Guide

Things to Do in Bethel, Maine: Ranked by the Data

10 minute read•updated August 2026

Outdoors

Things to do in Bethel, Maine split neatly between one big ski resort and a valley full of waterfalls, covered bridges and short hikes that most visitors drive straight past. Here is the whole area ranked by rating times review volume, and an honest account of where that ranking gets it wrong.

Bethel and Sunday River are not the same place

Worth clearing up before anything else, because it shapes every plan you make here. Bethel is a small village on the Androscoggin with a Main Street you can walk end to end in ten minutes. Sunday River is a large ski resort in the next town over, Newry, about six miles north. People say "Bethel" and mean either one. If you are booking a slopeside condo you are not staying in Bethel; if you are staying on Main Street you are driving to the lifts. Neither is wrong, but the difference decides whether you need a car for dinner.

Things to do in Bethel, Maine, ranked

Everything below is scored on Google rating multiplied by review count, which rewards places that are both well liked and actually visited, and gives a ranking you can check rather than one I asserted. Restaurants are handled separately further down.

#	Place	Town	Rating	Reviews	Score
1	Sunday River Resort	Newry	4.6	3,081	14,173
2	Grafton Notch State Park	Newry	4.8	1,069	5,131
3	Sunday River Covered Bridge	Newry	4.7	328	1,542
4	Step Falls Preserve	Newry	4.8	307	1,474
5	Maine Mineral and Gem Museum	Bethel	4.9	300	1,470
6	The Gem Theater	Bethel	4.7	303	1,424
7	Lovejoy Covered Bridge	Andover	4.7	156	733
8	Frenchman's Hole	Newry	4.7	135	634
9	Valentine Farm Conservation Center	Bethel	4.8	97	466
10	World Traveler Signpost	Bethel	4.6	83	382
11	Davis Park	Bethel	4.6	82	377
12	Mahoosuc Public Reserved Land	Newry	4.7	54	254
13	Step Falls Hiking Trail	Newry	4.9	45	221
14	Bethel Historical Society Museums	Bethel	4.8	26	125

1. Sunday River Resort

4.6 from 3,081 reviews. 15 S Ridge Rd, Newry, sundayriver.com. Eight interconnected peaks and the largest ski operation in Maine after Sugarloaf, with the most reliable snowmaking in New England, which matters more here than raw snowfall. It runs summer operations as well, so check what is spinning before you plan a warm-weather day around it. This is the reason most people come to the valley, and its 3,081 reviews are why an entire resort sits at the top of a list that also contains a covered bridge.

2. Grafton Notch State Park

4.8 from 1,069 reviews. Route 26, Newry. The best hour in the region and the only thing here that rivals the mountain. Screw Auger Falls, Mother Walker Falls and Moose Cave are all short walks from roadside pullouts, so you can see the headline sights with children in tow. The serious hiking is above them: Table Rock and Old Speck are both genuinely steep, and the Appalachian Trail crosses Route 26 here. See our Grafton Notch guide for the trail detail.

3. Historic Sunday River Covered Bridge

4.7 from 328 reviews. Off Sunday River Road, Newry. Also called the Artist's Bridge, and the most photographed covered bridge in Maine for a reason. It sits low over the river with woods behind it and reflects perfectly in still water. It takes ten minutes. Go early or late; midday light flattens it.

4. Step Falls Preserve

4.8 from 307 reviews. 1657 Bear River Rd, Newry, mahoosuc.org. A Mahoosuc Land Trust property with a wide granite cascade dropping several hundred feet in stages. The walk in is short and mostly flat, and the falls come with natural pools that people swim in. Along with Frenchman's Hole, this is the best warm-day stop in the valley.

5. Maine Mineral and Gem Museum

4.9 from 300 reviews. 99 Main St, Bethel, mainemineralmuseum.org. The highest-rated attraction in Bethel with real volume behind it, and a genuine surprise in a village this size. Western Maine's pegmatite quarries produced world-class tourmaline, and the museum tells that story properly, but the collection that draws national attention is the meteorites, including lunar and Martian material. Budget more time than you expect. This is the rainy-day answer for the whole valley.

