The Kennebunk villages that cluster some 50 mi/80 km southwest of Portland (Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Kennebunk Beach) have long been some of Maine's most attractive and most popular resort towns. This area of beautiful beaches, fine sand, rocky shores, excellent restaurants and summer theater caters to visitors of all kinds, but artists, writers, gourmets and art collectors are especially drawn to the Kennebunks. Kennebunkport received a lot of press when former U.S. President George H.W. Bush used it as a frequent vacation retreat (he maintains a house on Walker Point).
Kennebunkport's Dock Square has shops and galleries in restored buildings, and fishing charters are available at the dock itself. Take the drive along Ocean Avenue to the quaint fishing village of Cape Porpoise (there are restaurants and inns in historic mansions along the way).
Tom's of Maine (http://www.tomsofmaine.com), which manufactures naturally sweetened toothpastes, is headquartered in the old train station in Kennebunk and offers tours and a factory store. The Seashore Trolley Museum (http://www.trolleymuseum.org), with its collection of century-old trolley cars from both the U.S. and abroad, is just north of Kennebunk on Highway 1.
Old Orchard Beach, also a bit north of the Kennebunks, attracts bathers with its miles/kilometers of sandy beach. The nearby Cape Elizabeth area also has three fine parks: Two Lights State Park, Fort Williams and Crescent Beach State Park.
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