Perkins Cove

No visit to Ogunquit is complete without a visit to Perkins Cove. It is a Hollywood picture-perfect rendition of a working New England port, equipped for seafarers of all stripes: lobstermen, fishermen, sailors, yachtsmen, tour-boat captains, kayakers, as well as their crews and passengers. The older working identity of the Ogunquit harbor still shines through.

Now, of course, the working cove is complemented by restaurants, galleries, shops aplenty, and regularly scheduled public events that make it possible for individuals and families to easily spend an entire day or more. For social life, Perkins Cove is now the quintessential stage set. The fishing boats, shop signs, gull cries, and harbor light supply the props. Visitors become part of its choreography.

Families cluster at the bridge to watch it lift, or to watch lobstermen and fishermen unload their hauls. Children of all ages demand ice cream, climb on the rocks facing Oarweed Cove, and sometimes fish from one of the wharves. Friends gather on decks with lobster rolls and drinks, turning a casual meal into a yearly rite. Couples arrive at sunset and feel, perhaps a little theatrically and not unhappily, that they have stepped into a film about a New England summer.

Perkins Cove’s iconic drawbridge serves as a focal point for this memory factory. What person, group, or family doesn’t have at least one photo or video capturing a loved one standing on the bridge, framed by a backdrop of boats at anchor, a sunset, or a sunrise? Return visitors come to feel that they don’t just remember Perkins Cove, but that Perkins Cove itself remembers them. That is the secret sauce of this Ogunquit memory factory.