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Things To Do |
Ok so you came to the Schwende Hut and did not bring any food or forgot a few items. Well here is the lowdown on where to go: Four Miles Away On Route 5 and 160 is a gas station and Grants of Brownfield, a general store. They have all kinds of overpriced food and gas. They also can supply propane, diesel, some small hardware items and newspapers. If you want a newspaper of any merit, you will need to get there pretty early. Ten Miles Away On Route 5 in Fryeburg, just before the light on the right hand side is a nasty grocery store. It is pretty well stocked with the typical items you would need on a day to day basis. The hygiene of the store leaves a lot to be desired but the food seems ok. Twenty Miles Away In North Conway on Router 16/302 is a Super Shaws with everything you would find at home. |
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On Route 5 and 160 is Grants of Brownfield and they have gas, diesel and propane. The next nearest gas station is in Fryeburg. There, you can have your choice of Mobil or Gulf. The Mobile does not take ATM cards. There is also a Mobil in Cornish about 10 miles away. |
Places to eat out are few and far between but there are some really excellent places to try for the adventurous. Four Miles Away There is fast food and a pizza place of sorts at Grants of Brownfield at the junction of Rte 5 and 160. This would be my last choice for eating out but it is also the closest place to get food unfortunately. Ten Miles Away In Cornish on Rte 5 and 25 there are a variety of restaurants, some of them quite excellent. There is Thompson's Grille on Main St which serves a varied menu and is often open til 10PM. The food is good and the people are nice. The prices are also reasonable and they have a take-out menu as well. There is a B&B next door that serves dinner. I have never eaten there so I can't comment on prices/food/service but it is upscale. Also on Rte 5 at the junction of Rte 25 is the Bay Haven Lobster Pound. This place is quite famous and people come from as far away as Portland. If you like seafood, then this is the place for you. The prices are inexpensive, the dress casual and the food is excellent. The most popular dish is the Twin Lobster Special for $14.95 with all the trimmings. You will not be hungry after eating here. The staff is very nice and the service, while a little slow, is very homey and always friendly. There is a bar attached to the restaurant where you can wait if you get stuck in the line. It is best to get here before 6PM if you do not want to wait. The place closes at 8:30, but they will not rush you out. If you do not like seafood, this is not the place for you. I think the only non-seafood item is the Prime Rib, although I think they have a chicken tender dish for children as well. This place has a big take out window and in the summer they serve ice cream. On Route 5 outside of Cornish is a small bakery on the left. You can get fresh bread, donuts, etc. all homemade. It is not a restaurant however. Next to the Lobster Pound is a great Greek pizza place. Great subs, big pizzas with lots of toppings. It stays open late so this is the place of last resort for decent food. There are a lot of places to eat in Fryeburg. When you go into town, there is the House of Pizza on the left. They serve full breakfast and pizza. The service is bad and the food is very poor. They do serve beer. I would avoid this place if you had another choice. The breakfast is not too bad but the pizza is god-awful. Right across the street is another pizza place, next to the car parts store. This place is EXCELLENT. The pizza is good but the subs are GREAT. I would always choose this place over the bigger House of Pizza unless you need a beer. If you take a right at the lights and then a right at the fork, you will come to a plaza with a Chinese restaurant. The food is good, the prices cheap and there is take out, but the service is kind of slow. Twenty Miles Away Bridgton is the big resort town. It is on Lake Sebago. It is 20 miles away which is a little far to drive for food but there is an excellent late-night pizza place on the left in the center of town and there is an excellent breakfast restaurant on the right after the Department Store. There are all kinds of other tacky stores and restaurants here and if you go to Naples, about 5 more miles, there is a disco/restaurant on the lake. Limerick is on Route 5 and has two decent restaurants and an excellent coffee/ice cream parlor. Give me a break. There's everything there and I won't waste too much time going into it. Guldies for breakfast is popular and way over-rated. Plenty of places. My favorite place is the Cigar Emporium but that is just booze, coffee, cappuccino and cigars. You can play cards and chess there also if you like. |
There is a community recreation center on Pine Street in Fryeburg. At this center you can bowl candlepins on 14 lanes, play air hockey (my favorite), pinball, video games, foosball, 3 pool tables. They also have a full bar. |
There is a lot of hiking nearby. If you want a nice, short but still somewhat challenging hike then I suggest Burnt Meadow Mountain. It is about 5 miles away. Head towards Grants of Brownfield and before the Rte 160 turnoff, take a left onto Pig Road, and after the intersection look for Foothill Road on the left hand side. There is a place to park, then head up the hill past the old ski lodge and on the right is an abandoned ski lift which you can follow. It goes up about three quarters of the way. After the lift stops, follow the trail to the top. The view is great from the top. There is also Mt Cutler in Hiram and Mt Perry in Fryeburg. Jockey Cap is a famous climb in Fryeburg off Rte 302 and was the scene of a big settler/Indian battle in the early 17th century for whom Lovewell Pond is named, Fryeburg is named, and my lake, Peqwaket, is named. In the battle, the chief of the Indians and the captain of the militia were slain and the Indians were soundly beaten. They had been fighting to save the Saco, which was considered sacred, from becoming a transport for logging. Mt Douglas is a state park with a nice tower on the top. It is a tiny hike, even small children can do it, and the view is spectacular. It is off Rte 5 in West Baldwin on the way to Sebago. Parking is 2 dollars. |
