While Southern Maine is known for being overrun with tourists and beach goers in the summer, there is still an abundance of beautiful spots hidden in plain sight, particularly away from Route 1.

York is one such town, containing well trafficked spots like Nubble Lighthouse and York Beach but also hidden gems such as the Fisherman’s Walk, Wiggly Bridge and Hartley Mason Reserve.

Join us as we explore those sights plus stop by a brewery and grab some pizza afterwards.

Introduction

York is located along the Southern Maine Coast, sandwiched between Kittery to the South and Ogunquit to the North.

It’s about a 40 minute drive South of Portland and an hour and half drive North of Boston.

Its most well known features are York Beach and the iconic Nubble Lighthouse. We won’t cover them in this video, but they’re worth a stop too.

Fisherman’s Walk and Wiggly Bridge

Our first stop of the day was Fisherman’s walk. We found street parking near the Hartley Mason Reserve along York Street, but you can also find ample parking in York Village and walk to the trail via Lilac Lane.

Finding the trail was actually a little tough. We didn’t have cell phone service, so I had to recall from memory where the trail might start. It kind of felt like we were encroaching on private land, but found the entrance to the walk.

The walk takes you along the coast in between cozy summer cottages and docks along the York River.

Once you come to Varrell Lane, there’s a narrow path between fences next to a private residence. Make sure you take the right path, but it should be pretty obvious.

The path continues as you get to enjoy the beautiful York River with boats at harbor. Very idyllic.

Soon you’ll pass underneath Lilac Lane and both Barrel Mill Pond Dam and the Wiggly Bridge come into view.

Along the dam you can get some pretty shots with water flanking both sides and the suspension bridge in the background.

This is a unique dam. It is one of the best preserved tidal dams in New England. By 1727, mills would use the power of water rushing out of the dam at low tide to power their operations.

We came at low tide and the water was absolutely gushing from the pond to the York River. You can see first hand how that energy could power grain and lumber mills.

However, the star of the show is Wiggly Bridge, the shortest suspension bridge in the world. Built in the 1930s, the 75 foot long bridge is a metal suspension bridge and lives up to its namesake of being wiggly.

Beyond the bride is the Steedman Woods nature preserve, which offers a waterfront trail including some impressively towering pines. We did a short loop and made our way the 1 mile back to our car. Overall this easy hike clocked in just under 2 miles.

Hartley Mason Reserve

The Hartley Mason Reserve is a small groomed park overlooking York Harbor Beach and York Harbor. The land was donated to the Town of York by Hartley W. Mason and opened as a park in 1993. 

We strolled through the park admiring the monuments, statues and historic plaques. We sat overlooking gorgeous York Harbor for a while being memorized by the crashing waves along the cliffs and beach below.

You can also do a quarter mile cliff walk, but it was closed when we went due to storm damage over the past winter.

SOME Brewing

After an afternoon exploring, we drove 9 minutes to SOME brewing company along Route 1.

SOME is hidden away in the back of a retail building and offers some funky unique beers and a full calendar of events from run clubs to weekly music.

I had the Agamenticus, American Amber Beer which was lighter and full of slightly sweet caramelized flavor. Some of the other beers included sweeter combinations such as Peanut Butter Jelly milk stout, Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Milk Stout and the Cinnamon Toast Style Alt Ale.

We got cans of the Cinnamon Toast to go and after trying it I was pleasantly surprised at how drinkable it was. I was expecting a sickly sweet sugar bomb, but the cinnamon sweetness was more subtle and well balanced. Very well done!

Dante’s Pizza

I have a confession, many of you already know. Pizza generally sucks in Maine. If you’re looking for a good NYC slice, decent New Haven style or my favorite Buffalo New York style, you’re going to have a bad time (shout out to Pengs in Biddeford for dishing out great New Haven style though).

However, you can find some great wood oven pizza, good sicilian slices (shoutout to Slab in Portland) and even Detroit style if you know where to look.

Dante’s Pizza along Route 1 in York delivers when it comes to dishing out a great Detroit style pie. Actually other than Foundation Brewing, I don’t know where else you can even find Detroit style pizza in Maine.

We’ve been to Dante’s a total of 4 times now and the pizza is always perfectly crispy – as Detroit style should be. We got the Buffalo Chicken and a pizza with ricotta, pepperoni and truffles, both were delicious as always.

In addition to pizza, Dante’s also has a selection of pastas, salads, sandwiches, appetizers and a full bar.