Bethel

Visitors can enjoy exhilarating or peaceful outdoor activities all year long in Bethel, including skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and fishing, boating, and beaches in the summer. Bethel, a true New England village, with a walkable downtown with independently owned stores and eateries. Additionally, there are walking tours and two museums in the Broad Street Historic District that visitors can explore. Bethel is renowned for its minerals and gemstones. Several outdoor recreation businesses offer opportunities for gem mining, and the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum teaches visitors everything there is to know about gems. In Bethel, there are two excellent golf courses, a casino, and several events that take place all year round.

Most rural towns only have one industry. A unique fusion of forestry, wood products manufacture, education, and tourism may be found in Bethel, Maine. Active retirees and working professionals who prefer Bethel's small-town atmosphere to cities have settled there over the past ten years.

A group of neighborhood businesspeople established the Bethel Development Corporation in 1959. Their initial project, Sunday River Skiway, was financed by local shareholders and aimed to provide four-season enjoyment. Thanks to the popularity of Sunday River Ski Area, Bethel is now busier in the winter than in the summer more than forty years later.

Location: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Best time to visit: May 21st to September 9th

Ranking: n/a