There is lots of downhill skiing in this area as you can imagine. The closest place is Pleasant Mountain on Rte 302 in Fryeburg about 15 miles away. There is also Attitash/Bear Peak on Rt 16 in Bartlett, NH about 40 minutes away. There is also Wildcat in Jackson about 40 minutes away. There is also Cranmore in North Conway but the skiing blows there. Sunday River is about an hour away on Rte 5. You probably can't get to Loon or Waterville in any reasonable timeframe as the Kancamangus is closed in the winter. Tuckerman's Ravine is possible, about an hour away. |
Just outside the door are hundreds of miles of x-country skiing. There are groomed parks for x-country in Jackson, North Conway but those are far away. They have the benefit of having rental equipment there as well as pulkies. |
In the winter, there is a vast network of snowmobiling right outside the door. Volunteers groom and manage the trails all through Maine. From my house you could possibly snowmobile all the way to Quebec (so I have heard). |
The lake is available for skating but you do so at your own risk, and you will often need to plow it. Use the public beach. |
The ice fishing on the lake is very popular in winter. You will see many people ice fishing there. |
In the fall, there is a variety of deer, bear, coyote, moose and other hunting. Permits can be acquired at Grants of Brownfield and they can tell you where the check in station is if you bag some game. Be sure to wear your orange and choose your targets wisely. Do not lose sight of your hunting dog, they get shot. Do not hunt loons, there is a big fine if you are caught. |
In the summer, there is a wide variety of canoeing on the Saco River. There is Outward Bound canoe rentals at the Denmark Bridge on Rte 160 (take a right at Grant's heading towards Bridgton, about 1 mile down on the left before the bridge) You can put in at the rental and they will arrange for a take out at Wakefield Road or at the Hiram Bride at Rte 5 and 117. If you canoe from Outward Bound to Wakefield Road, it will take 4 - 6 hours. To the Hiram Bridge it will be about 8 hours. If you go past the Hiram Bridge be aware that you will be coming up on a Hydroelectric dam within another hour or so. Be careful. |
Well, the lake is right there but if you need something else, there is a secret cliff off Rte 5 on the left side immediately after the abandoned tracks and across from the caboose. At the top is a sandy cliff leading to the Saco. The water is clean, deep, refreshing and the current is fast. Be careful but it is fun. There is also swimming at the Hydoelectric dam on Rte 5 on the way to Baldwin. You can also get there by taking a right at the Hiram bridge and driving about 2 - 2 miles, you will see it on the left. Lots of good swimming. Be careful. There is also a freshwater beach on the Saco outside of Fryeburg which is very popular. After taking a left at the light in Fryeburg, take the next right and within a mile you will see the parking lot and beach. I think this even has a lifeguard. There are places in Lovewell pond as well to swim. |
Don't bring your power boat or jet ski to Peqwaket Pond. If you have a power boat and want to use it, take it to Lovewell which is much bigger. It is 8 miles away on the way to Fryeburg on the right hand side of the road and has a real ramp for boats and parking for your vehicle. |
Shooting is very popular in Maine. You can find places to shoot just about anywhere, however, there is an outdoor range with a sporting clays, rifle and pistol range at the Fryeburg Boat Landing. If you take this road, which is about 8 miles from Fryeburg on the right hand side and marked with a blue sign, you will see a parking lot on the right almost immediately. Remember to practice safe shooting, wear your hearing protection, point your gun only at what you intend to shoot and realize that there is no such thing as an unloaded gun. |
Cornish, about 10 miles away, is a very big antiquing center. You can easily walk to 5 or 6 different stores in minutes. Some are good and some are a rip off. My favorite is the one set back from the street specializing in old store goods. |
There are videos and DVDs for rent at Grants and in Fryeburg. |
Fireworks are illegal in Maine. On 4th of July Bridgton and Denmark have displays. |
This is one of the biggest attractions in Maine and runs for 10 days at the end of September. I highly recommend it as it has everything you could want in a fair including rides, greasy food, cheesy tourist items, RVs, quilts, animal exhibitions, tractor pulls, and my favorite, the tool museum and ancient sawmill. |
There is all the outlet shopping you could desire in North Conway. |
Dick's Auto Body Rte 5 207-935 4684 Richard Norcross Rte 5 207-935-2074 Perrault's Auto 207-935-3001 |
Den's Auto 207-935-3883 Pete's Garage 207-697-2931 |
Trumbull's Hardware Rte 5 Fryeburg, Maine |
You won't be able to use the Brownfield landfill because you need a sticker and those guys are Nazis. |
| For further information, feel free to contact me at jaybazz2001@yahoo.com. |
::Website by Bean 2006::Photos provided by friends of Jay::