that it qualifies as a "tourist attraction", but The Johnson Hall Museum on Route 1 in Wells has a rather motley looking, eclectic and interesting collection of old buildings, statuary and assorted (large) trinkets, primarily from Maine. You never know what you'll see as you pass by. But my absolute favorite thing there is the old Cummings Maine train station - it's been sitting out there for years.
Certainly makes for a poignant picture, doesn't it?
The Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm
The Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm is a National Estuarine Research Reserve with its headquarters listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Reserve works to expand knowledge about coasts and estuaries, engage people in environmental learning, and involve communities in conserving natural resources, all with a goal of protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems around the Gulf of Maine.
Along with the Rachel Carson refuge, the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm is an excellent example of how the town of Wells Maine provides not only exceptional family entertainment at its beach and attractions, but also carefully protects its pristine natural environment.
There can be no nicer "nature day" - nor better bird watching - in Maine than at the Wells Reserve. Beyond sweeping open fields, boardwalked trails wind you through a sunshine-dappled forest, always leading on to the sea.
I took this picture of one of my children in late September after we spent the day at PunkinFiddle, one of Laudholm Farm's premier autumn events.
She's writing in the sand....
And this is what she was writing - "Welcome To York!"
She said she was helping me with this website and no one would know that the sand was really in Wells Beach...I thought it was very sweet.
I'll tell ya, York's first graders always have a field trip to Laudholm Farm and that's one field trip I always volunteered to chaperone...left it to my husband to go on the trip to the salmon hatchery. ;-)
Return to Inside York Maine Vacations Home Page
Return from Wells Beach Maine to Towns in Maine Page
Like Us on FaceBook - News, Tips and More!
Hungry? Select just the right place to eat from the Southern Maine Restaurant Guide!
Visit York's Stonewall Kitchen
