6 Best Sights in The Southern Coast, Maine

Restaurants, art galleries, clothing boutiques, and other shops—both trendy and touristy—line this bustling square and nearby streets and alleys. Walk onto the drawbridge to admire the tidal Kennebunk River; cross to the other side and you are in the Lower Village of neighboring Kennebunk.

Three-mile-long Goose Rocks, a 10-minute drive north of Kennebunkport, has a good long stretch of smooth sand and plenty of shallow pools for exploring. It's a favorite of families with small children. Pick up a $25 daily parking permit at one of two kiosks along the beach: one outside of Goose Rocks Beach General Store at 3 Dyke Road and the other at the Proctor Avenue beach path. Dogs are allowed (on a leash), but only before 9 and after 5 during the summer season. There is one porta potty behind the General Store, but otherwise no facilities are available at the beach. Amenities: parking (fee). Best for: walking; swimming.

On a small island just off the tip of Cape Neddick, Nubble Light is one of the most photographed lighthouses on the globe. Direct access is prohibited, but the small Sohier Park right across from the light has parking, historical placards, benches, and a seasonal information center that shares the 1879 light's history.

Ogunquit has long been an important site for artists, and this stellar museum—the only one in Maine focused solely on American art—continues that legacy. The collection includes 3,000 early modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures, drawings, and more, including works with ties to Ogunquit's once-famous artist colony. The main gallery offers sweeping views of Perkins Cove. Leave time to stroll around the 3-acre seaside sculpture park in good weather.

Familiar to many from photographs and the Edward Hopper painting Portland Head-Light (1927), this lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington in 1790. The towering, white-stone structure stands over the keeper's quarters, a white home with a blazing red roof, today the Museum at Portland Head Light. The lighthouse is in 90-acre Fort Williams Park, a sprawling green space with walking paths, picnic facilities, a beach and—you guessed it—a cool old fort.

The great American landscape painter created many of his best-known works in this seaside home between 1883 until his death in 1910. It's easy to see how this rocky, jagged peninsula might have been inspiring. The only way to get a look is on a tour with the Portland Museum of Art, which leads 2½-hour strolls through the historic property.