Westbrook

It is not a tourist town, and there is no pretense that it is. What it offers is a real place with good food, ten minutes from a city where dinner requires a reservation weeks out.

What Westbrook is known for

The river. Saccarappa Falls runs through the middle of downtown, and a fish passage project has reopened it to migrating alewives and shad after two centuries of dams. You can watch the run from the riverwalk in spring. The Riverwalk itself connects the falls to Mill Brook and gives the downtown a front onto the water it did not have for most of its history.

The other thing is a genuinely strange one: for several years a large white sturgeon, nicknamed by locals, made the pool below the falls a minor phenomenon. It says something about the town's relationship with its river.

Things to do

Walk the riverwalk and eat. Tuscan Table (4.5 across 2,426 Google reviews) is the anchor restaurant downtown. The Fore River Sanctuary (4.7 from 222 reviews) protects a stretch of marsh and woods on the Portland line, with the Jewell Falls trail (4.6 from 85 reviews) leading to the only natural waterfall within Portland's city limits.

The Presumpscot River Preserve to the east has trails along a gorge, and the Sebago to the Sea trail passes through town on its way from Sebago Lake to the coast.

Getting here and when to go

Westbrook is on Route 302 just off the Maine Turnpike, ten minutes from downtown Portland and a reasonable base if Portland accommodation is full or overpriced.

Spring is the time for the fish run at Saccarappa Falls. Otherwise the town is a year-round working place rather than a seasonal one, which means the restaurants stay open when coastal towns have shut.

Common questions

Is Westbrook a good place to stay near Portland?

Yes, for practical reasons. Westbrook borders Portland and sits on Route 302, so the city lies a short drive one way and the Sebago lakes a short drive the other, and rooms are easier to come by than on the Portland peninsula. What you give up is walkable dining and any sense of being on the water.

What is the Westbrook Riverwalk?

A paved path along the Presumpscot River through the middle of the city, linking the downtown to the falls at its center. It is short, flat and open year round, and it has become the town's front yard since the riverfront was cleaned up and opened to the public. Saccarappa Falls, with its restored fish passage, is the centerpiece.

Does Westbrook still have a paper mill?

Yes, and it is the reason the city exists. Westbrook grew up around the paper mill on the Presumpscot, and the mill complex still occupies the middle of the city beside the river as a working plant rather than a preserved relic. It shapes the skyline and the traffic, which is worth knowing before booking a room downtown.

Where can you get a beer in Westbrook?

Mast Landing Brewing Company keeps a taproom here, rated 4.7 from 261 reviews, and it is the main draw for anyone visiting for beer rather than errands. For dinner, Tuscan Table is the busiest room in the city at 4.5 from 2,426 reviews. Neither sits far from the river, and Westbrook is small enough to cross quickly.