Ogunquit Live Cam

Swim it, sun it, run it or walk it, Spring, Summer or Fall. The Cove can best be described as an excursion from a turn of the century fishing village steeped in the tradition and lore of the sea to a charming, intimate and contemporary setting.

Unique upscale boutiques and shops are nestled among renowned restaurants offering a variety of exquisite selections from the traditional to the fare from the sea where the lobster is king. Stroll the beautiful 1 1/4 mile walking path connecting the village center and Perkins cove.

Savor the craggy shoreline meeting the crashing surf. Explore the ever changing sea life found in teaming tidal pools. Enjoy a tranquil moment to relax, reflect or read while viewing the scenic vistas from one of many benches dotting the path. Ogunquit is the most walkable village in Maine but you can "leave the driving to us" by boarding one of our charming trolleys.

Our delightful trolley will wisk you to anywhere and everywhere in town. The sound of a trolley bell takes you back in time while carrying you to delightful memories of Ogunquit, the "beautiful-place- by-the-sea". A favorite haunt of artists since the turn of the century. The home of our renowned Museum of American Art, the Ogunquit Art Association Gallery featuring today's nationally recognized artists, a variety of fine local galleries, a variety of fine local galleries,area craft shops and antiques, over 60 years of world-class performances at our legendary ogunquit Playhouse and a variety of other performances and entertainment.

Perkins Cove is a lovely spot to spend a summer vacation evening. This view was taken on the side of the cove that most tourists never get to. Maybe they're just too busy in the unique shops or picking out the perfect assortment of "penny" candy. Many of the boats are genuine working lobster and fishing boats. A couple, the Bunny Clark and the Ugly Anne take folks out for what are called party or charter fishing trips. I don't know why this party boat is called the Ugly Anne. She looks cunnin to me in the early morning sunlight. The Bunny Clark is on the far right here still in her mooring next to Barnacle Billy's restaurant. Perkins Cove also has some very good artists studios and my wife's favorite jewelry store, Swamp Johns.

Ogunquit Kite Festival - The Kite Festival is part of the Capriccio celebration of the arts. It is held on Ogunquit beach. All sort of kites are welcome. In addition there are instructions from a master kite flyer and kite building workshops for the kids. The kids have a blast coloring, building and then flying their own kites from scratch. The kites are judged later in the morning for prizes. You will see some of the most creative, exotic, funny, and high performance kites flown by very expert kite flyers.

Most any restaurant will do a good boiled or steamed Lobster. All that is required is a fresh live lobster and a chef who knows not to overcook it. If the restaurant is having a lobster deal that seems too good to pass up, you might want to be a little wary. I once ordered a "Twin Lobster Special" at a Chinese restaurant not normally known for lobster. One of the two was inedible. It had obviously died before being cooked and the meat had already started to break down. There is no excuse for that. The chef knows when he picks up the lobster whether or not it is still living. A deceased lobster should be given a decent burial at sea but never cooked and served to people!

Maine lobster can come in other colors as well. These two beauties were both guests of the Maine Aquarium. The chances of finding a blue lobster like this one are 1 in 20,000,000. I have a lot of respect for Maine lobstermen. They work very hard in conditions that are usually cold and wet and sometimes very dangerous. But every once in awhile they do something as a political group that just defies logic. Back in the mid 90s the Maine legislature considered whether to allow private folks to own lobsters in aquariums. The lobstermen opposed this, saying that it would lead to people thinking of lobsters as pets like dogs and cats. Duhhh, Like having fish in aquariums has stopped people from eating fish? And I'll bet that everyone who had a lobster as a pet would grow so fond of the little critter that they would hold it in their lap while watching Animal Planet on TV.

The Ogunquit Playhouse is the absolute gem of entertainment in Ogunquit. "Summer Stock" theatre has been performed here since 1933! In that time the theatre has hosted many legendary names from Ethel Barrymore and Bette Davis to Sally Struthers. It is worth a visit to the playhouse just to see the signed publicity photos of the great stars who have played here. The playhouse is now owned and managed by The Ogunquit Playhouse Foundation, a not-for-profit organization.

I can't recommend every show. I've had season tickets for a number of years now and there have been a few shows that I wish I had missed. If you are thinking about going to a particular show you should look for a review. Lacking a review, drive by the show during a performance and see if the parking lot is full. Some shows are so great that you just can't wait that long to get tickets. The 2004 performance of Cats was just such a show. Standing ovations after every performance!

This chart shows the times of high tide for Ogunquit Beach, summer. To find the times for low tide just add or subtract about 6 hours and ten minutes to or from these times. Ogunquit Beach is accessible at high tide with quite a bit of soft sand to park a blanket. However, as you can see from the photo above, the main beach can be a great place to people watch near the time of high tide. The times of high and low tide are approximate. Tides are affected by the cycles of the moon primarily but are also influenced by weather.

These are called "Spring" tides. Nothing to do with the season, think of spring meaning that the water has the most spring in its' movement or that it springs up and down the beach. The time of spring tides is a good time to go tide pooling at low tide.

Between the spring tides are what are called neap tides. In my humble opinion, "Neap" tides might as well be called boring tides. They are neither very high nor very low. Neap tides occur around the time of the first quarter and last quarter moon phases.

Southern Maine, and in particular, the Wells, Kennebunk, and Arundel area, is famous for an abundance of Antique shops. Most are located on Rt 1.