Kenton's northern border is formed by North Portland Harbor, the channel of the Columbia River that separates the area from Hayden Island.

Neighborhoods bordering Kenton are: Hayden Island to the north; Bridgeton, Sunderland, and Piedmont to the east; Arbor Lodge to the south; University Park to the southwest; and Portsmouth and St. Johns to the west.

The historic site of Vanport, a public housing project built to provide homes for World War II shipbuilders, later destroyed by a 1948 flood, is also located within the current boundaries of the Kenton neighborhood.

[2] In 1909, Portland, Oregon Mayor Joseph Simon took an automobile trip to Kenton where he announced general improvements for the community like road pavement, street lamps and a fire station.

[3] The streets were still dirt in 1910, leading the Kenton Push Club to lobby the Portland City Council to pass a bond to pave the roads.

[7] A story of the "Kenton ghost" was published in the January 5, 1913, edition of The Oregonian which recounted several residents accounts of a shadowy figure lurking the streets of the community.