The Kennebec Explorer 2018 Visitor's Guide to Maine's Kennebec Valley | Page 29

L.C. Bates Museum, Hinckley
Colby College Museum of Art
Messalonskee Lake
Fort Halifax, Winslow
FAIRFIELD OAKLAND FORT HALIFAX
Visitors of all kind will enjoy Fairfield
and may even extend their stay once
they have a chance to see it up close.
Downtown offers a welcoming main
street while the rolling hills are perfect
for a hike, and excellent fly fishing is
found in the tailwaters of the Shawmut
Dam on the Kennebec River. Perched at the North End of Lake
Messalonskee, the town of Oakland
offers the ideal blend for vacationers.
It is a lakeside retreat with easy access
to the best that the region has to offer,
minutes from the in-town excitement of
the Waterville’s dining, entertainment,
and cultural attractions. Look into the wide-ranging cabinet of
curiosities that is the L.C. Bates Museum
or come for the excellent antiquing and
auctions that tell the story of the region
through the collected bric-a-brac,
furnishings, and ephemera on offer. Paddle or hike the Messalonskee
Kennebec Trails in the morning, fish for
your lunch, then spend the afternoon
at the Colby Museum of Art. Wake up
the next day to a round of golf at the
Belgrade Lakes Country Club. The stout blockhouse at the entry
of Winslow’s Fort Halifax Park is the
oldest of its kind in the U.S. and all
that remains of the large complex
completed in 1755. The fort, set on the
eastern bank of the Kennebec River,
was once a northern outpost for the
Massachusetts Bay Colony and was
intended to defend the upper Kennebec
Valley from French and Native American
attacks common at the time. Today the
picturesque site is a popular location
for town festivities, gatherings like
picnics, and it is an excellent spot for
an afternoon of fishing.
GWH.org/lcbates KMTrails.com
Winslow-ME.gov
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