6. The Gem Theater

4.7 from 303 reviews. 48 Cross St, thegemtheater.com. Bethel's small theater, sharing an address with Romero's restaurant, and a real piece of village life rather than a tourist attraction. Check what is on; a show here is a better evening than most of what the valley offers after dark.

7. Historic Lovejoy Covered Bridge

4.7 from 156 reviews. Andover, about half an hour east. The shortest covered bridge in Maine, and worth pairing with a drive up the Bear River rather than making a trip of it on its own.

8. Frenchman's Hole

4.7 from 135 reviews. Off Sunday River Road, Newry. A deep swimming hole under a small falls on the Bull Branch, and the local answer to a hot August afternoon. The water is cold enough to hurt. Parking is a rough pull-off that fills fast on weekends, and the rocks around the pool are slick.

9. Valentine Farm Conservation Center

4.8 from 97 reviews. 162 N Rd, Bethel, mahoosuc.org. Mahoosuc Land Trust's home base, with easy trails through fields and along the river. Flat, quiet, good with a dog or small children, and five minutes from Main Street.

10. World Traveler Signpost

4.6 from 83 reviews. On Route 35 in Bethel. A roadside signpost pointing toward cities around the world with the mileage to each. It is a two-minute stop and a photograph, nothing more, but it rates well because nobody arrives expecting anything else.

11 to 14

Davis Park: 4.6 from 82 reviews, Bethel. The village green, useful for a picnic and a run-around.
Mahoosuc Public Reserved Land: 4.7 from 54 reviews, Bull Branch Road, Newry. Undeveloped state land north of Sunday River, and the way into serious backcountry.
Step Falls Hiking Trail: 4.9 from 45 reviews, the trail listing for the preserve above, and the highest rating attached to anything in the valley.
Museums of the Bethel Historical Society: 4.8 from 26 reviews, 10 Broad St, bethelhistorical.org. Two Federal-era houses on the common. Small, seasonal, and better than it sounds.

Where the ranking is unfair

Rating times review volume rewards scale, and in a valley with one big resort that distortion is extreme. Sunday River's 3,081 reviews put it nearly three times ahead of Grafton Notch State Park, which is rated higher at 4.8 and is, for a lot of visitors, the better day. Below the top two, the trails and small museums that people rate most highly barely register because so few people log them at all.

Sorted by rating instead, with volumes shown so you can weigh them:

Step Falls Hiking Trail: 4.9 from 45 reviews.
Long Mountain Trailhead: 4.9 from 22 reviews, 1268 Vernon St, Bethel.
Maine Mineral and Gem Museum: 4.9 from 300 reviews, and the only 4.9 here with a sample worth trusting.
Bethel Community Forest: 5.0 from 16 reviews, Locke Mountain Rd, woodsandtrails.org. Local mountain-bike and hiking trails.
Inland Woods and Trails: 4.8 from 15 reviews. The organization behind much of the valley's nordic and singletrack network.
Mount Will Town Forest: 4.6 from 23 reviews, 1072 Mayville Rd. A loop with ledges looking down the Androscoggin valley, and the best short hike from the village itself.

Where to eat

Same method, restaurants only. The pattern repeats: the busiest rooms rate lowest and the best-rated kitchens are tiny.

Butcher Burger: 4.5 from 976 reviews, 188 Main St, butcherburger.com. The most-reviewed food in Bethel and a straightforwardly good burger.
The Millbrook Tavern: 4.2 from 923 reviews, 21 Broad St. The resort-hotel dining room in the village; convenient, unexciting.
Crossroads Diner: 4.0 from 956 reviews, 24 Mayville Rd. Breakfast at the lowest price tier, and the lowest rating on this list.
The Bethel Sugar Shack: 4.8 from 528 reviews, 156 W Bethel Rd. Maple, breakfast, no pretension. One of the two best-rated high-volume spots in town.
Le Mu Eats: 4.8 from 494 reviews, 119 Main St. The other one.
Sud's Pub: 4.6 from 496 reviews, 151 Main St, thesudburyinn.com. The village pub under the Sudbury Inn, and where you end up after a day on the hill.
Gemini Cafe and Bakery: 4.8 from 286 reviews, 96 Main St. Morning coffee and pastry.
Watershed Wood-Fired Kitchen: 4.9 from 101 reviews, 11 Philbrook St, watershedwfk.com, and Romero's: 4.9 from 71 reviews, 48 Cross St. The two highest-rated kitchens in Bethel, both small. Book.

