Western Lakes and Mountains
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Western Lakes and Mountains - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Height of Land
Height of Land is the highlight of Rangeley Lakes National Scenic Byway, with unforgettable views of mountains and lakes. One of Maine's best overlooks, it hugs Route 17 atop Spruce Mountain several miles south of Rangeley's Oquossoc village. On a clear day, you can look west to mountains on the New Hampshire border. There's off-road parking, interpretive panels, stone seating, and a short path to the Appalachian Trail. Rangeley Lake unfolds at a nearby overlook on the opposite side of the road.
Rte. 17, Maine, 04970, USA -
2. Maine Mineral & Gem Museum
Moon rocks, Maine mineralogy, and western Maine's mineral and gem mining legacy converge at this interactive 15,000-square-foot museum—unexpected in a town of Bethel's size. Opened in 2019 and founded by philanthropists, the handsome structure (two Main Street buildings were joined) is surrounded by garden beds with large rocks, some resembling modern sculpture and all placarded with interesting facts about their origins, etc. Inside, 19 exhibits are spread about four galleries on two floors. Kids love the simulated mining blast, part of an exhibit on gem discoveries and mica and feldspar mining in the Bethel area. When the "Space Rocks” gallery darkens, a 3D film beams about, making it look as if a meteorite shower has blown up the walls, revealing Bethel. The windowless space displays more moon meteorites than the world's other natural history museums combined. This museum's collection includes the biggest chunk of Mars on earth, weighing 32 pounds; 6,000 meteorites from the moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt; and nearly 38,000 mineral specimens, some 15,000 of them Maine-mined. A replica of a shuttered Maine mineral store, once a tourist hot spot, showcases prized specimens. In the "Hall of Gems" (and the gift shop!), Maine's famed pink and “watermelon” tourmaline and other gems bedazzle.
99 Main St., Maine, 04217, USA207-824–3036Sight Details
Rate Includes: $15, Closed Tues. -
3. Moose Alley
Bowling is just one reason families, couples, locals, and visitors head here for a night out, or indoor fun on a rainy—or sunny!—day. There’s arcade games, billiards, foosball, cornhole, shuffleboard, darts, air hockey, and dancing and live music (check the website for details), plus ten bowling lanes. Moose Alley’s Spirit Bar Grill & Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Folks also stop here for ice cream or baked goods, espresso or bubble tea, settling in upfront at the soda fountain-style and curvy lounge seating. Images of fish, moose, loons, and Rangeley Lake are smattered on the dance floor and antler chandeliers provide a mellow glow, but the woodsy decor is modern, stylish, and hip, not overdone. The cool curved bar in the center is faced to resemble river stones, as are pillars inside and out. There’s table seating, couches, and around the firepit, roomy armchairs (put your feet on the surround but not your food, as the sign reminds!). Order at the counter: your meal or snack is delivered to your table, bar seat, lane, or game spot. The pub fare is delish (try the chipotle sweet potato fries), and food is served until close.
2809 Main St., Maine, 04970, USA207-864--9955Sight Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed. -
4. Outdoor Heritage Museum
Spruce railings and siding on the museum's facade replicate a local taxidermy shop from about 1900. Inside, there's an authentic log sporting camp from the same period, when grand hotels and full-service sporting lodges drew well-to-do rusticators to Rangeley for long stays. One of the big draws is the exhibit on local flytier Carrie Stevens, whose famed streamer flies increased the region's fly-fishing fame in the 1920s. The many diverse exhibits include displays on U.S. presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Herbert Hoover fishing in Rangeley; vintage watercraft; Native American birch-bark canoes and artifacts; art of the region; and gleaming fish mounts of world-record-size brook trout. With free exhibits out front, this is a popular stop even when closed—don't miss the 12,000-year-old Native American meat cache.
8 Rumford Rd., Maine, 04964, USA207-864–3091Sight Details
Rate Includes: $8, Closed Nov.–Apr., closed Mon. May.–Oct. and also Tues. May, June, Sept., and Oct. -
5. Rufus Porter Museum of Art and Ingenuity
Local youth Rufus Porter became a leading folk artist in the early 1800s, painting landscape and harbor murals on the walls of New England homes, like this museum's barn red Cape Cod–style Nathan Church House, which bears unsigned murals by Porter (or one of his apprentices). In 2016, the late-18th-century structure was moved to the museum's downtown setting, where an eye-catching circa-1830s former residence on Main Street has exhibits about Porter, who was also an "ahead of his time" inventor, writer, and founder of Scientific American magazine. Early issues are on display, as are models of some of his inventions and his miniature portraits. A video about this ingenious man is shown. Both buildings have changing exhibits, and the museum's excellent gift shop has books about Porter.
