Photograph Sunrise at the Old Orchard Beach Pier
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Added by Danielle Tourigny
The pier in Old Orchard Beach provides the perfect setting to capture a sunrise on the Maine coast.
Few things create a more dramatic scene for a sunrise than a pier spanning out into the water, and the one in Old Orchard Beach is pretty iconic. Normally the area is pretty packed, and it can be tough to find a parking spot (especially in the summer). But at sunrise, there is just you, the beach, and that one old guy walking his dog around.
I spend the night before looking at the weather. The most ideal days are when it rains a little overnight, but the clouds are breaking just about an hour before sunrise. On a perfectly clear day, the scene is still magical though. I try to get there 30 minutes before the scheduled sunrise time to catch the glow that appears before first light and to ensure you get all the different layers that a sunrise has to offer.
When you finish up, take a quick 20 minute drive to Palace Diner for an AMAZING breakfast. Not a bad way to start the morning before anyone else has even gotten out of bed!
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I got up every morning this past trip to Maine to watch the sunrise, Old Orchard was one of my destinations because of the pier. Bring your hammock and come early to hang, or go for a quick run on the beach after, such an awesome little town.
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