The honest drawback

Bethel is a two-season town with a thin middle. It works in winter, when the lifts run, and it works from late summer through foliage. In between (mud season in April and May, and the stretch after the leaves drop in November) a real share of the restaurants cut back or close, the mountain is quiet, and there is genuinely not much to do in the rain except the gem museum. Check hours before you commit to a shoulder-season trip.

The other honest note is distance. Bethel is roughly seventy miles from Portland on two-lane roads through the hills, and the last stretch is slow. It is not a day trip from the coast; it is a place you go to for two or three nights. Once you are there, though, almost everything worth doing is within twenty minutes, and the drive up Route 26 through Grafton Notch is among the best in the state. For more, see the Bethel town page, our Bethel hiking guide, and Maine fall foliage for timing an autumn trip. Rangeley is the natural second stop.

FAQ

What is there to do in Bethel, Maine in summer?

Grafton Notch State Park, rated 4.8 from 1,069 reviews, is the summer centerpiece, with roadside waterfalls and serious hiking above them. Step Falls Preserve, 4.8 from 307 reviews, and Frenchman's Hole, 4.7 from 135, are the two swimming stops. The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum on Main Street rates 4.9 from 300 reviews and covers a rainy day. Sunday River also runs summer operations, so check what is open before you plan around it.

How far is Sunday River from Bethel village?

About six miles north, in the neighboring town of Newry. It is a ten-minute drive on a good day. That distance matters when you are booking: slopeside lodging puts you next to the lifts but a drive from Bethel's restaurants and Main Street, while staying in the village means driving to ski.

Is Bethel worth visiting in summer, or is it only a ski town?

It is worth visiting, but with different expectations. Summer here is about waterfalls, swimming holes, hiking and quiet, not about a busy town. The valley's highest-rated attractions are outdoors and free to walk into, and the trails are far emptier than the coast. If you want restaurants, shops and nightlife, Bethel in July is not that town.

What is the best hike near Bethel?

Table Rock and Old Speck in Grafton Notch are the two serious climbs, both steeper than their mileage suggests. For something shorter, Step Falls Hiking Trail rates 4.9 from 45 reviews and is mostly flat, and Mount Will Town Forest at 1072 Mayville Rd, 4.6 from 23 reviews, gives you ledge views over the Androscoggin valley on a loop you can do in a morning.

Bethel

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Western Maine's mountain town, with Sunday River, Grafton Notch State Park and a classic New England common.

Sunday River Resort

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Sunday River is the anchor of Bethel's winter scene. It's a large resort with terrain for all levels, and unlike some mountains this size, it doesn't feel like a corporate machine. The resort runs fast, modern lifts including bubble chairs that keep you warm, and staff across the mountain are genuinely helpful.

The Jordan Hotel sits ski-in, ski-out at the base, with its restaurant Sliders serving food right there. If you want something different, head to the igloo (yes, an actual igloo), which now has real bathrooms and food trucks. Summer brings chairlift rides, mountain biking, and hiking trails. Midweek visits tend to be less crowded than weekends.

Grafton Notch State Park

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This expansive park covers rugged terrain in Newry with hiking and cross-country skiing trails. It's a serious nature experience: no visitor center, no cell service, and pit toilets only. That means you plan ahead, but it also means you won't fight crowds.

Popular trails include Table Rock and the short walks to Moose Cave and Screw Auger Falls. The falls are a stunning roadside stop with swimming holes that draw visitors year-round. Bring water, download maps before you arrive, and be ready to share the trails with hikers after a waterfall or two.