121 Main St., Maine, 04009, USA207-647–2828Sight Details
Rate Includes: $8, Closed mid-Oct.–mid-June and Sun.–Tues. mid-June–mid-Oct. -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Artist's Bridge
The most painted and photographed of Maine's nine covered bridges can be found on a detour from Newry. Head south on U.S. 2 and then northwest on Sunday River Road (stay to the right at "Y" intersections). Trails flow alongside Sunday River from the pedestrian-only bridge, which is a popular swimming spot.
Sunday River Rd., Maine, 04261, USA -
7. Grafton Notch State Park
Grafton Notch Scenic Byway along Route 26 runs through Grafton Notch, a favorite destination for viewing fall foliage that stretches along the Bear River Valley 14 miles north of Bethel. It's an easy walk from roadside parking areas to the distinctive Screw Auger Falls, which drops through a gorge, creating pools; Mother Walker Falls; and Moose Cave. Trailhead parking and the nicely shaded Spruce Meadow picnic area are also right along the road. Table Rock Loop Trail (2.4 miles round-trip) rewards hikers with views of the mountainous terrain. More challenging is the 7.6-mile round-trip trek along the Appalachian Trail to the viewing platform atop 4,180-foot Old Speck Mountain, one of the state's highest peaks. The Appalachian Trail also traverses the 31,764-acre Mahoosuc Public Land—its two tracts sandwich the park—whose trails offer stunning, if strenuous, backcountry hiking (there are backcountry campsites). In winter, a popular snowmobile trail follows the river through the park.
1941 Bear River Rd., Maine, 04261, USA207-824–2912-Mid-May–mid-Oct. onlySight Details
Rate Includes: Nonresidents $4, Maine residents $3 -
8. Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands
The more than 2 million acres overseen by the bureau encompass 33 state parks, 15 historic sites, three scenic waterways, and more than 20,000 miles of ATV, snowmobile, and multiuse trails. Its public lands—nearly 600,000 acres—are wilderness areas managed for recreation, wildlife preservation, and timbering. Most areas are free to visit, but camping is primitive. Many lands are in remote areas accessible only by logging roads; others are relatively close to town centers and have trailheads, outhouses, and other facilities.
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9. Museums of the Bethel Historical Society
Across from the Village Common, the society's campus comprises two buildings: the 1821 O'Neil Robinson House and the 1813 Dr. Moses Mason House, both on the National Register of Historic Places. The O'Neil Robinson House has well-done exhibits about the region's history and a Maine Ski and Snowmobile Museum display. One parlor room serves as a gift shop with a nice book selection. The Moses Mason House has nine period rooms, and the front hall and stairway are decorated with Rufus Porter School folk art murals. The barn gallery has changing exhibits. In town when the museum is closed? Touch base as it does open by appointment. Head out back to check out the Sunday River snow roller, pulled by a team of horses back in the day, and a giant Mt. Zircon Moon Tide Spring "Ginger Champagne" soda bottle lunch stand, a 1920s promotion for a defunct western Maine spring and soda water company.
10 Broad St., Maine, 04217, USA207-824–2908Sight Details
Rate Includes: By donation, O\'Neil Robinson closed mid Oct.–late May, Sun. and Mon. July and Aug., and Sat.–Mon. June and Sept.; Moses Mason closed Sept.–June and Sun.–Wed. July and Aug. -
10. Rangeley Lake State Park
On the south shore of Rangeley Lake, this 869-acre park has superb lakeside scenery, swimming, picnic tables, a playground, a boat ramp, a few short trails, and a campground. In the off-season, visitors can park outside the gate and walk-in.
1 State Park Rd., Maine, 04970, USA207-864–3858-May–mid-Oct. onlySight Details
Rate Includes: Nonresident $6, Maine resident $4, Closed Oct.–Apr. -
11. Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Museum VillageEstablished in the late 18th century, this is the last active Shaker community in the world. Several buildings with Shaker furniture, folk art, tools, farm implements, and crafts from the 18th to the early 20th century are open for guided hour-long tours. The structures include the 1794 Meetinghouse, the 1839 Ministry's Shop, where the elders and eldresses lived until the early 1900s, and the 1821 Sister's Shop, where household goods and candies were made. The 1850 Boys' Shop has a free exhibit about Shaker childhood. An exhibit in the 1816 Granary is included with the tour, but tickets are also sold separately. The Shaker Store sells community-produced foods and goods as well as handicrafts by area artisans. If you're visiting the village in late August, don't miss the popular and free Maine Native American Summer Market and Demonstration.
