5 Best Sights in Western Lakes and Mountains, Maine

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.