Southern Maine Coast

The Southern Maine Coast covers the long York County stretch of Atlantic shoreline running from the New Hampshire border at Kittery north to Old Orchard Beach. The terrain shifts from rocky promontories at York and Cape Neddick through the long sand beaches at Wells and Ogunquit to the wide barrier-style shoreline at Old Orchard. Most of the inland country is gently rolling pine-and-hardwood forest with the Salmon Falls and Mousam rivers cutting through. York County is the only county in the region. Anchor towns include Kittery (with the outlet shopping district), York (with Nubble Light at Cape Neddick), Ogunquit (the Marginal Way and Perkins Cove), Wells, Kennebunkport (the Bush family compound at Walker’s Point), Old Orchard Beach (the Pier and the seasonal amusement park), Saco, Biddeford, and Sanford. The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge stretches across multiple coastal towns; the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve sits between Wells and Kennebunk. Most trips here run beach-and-outlet focused. Kittery’s outlet stores draw shoppers year-round; Ogunquit and Wells handle the family-beach traffic; Kennebunkport runs the upscale resort-and-restaurant scene; Old Orchard Beach pulls a Quebecois summer crowd to the boardwalk and pier. Nubble Light at York is among the most photographed lighthouses in the U.S.