In York Harbor and York Village, which are both quieter than York Beach, you’ll find quaint shops and art galleries, tree-lined streets, and beautiful, stately homes with eye-popping views. York Harbor is filled with working lobster boats as well as grand yachts, and has its own small, scenic beach with gentle surf. At the end of Harbor Beach is the beginning of the famed Cliff Walk, a path that winds between the sea and beautiful old summer cottages and ocean-side estates as it hugs the rocky cliff.
Kittery is the home of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and has a proud maritime past. Many of the most famous ships of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars were built in Kittery including the Kearsage, which is known for sinking the Confederate raider Alabama. Kittery’s historic roots spread farther than just the Navy yard – Kittery is home to some of the oldest homes in Maine. From Garrisons to Capes all the typical colonial architecture of early America can be found here.
Cape Neddick, the residential suburb of York, was the last section of York to be developed due to its geographic remoteness from the town center. Lumbering operations and its associated mills along Cape Neddick Josias Rivers furnished employment. The name Cape Neddick is one native place name that has survived and remained a prominent landmark since contact, known first as a navigational marker and today as the site of an oft-photographed lighthouse. The English added the word “Cape”, but Neddick is believed to be an Algonkian word meaning “solitary” and refers to the nubble of land isolated from the peninsula.
