Maine Coast - Kittery to Old Orchard Beach.

This is one of two trips I recently made along the Southern Maine Coast.  I needed a brake from doing routine  landscaping and the few rainy days we were having it gave me a good excuse to set that aside and relax.


This area of Maine can be very busy in the summer however it was early in the season and with the weather as it was I did not encounter much traffic.   


The beginning of my trip followed the Maine coast from Kittery to Old Orchard Beach where I explored some of the more popular villages along the cost and stopped at Ogunquit Beach to have my lunch which I packed with me.  The beach was unusually void of visitors as it was the middle of the week and the weather was cool with intermittent periods of rain.

Oqunquit Beach MAP

After having my lunch on the beach I moved on to the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge located along State Route 9 just south west of Kennebunkport.  The wildlife refuge covers a forested area where a footpath is maintained for visitors and also borders a marshy estuary. 

Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge MAP

Leaving the wildlife refuge I traveled a little further along the coast to the Franciscan Monastery overlooking Kennebunkport Village Harbor.  I was curious abut the Monastery as I traveled through this area before but never noticed it so decided to stop and explore.  The facility consists of a guest house that accommodates visitors, an outdoor chapel a church around the early 60;s as well as housing for Lithuanian Monks and priests.   There was also a short trail that paralleled the shore overlooking the village which I explored.

Franciscan Monastery MAP

I traveled as far as Old Orchard Beach before calling it a day and traveled the Interstate home taking about an hour to complete the journey.