707 Shaker Rd., New Gloucester, Maine, 04260, USA207-926–4597Sight Details
Rate Includes: From $7, Closed mid-Oct.–late May and Sun. late May–mid-Oct. -
12. Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
Established in the late 18th century, this is the last active Shaker community in the world. The farmstead’s many structures include the 1794 Meetinghouse; the 1839 Ministry’s Shop, where the elders and eldresses lived until the early 1900s; and the 1821 Sister’s Shop, where household goods and candies were made. Visitors can take self-guided exterior building tours; check out free exhibits in the 1850 Boys’ Shop, about Shaker childhood, and the 1816 Granary, on the community’s history and evolution; and walk the gardens and grounds. The Shaker Store sells community-produced foods and goods as well as handicrafts by area artisans and has an antique shop whose offerings may include “fancy goods” made here years ago for sale to tourists. Check the website for events, including workshops.
707 Shaker Rd., Maine, 04260, USA207-926–4597Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed mid-Oct.–late May and Sun. late May–mid-Oct. -
13. Sebago Lake State Park
This 1,400-acre expanse on the north shore of Sebago Lake is a great spot for swimming, boating, and fishing for both salmon and togue (lake trout). Its 250-site campground is the largest at any Maine state park. Bicycling along the park's roads is a popular pastime in warm weather, as is hiking. Come winter, the park offers 5½ miles of groomed cross-country trails and 6 miles of ungroomed trails, also used for snowshoeing. On the park's edge, Songo Lock State Historic Site, an operational lock along the twisting, narrow Songo River and a remnant of a 19th-century canal system, is a pleasant—and free—picnic area. You can also fish off the handicapped-accessible pier and launch a kayak or canoe.
11 Park Access Rd., Maine, 04015, USA207-693–6231Sight Details
Rate Includes: Nonresident $8, Maine resident $6 -
14. Stanley Museum
Original Stanley Steamer cars built by twin brothers Francis and Freelan Stanley—Kingfield's most famous natives—are the main draw at this museum inside a 1903 Georgian-style former school. Also well worth the stop here are exhibits about the glass-negative photography business the identical twins sold to Eastman Kodak, and the well-composed photographs, taken by their sister, Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, of everyday country life at the turn of the 20th century.
40 School St., Maine, 04947, USA207-265–2729Sight Details
Rate Includes: $8, Closed Jan.–Feb., Sat.–Mon. Mar.–May and Nov. and Dec., and Mon. June–Oct. -
15. White Mountain National Forest
This forest straddles New Hampshire and Maine, with the highest peaks on the New Hampshire side. The Maine section, though smaller, has magnificent rugged terrain. Hikers can enjoy everything from hour-long nature loops to a day hike up Speckled Mountain. The mountain is part of the 14,000-acre Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness Area, one of several in the forest, but the only one entirely contained within Maine. The most popular Maine access to the national forest is via Route 113, which runs south from its terminus at U.S. 2 in Gilead, 10 miles from downtown Bethel. Most of the highway is the Pequawket Trail Maine Scenic Byway, and the section through the forest is spectacular come fall. This stretch is closed in winter but is used by snowmobilers and cross-country skiers. Two of the forest's campgrounds are in Maine; backcountry camping is allowed.
Rte. 113, Maine, 04217, USA603-466–2713Sight Details
Rate Includes: From $5 per car -
16. Wilhelm Reich Museum
The museum showcases the life and work of Austrian physician, scientist, and writer Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), who believed that all living matter and the atmosphere contain a force called orgone energy. The hilltop Orgone Energy Observatory exhibits biographical materials, inventions, and equipment used in his experiments, whose results were disputed by the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies. Stone faces the exterior of the boxy 1949 structure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A mid-century gem inside and out, Reich's second-floor study, library, and laboratory look as they did in his day, with original sleek modern furniture. The observatory deck has magnificent countryside views. In July and August, the museum presents engaging nature programs; trails lace the largely forested 175-acre property, known as Orgonon, which has a waterside vacation rental cottage. Reich's tomb sits next to one of his inventions, a cloud accumulator.
19 Orgonon Cir., Maine, 04970, USA207-864–3443Sight Details
Rate Includes: Museum $10, grounds free, Museum closed Oct.–June, Sun.–Tues. in July and Aug. and Sun.–Fri. in Sept. Private tours May–Oct. by appt.
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