Wire Bridge

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This historic bridge in New Portland is a living piece of engineering: it sways when the wind picks up or you walk across it, which sounds scary but adds to the appeal. The setting is lovely, especially in winter when ice frames the view. There's a small picnic area on one side and a porta potty.

Park on the south side where there's better lot space. The bridge itself is a quick walk and a great photo spot. One visitor noted it was slightly terrifying in the best way possible, particularly when the bridge moved beneath them.

Historic Sunday River Covered Bridge

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This covered bridge sits off the main road near Sunday River Resort. There's parking on both sides, though the north side is tight. A dirt path from the parking lot leads to the bridge itself, which takes about 20 seconds to walk across.

The real draw is the scenery along the drive in. It's remote, so there are no nearby shops or restaurants, but that's part of its charm. It's worth the detour if you're exploring the region, especially during leaf season when the approach is spectacular.

Step Falls Preserve Mahoosuc Land Trust

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This 1-mile trail climbs past a series of natural water slides and shallow pools, ending with sweeping mountain views. It's family-friendly and less than a mile, though it does get steeper as you go up. The rocky waterfalls and pools on the left side of the trail are beautiful but slippery, so watch your footing.

Bring water shoes if you plan to swim, and be aware that some pools are half-shallow, half-deep. Visitors consistently call this one of the most beautiful places they've ever been. It's clearly marked and well-maintained, making it perfect for a half-day outing.

Maine Mineral and Gem Museum

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This museum on Bethel's Main Street punches way above its weight. The collection includes meteorites, moon rocks, and Martian rocks that you can actually touch. The centerpiece is "MAC 141," an impressive meteorite specimen, along with dozens of stunning gems and jewelry displays.

What makes it work is the interactivity and the sheer detail. Hundreds of clearly labeled mineral drawers line the walls, maps show where deposits are found, and exhibits are informative without being stuffy. Kids love it, rock enthusiasts can spend hours here, and the staff is warm and knowledgeable. It's reasonably priced and genuinely worth the stop.

Historic Babb's Covered Bridge

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Babb's Bridge in Gorham sits over clear, relatively warm water, making it a year-round swimming destination. Rope swings hang from the trees, and the rocks are good for wading or fishing. It's popular on warm days for good reason: the setting is peaceful, the water is inviting, and it's dog-friendly.

Note that this is an active road, so traffic passes through. The narrow approach keeps it quieter than some swimming spots. Bring a friend, bring a towel, and plan on a quiet afternoon. One regular compared it to stepping back from downtown into the real Maine outdoors.

Historic Lovejoy Covered Bridge

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This bridge in Andover is tucked back off the main roads but easy to reach with GPS. The rustic, aged wood gives it real character, and there are paths down to the water for photos from below. You can drive across it, and it's sturdy enough that it's clearly still in use.

It's a peaceful walk and a great stop on the way to or from ski regions. Fall foliage season amplifies the appeal. Pack a picnic and spend an hour exploring the water's edge and the bridge's timber interior.

Frenchman’s Hole

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This swimming hole on Sunday River Road is unusual: the waterfall and water are just a short walk from the parking area, not a mile hike away. It's an easy access point to a beautiful, scenic spot with good jumping rocks and water cold enough to matter.

The rocks are slippery and some are sharp, so water shoes help. The climb over rocks to reach the best spots isn't trivial, and the water is strong, so it's best for strong swimmers. But visitors return year after year with kids and friends, suggesting it's worth the effort. Go on a warm day when you're ready to take a cold plunge.

Mahoosuc Land Trust Valentine Farm Conservation Center

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This nature preserve on North Road offers beginner-friendly trails, making it perfect if you want an easy walk without committing to a long hike. The meadow trail is a bit rutty but passable with a stroller. The riverside land is well-maintained, with pines and a "storybook" trail that includes a book to read along the way.

The farm is also known for its butterfly gardens, especially Monarch tagging and education programs. Staff are on-site deadheading and sharing knowledge about the insects and plants. There's ample parking in a dirt lot and a handicap-accessible porta potty. It's thoughtfully designed for all ages and fitness levels.