With its abundance of lakes, forests and trails, Rangeley does not lack in opportunities to get outside year-round. The town’s website lists recreation for every season, beginning with spring’s trophy angling on the trout-stocked Rangeley Lakes, a fly-fishing mecca for decades. Summer brings visitors onto the hiking trails of Angel Falls, Bald Mountain, East Kennebago Mountain, the very popular Saddleback Mountain and several other paths. Autumn means foliage in Maine, with the vivid colors providing a backdrop for hunting and golf. At one golf course, Mingo Springs, you may notice bear, fox or moose observing you from a safe distance off the fairway. Winter’s offerings range from downhill and cross-country skiing to snowmobiling across 150 miles of groomed trails dotted by inns, pubs and restaurants.
Rangeley’s museums include two unusual choices. At the Rangeley Lakes Logging Museum (no website; Route 16 East, Rangeley, Maine; 207-864-5595) hundreds of artifacts trace the area’s logging industry, with everything from chainsaw carvings to snubbing machines on display. The museum hosts the annual Logging Days Festival the last weekend each July. The Rangeley Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum (rangeleyoutdoormuseum.org), modeled after an early-20th-century taxidermy shop, celebrates the people, places and products that contributed to a century of fishing and hunting success. Among the exhibits is one devoted to Carrie Stevens, who invented some of fly fishing’s greatest lures. “Her Grey Ghost streamer alone would be enough to secure her a place in fly-tying history,” the museum’s website notes.
The National Scenic Byways Online website, operated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, recognizes “distinct and diverse roads” in the United States. At the time of publication, the service recommended a day tour of the Rangeley Lakes region, which begins at the aptly named Height of Land, Maine, from which you can see hundreds of miles of lakes and forests. The stop at Mooselookmeguntic Lake lasts long enough to break out your fishing rod and troll for salmon and brook trout in Maine’s second-largest lake. After a visit to the Logging Museum, your tour continues to Smalls Falls, where picnicking, swimming and hiking are on the agenda. The Rangeley Tour ends in Madrid, Maine, for dinner and relaxing.
Find mementoes of your trip to Rangeley at neighborhood shops specializing in crafts and collectibles. Threads Galore Quilt Shop (threadsgalore.com) offers patterns evoking New England scenery, kits and notions, and quilting classes to learn to put it all together. Blueberry Hill Farm (Dallas Hill Road, Rangeley; 207-864-5647), open seasonally, sells country furniture, hooked rugs and fishing-themed collectibles. Books, Lines & Thinkers (Main Street, Rangeley; 207-864-4355) specializes in regional titles as well as national bestsellers; the shop also houses the Birds of a Feather Gallery, which showcases the handcrafted wares of local artists.
