Make a gift in honor of the good that comes from BDN journalism in your hands, and help raise $60,000 this spring to support our reporting. Make a donation now.
I’ve probably mentioned I’m not much of a hiker. I climbed a few of Maine’s highest mountains in my younger days just to be able to say I did, but any hiking since then had to have trout or something to hunt at the end of the trail.
And it may be a tad strange coming from someone born and raised within 30 minutes of the Gulf of Maine, but I’m not a big fan of the ocean.
I love my fried or baked haddock and fresh sea scallops and fly fishing for stripers and bluefish from shore is one of my favorite summertime things to do, but I’ve been seasick too many times to develop any great love for anything too far offshore.
But I do have to say that few coastlines I’ve seen are as scenic, in my humble and slightly prejudiced opinion, as Maine’s, and I don’t mind a leisurely stroll along its rocky bluffs and cliffs even though there are no trout or anything to hunt along the way.
Down in York County, one of the best-known cliff walks is the Marginal Way in the village of Ogunquit. It’s about 165 miles down I-95 from the Bangor area, but anyone visiting the southern Maine coast this summer would not be wasting their time by putting this famous footpath on their to-do list.
My wife, Diane, convinced me to visit recently, and although I was hesitant at first due to increasing summer traffic on U.S. Route 1 at the start of the tourist season, I’m glad she did.
Marginal Way is a paved walkway along the immediate rockbound shoreline and cliffs stretching 1.25 miles between Ogunquit and Perkins Cove that dates back to 1925, when a local developer donated a one-mile-long strip of land to Ogunquit to be maintained for public use. Additional land donations followed in future years, extending the walkway to its current length.
In 2022, Marginal Way was added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its historical and cultural significance, and in 2025 it was mentioned as one of USA TODAY’S Most Treasured Views.
Diane and I made our trip to Ogunquit in late May, just before the Memorial Day crowd arrived, on a day predicted to be overcast but warm. We assumed finding a place to park would be a challenge, and it was despite arriving early in the morning while most folks were eating breakfast.
After driving around looking for an empty parking spot without success, I decided to pull into the parking lot at Hutchins Commons just past Cumberland Farms on U.S. Route 1 heading south. I can’t say if the $10 was an off-season rate and whether the price goes up during the tourist season, but I figured it was worth it.
From there it’s just a short walk behind Cumbies and past the public restrooms to Shore Road, where we turned right, strolled past some shops and after 15 minutes or so arrived at our destination.
There are several midway access points to Marginal Way along Shore Road, but the north entrance we took takes you through the Sparhawk Resort. After passing some landscaped flower gardens and tennis courts, the pathway takes a sharp right and you get a full view of where the Ogunquit River dumps into the ocean.
As I stood there looking at the scene, I looked upstream toward the Beach Street Bridge and recalled the late 1970s, when we fly fished on rare mild November and December days for sea-run brown trout as they fed on shrimp and small baitfish. I wondered if the unique opportunity was still available.
According to the latest stocking report, several hundred brown trout are still stocked in the Ogunquit River and its tributary, Stevens Brook, each October and November, helping sustain the fishery. Something for me to think about after deer season.
Legend has it the name Ogunquit derives from the Abenaki word meaning “beautiful place by the sea.” As Diane and I walked Marginal Way, I have to say it’s appropriate. Along the entire walk the ocean is just yards away as the pathway travels past rocky coves, tidal pools, small hidden beaches and cliffs that drop into the Atlantic.
On hot, muggy summer days I have no doubt the ocean breeze would be quite refreshing. On our visit thick groves of bayberry, honeysuckle and bittersweet were just coming into bloom, as were the white and pink beach roses, which seemed to be everywhere.
At strategic viewing points there are benches to sit and take a breather and take in the view. At others, stairways lead down to a secluded beach or rocks close to the water’s edge.
Marginal Way in Ogunquit is in no way a hard, strenuous hike. Far from it, which is probably why I enjoyed it. The entire walkway is paved and we saw young parents pushing baby strollers and even someone being pushed in a wheelchair.
It’s just a nice, scenic stroll along the Maine coast worth doing. But it does get busy, especially during the summer tourist season. Some 400,000 visitors are said to walk Marginal Way each year, so if you do go, my recommendation is to go early or late in the day while a lot of folks are eating breakfast or dinner.
I imagine the summer sunrises and sunsets can take your breath away.