Maine Mineral and Gem Museum – Bethel

We were staying in West Paris and had heard of the legendary Frank Perham from some of the locals. The area has a wealth of mines and minerals, so we headed up to the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum to find out more. We spent 2 hours there and covered about half of it.  In addition to the gems and minerals there is a huge meteorite display and a replica of Perhams Maine Mineral Store, including the original sign.  The museum is brand new and you can get whatever you want from it. Spend hours learning everything there is to know about minerals and gems or just wander through, admiring their beauty.  It’s up to you.  We will definitely go back again.  Their website is:  https://mainemineralmuseum.org/  Also their Covid procedures are the best we’ve seen.

Greenwood Ice Caves

It took a while to locate them from the directions on line. There has been a lot of logging in the area and many new access roads constructed.  We parked 1.4 miles in and wandered off until we found the snowmobile trail and eventually the sign to the caves. Unfortunately they were not that impressive, more of a boulder jumble.   May be better in spring with less vegetation or in foliage season.  (I will admit to be being jaded – I’ve climbed at some of the best bouldering spots in New England.)  We then set out to find the Tiger Bill Quarry but got rained out halfway there. 

Bucks Ledges

A short steep uphill gets you to Lapham Ledges in minutes, with great views to the south and east.  Continuing on to Bucks Ledges there are great views of North and South Pond with the Mahoosics and Whites in the distance. We continued down to the road and made a loop of it – about 4 miles. Well worth the effort. It was cloudy so no good pictures.

Wolfes Neck Woods State Park

The sun returned on our last day and we couldn’t bear to leave Maine without one more outdoor activity.  Packed up our stuff and headed south, stopping to hike at Wolfes Neck Woods State Park, a few miles south of Freeport on Casco Bay.  The trails are easy and the scenery is spectacular. A link to the park’s website is:   https://www.stateparks.com/wolfes_neck.html

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Butcher Burger

Lunch was at Butcher Burger.  The burgers are 50% beef and 50% bacon and there are plenty of other items besides burgers.  The beer list contains 100% Maine made beer and is extraordinary.  https://www.facebook.com/ButcherBurgerMaine/