Maine has always been worth a visit. In the Kennebunks, visitors are catching on that it’s worth a lifetime too.
Located along the coast of York County, the Kennebunks—Kennebunk and Kennebunkport—are a half-hour drive to both Portland and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and an hour and a half from Boston. While they present a convenient launchpad for both urban and natural exploration, these twin towns are brimming over with their own charms.
For over 40 years, Heidi Maynard has worked in real estate. Something always set the Kennebunks apart in her mind, so much so that she, too, has made her life in Kennebunkport. Today, she’s the designated broker at Pack Maynard Real Estate in Kennebunk, which she co-owns with her daughter, Corey Burns Tracy.
Heidi was initially drawn to the area for its distinct natural beauty and strong sense of community. While many towns throughout Southern Maine are popular tourist destinations, the Kennebunks have much to offer people who settle here all year.
“It’s much more of a year-round community now,” says Heidi. “It’s fun living in a seasonal town like this. People start coming in April and they stay all the way through Prelude. It quiets down for a couple of months and then starts up again very quickly. It’s a fun place. It has an ever-changing energy. I find that very appealing.”
“There’s a lot to do here,” she adds. “People think it closes down—it doesn’t. It’s active, hustling, bustling.”
While some restaurants take a break for a few weeks in winter, the town’s culinary scene offers locals several places to connect over great food. In the heart of Kennebunkport, overlooking the Kennebunk River, is Hurricane Restaurant, which serves up fresh seafood and Heidi’s favorite shrimp scampi. The Lost Fire Grill and Bar, a Patagonian steakhouse, is another of prime recommendations, a dark and cozy retreat on Cape Porpoise. The Tides Beach Club sits on Goose Rocks Beach, offering wonderful views to accompany a drink on their front porch before dinner in the restaurant.
In Kennebunk, Wandby Landing serves “outrageous” meatballs with the village-like hospitality they see has distinguished the town for a century. 50 Local sources ingredients for their bistro menu locally, and Pilot House is a true Kennebunk hang. The restaurant recently underwent renovations, and Heidi noted how excited community members were for it to reopen.
“If you want to go out on a Friday night for dinner, the food is delicious, and you’re going to see everyone who’s a year-rounder there,” she said.
I recently got a taste of the Kennebunks’ fine dining scene firsthand. For my thirtieth birthday, I went with two friends to dinner at Earth at Hidden Pond. The tasting menu is excellent—the doughnuts stole the show—and the ambiance is tranquil and sophisticated. Driving out at dusk, through a thick of pine trees past the property’s bespoke cabins, felt like the perpetual dream of Maine: the perfect retreat from the rest of the world.
Once you’re sated and satiated, there’s plenty to explore outdoors, whether in July or January. The Waterhouse Center in downtown Kennebunk opens its ice rink every November, and throughout the summer months, the space brings together shoppers and local makers in the Kennebunk Artisans Marketplace. There’s no shortage of pickleball, paddleball, and tennis leagues around town.
The Kennebunks are renowned for their beaches, and Mother’s Beach, Parsons Beach, and Goose Rocks Beach are popular with tourists and locals alike. Sometimes, Heidi sees nothing better than taking a walk along the water on Kennebunkport’s Ocean Avenue, with its famous view of the Bush Compound.
The town’s hum of activity is energizing, and Heidi has observed much of the landscape and community change and develop over the last five years.
“When COVID happened, a lot of people who grew up here came back,” she said. With the rise of remote work, she has seen that the families she works with are seeking something different in the places they choose to live.
“A lot of people who didn’t think they could live here came back. People are coming back to the small community from the cities,” she said. “As they have children, they want their kids to have the same experience: A safe community, a community that cares. I find that Kennebunkport is still such a community of caring. I can’t say that enough. It’s such a wonderful place to live.”
Ask Heidi about why she’s made her home here and one thing rings strong through her answer: Pride in the community.
“You walk around and can feel it,” she said. “There’s nothing like coming back to Kennebunkport, wherever you go. That feeling of peace and pride is what we all need. The Kennebunks still offer that. It’s home.”
