Located on the inner side of Saco Bay on the Atlantic Ocean, the town is a popular seaside resort.

[6][7] The first European visitor to the area around the mouth of the Saco and Goosefare rivers was British explorer Martin Pring in 1603.

The namesake orchard survived for approximately 150 years as a beacon of land to sailors in the Atlantic Ocean.

[11] The historic Free Will Baptist revival camp at Ocean Park, Maine, just down the beach from central Old Orchard, was built in 1881 by Bates College President Oren B. Cheney.

It was operated by Rose and Edward Cummings Jr. and prominent guests included Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, and Lionel Hampton.

Colored lights would flash, loud klaxons would sound, and compressed air would shoot from the floor.

The current 2019 version of Palace Playland consists of a newly built Ferris wheel, a 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) arcade, and 25 rides for both children and adults.

[citation needed] and a brand new roller coaster opening in 2018 known as the “sea viper” Every Thursday the beach has a firework show at the pier at night.

When the ribbon was cut on July 2, 1898, it was a “global cultural icon,” at 1,825 feet the longest steel pier in the world, created by Berlin Iron Bridge Co. at a cost of $38,000.

In the interwar period, the Casino hosted such acts as Guy Lombardo, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Xavier Cugat and Frank Sinatra.

A fire in 1969 destroyed Noah's Ark, the two carousels, the Whale's Mouth, the Mine Ride, and the Jack and Jill slide.

The wooden walk way is lined with souvenir shops, carnival-style foods, and a night club at the end of the pier.

The Guides relocated in 1989 after finishing last in attendance and in wins in the International League during their final season in Old Orchard Beach.

From 2012-2014, the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide in the New England Collegiate Baseball League played at the ballpark.

Old Orchard Beach is the twin city of the French seaside resort of Mimizan, as a reminder of Oiseau Canari, the pioneer aircraft crossing of the Atlantic by Assollant, Lefèvre and Lotti in 1929 to Oyambre (Cantabria, Spain).

Old Orchard Beach, during the high tourist season, sees an influx of Lithuanian, Latvian, Turkish, Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian foreign exchange students looking for summer work.