South Coast offer vacation activites, indoors and outdoors

Thrills galore are in store at Funtown Splashtown USA, the largest water and amusement park in Northern New England. Getting soaked has never been more fun for a kid than swooshing down the Amphitrite Challenge or Poseidon Plunge, while families can enjoy the giant Splash Tube Slide or play together in the Pirates Paradise Aquaplay section. It’s an amusement park as well, with thrills as exciting as the Excalibur roller coaster or the 220-foot free-fall from way up on the Dragon’s Descent tower. Plus over a dozen kiddie rides and water attractions. Fun for everyone is the name of the game here.

Although you may never want to leave the cozy, elegant 1880s Inn at Tanglewood Hall, there is plenty to do once you leave your four-poster bed or your rocking chair on the wraparound veranda. Walk along the York Harbor Cliff Walk, watch lobster boats and sloops come in and out of the harbor. Catch a sunset over Nubble Lighthouse. Stroll along the streets of York Harbor village to York Harbor Beach. Or, enjoy the surf at Long Sands or Short Sands beaches. Need more ideas? Go whale watching, kayaking, hiking or biking. Or head farther afield (but not too far) to the Kittery Outlets; dine in foodie-centric Portsmouth, N.H.; visit Stonewall Kitchen; check out the lovely Maine coast towns of Ogunquit and Kennebunkport.

Inn at Tanglewood Hall will be reopening for Memorial Day Weekend - Book your stay today!

Make your next trip to Maine's seacoast special with lunch or dinner at Jonathan's Ogunquit. Our menu offers both innovative dishes and long-time local specialties. Love seafood? We have boiled Maine lobster with drawn butter, seafood stuffed haddock, or seafood chowder with fresh scallops, shrimp, and lobster. Looking for something else? How about wild mushroom pappardelle, eggplant napoleon, or a hand-cut Black Angus steak? We strive to serve sustainable, local foods whenever reasonably possible. Check our website for the schedule, and plan for a show in our Listening Room. We've brought top regional and national acts to the area, including  comedy great Paula Poundstone, jazz legends Tuck & Patti, and folk favorites Jonathan Edwards and Aztec Two-Step.

The Wells Reserve at Laudholm at 342 Laudholm Farm Road in Wells is a National Estuarine Research Reserve. Vistors can walk seven miles of easy-to-moderate trails to experience the beauty of south coastal Maine. Trails are available year round for hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing. You can take a guided tour with a trained naturalist. You may kayak the quiet waters of the Reserve’s estuary while watching for wildlife. Discovery Program Trail Guides are self-paced trail guides paired with activity backpacks that hold everything you need for a half-day of investigation. Fun for kids age 6 to 12. Open daily Memorial Day to Columbus Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Phone: 207-646-1555

It can be fun to visit a working farm on your vacation, especially when the farm owners run a farm stand and are really revved up about good food and about describing their farming life to visitors. Frinklepod Farm at 244 Log Cabin Road in Arundel is a place of inspired farming. Frinklepod Farm was founded a decade ago to provide healthy food, preserve agricultural land, and help inspire a new generation of farmers. Travelers (and everyone) are welcome to shop at the farm stand, buy seedlings are garden products, and take a guided walk or a class on the farm. Some class titles are “East the Weeds” and “Put Plants on Your Plate.” The farm is open year-round. 207-289-5805

Home & Away Gallery at 26 Maine Street in Kennebunkport specializes in Inuit, Eskimo, and Native American arts and jewelry. The baskets, some made by people of Maine’s Wabanaki tribes, are stunning, and they make a wonderful memento of your visit to this seaside state. The Gallery also offer Native American beadwork and sculpture and jewelry, baskets, Zuni carvings, and more. The Gallery also hosts artist events and special exhibit. Open weekends, and other times by appointment or chance. 207-967-2122. [photo courtesy of Home & Away Gallery]

Compliments Gallery, at Dock Square and Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport, is located in a beautiful region that inspires artists of all persuasions. The store sells home decorating pieces, furniture, blow glass, jewelry, and lighting that are original, unique, often hand-made, and destined to become family heirloom pieces. A wonderful place to secure a memento from your Maine seacoast vacation. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 207-967-2269.

The author whose seminal work, “Silent Spring,” launched the American environmental movement is the namesake for the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, consisting of a patchwork of properties along 50 miles of coastline from Kittery to Cape Elizabeth, with a headquarters on Route 9 in Wells. The refuge serves as protected region of valuable salt marshes and estuaries for migratory birds. Visitors are welcome to hike on the developed trails of the Refuge. is permitted in several rivers and creeks in the Refuge. Phone: 207-646-9226.

Maine’s Stonewall Kitchen is one of those up-with-the-bootstraps stories of a small group of friends that began producing jelly, jam, and specialty vinegars at home and then … boom. Stonewall Kitchen is now an empire of specialty foods. Its flagship story is located delightfully close to travelers: next to Route 1A at the York exit (exit 7) off of Interstate-95. Come and enjoy the beautiful presentation of preserved foods, condiments, sauces, pancakes mixes, and syrups. Also at the home store are cookbooks, cookware and all sorts of neat gifts for cooks in your life. Stonewall Kitchen Café, next door, offers tasty aid and comfort to travelers. 800-826-1752

The Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center at 92 Pine Point Road in Scarborough is an endlessly interesting place to explore an ever-changing salt marsh and estuary. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manages the estuary, and provides all the information you need to explore the marsh on walking trails or by canoe (you can rent them). The center offers guided walks, canoe tours, exhibits, a nature trail, and a Maine Audubon Nature Store. Come see eye-to-eye with egrets, herons, glossy ibis and many stunning shorebirds. Open May to September. Lots of nature-themed events for all ages are held throughout the year. 207-883-5100