Bethel is a town in the Oxford county of western Maine. It is located near the Sunday River ski resort and home to a wide variety of lodging establishments, restaurants, and shops.
Shopping: As it is often frequented by tourists, Bethel has a large number of gift shops. These include a Scottish and Irish gift store, Timeless Treasures gifts & home accessories, Maine Made Gifts (pine furniture, souvenirs, fudge, candy). Philbrook Place, a Victorian house on Main Street, has a toy shop, book store, and other businesses. There is also a Shop ‘n Save grocery store, two hardware stores, a jewelry store (Mt. Mann Jewelers), a pet shop, another book store, an antiques shop (Playhouse Antiques) and a health food store.
Lodging: Many inns and B&Bs; can be found in Bethel. These include the Norseman Inn, Briar Lea Inn (has a pub), Sudbury Inn (w fine dining), Chapman Inn/B&B;, Victoria Inn & Restaurant (across the street from Maine Made Gifts), Holidae House B&B;, Crocker Pond B&B;, and Bethel Inn & Resort (golf, dining, gazebo), among others. There is also a campground (see Recreation paragraph) and additional lodging is available in Newry.
Dining: While there are no fast food restaurants in Bethel, it has a wide variety of dining, including some foreign and specialized food types. These include Finish Line Pizza (beer, hamburgers, sandwiches, salads), a Japanese restaurant (sushi, teriyaki steak), DiCocoa’s Market & Bakery (deli, salads, take-out, espresso, outdoor seating in the summer, newspaper vending), a cafe (in Philbrook Place), the S.S. Milton restaurant, a Pat’s Pizza franchise, as well as Chinese and Vegan restaurants. The Mallard Mart convenience store has take-out food such as pizza and sandwiches. Some of the lodging establishments also offer dining, as mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Recreation: In addition to the Sunday River ski resort in neighboring Newry, there are many opportunities for recreational activities in Bethel. These include a movie theatre, internet cafe (on Main Street, see mousenbean.com), and water park. The “Big Adventure” water park also offers bowling, rock climbing, laser tag, and mini golf. Across the street, “Outdoor Adventure” offers a campground, cafe, canoes & kayaks for rent (can be used in the Androscoggin River, which runs through Bethel), and more. There is also a small park on route 26 (along the Androscoggin River) which has picnic tables, a boat launch, and a playground.
Transportation: The Mountain Explorer bus service makes stops in Bethel and neighboring Newry, including at shopping, dining, and lodging establishments. Stops include the “Big Adventure” waterpark, Gould Academy (see “Other” paragraph), Sunday River ski resort, Casablanca movie theatre, and other locations. There is also a small regional airport in Bethel.
Auto-Related: Bethel has a NAPA Auto Parts store, a car wash, and gas stations. There is a Citgo station with a Big Apple convenience store near the railroad tracks and car wash. Bethel has Irving and Shell gas stations as well.
Other: Bethel also has a town office (in Odeon Hall), banks (Key, Northeast), many real estate agencies (Maine Street Realty, Wild River Realty, others), Western Maine Hypnotherapy, a dentist, and a family health center. Gould Academy, a private school, is located in Bethel, and has a baseball field across the street. The Chamber of Commerce, next to the Casablanca Cinema, has an information center and public restrooms.
Other towns and small cities in the area include Greenwood, Rumford/Mexico and Paris/Norway. More lower-priced chain stores and restaurants can be found in Rumford, Mexico, and South Paris, such as McDonald’s, Tim Horton’s, Wal-Mart, and Save-A-Lot.
