Portland in the winter..............anything to do???

We%26#39;ll be bringing our active family (2a %26amp; 2k) to gorham, maine for 4 days (it%26#39;s 10 miles outside of portland). We%26#39;re looking for things to do We%26#39;re very outdoorsy %26amp; like to try new things. We also tend to prefer things off the beaten path rather than the very ';touristy'; stuff. I%26#39;d love some suggestions!! Thanks.

Portland in the winter..............anything to do???

You don%26#39;t say just when you%26#39;re coming so it%26#39;s a little tough to know what kind of weather you%26#39;ll encounter....but a few things that come to mind quickly:

-- Outdoor Adventures with L L Bean - the giant outdoor clothing/activities store. Check their website at llbean.com for upcoming adventures. In the past they%26#39;ve offered sessions on snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, etc. Each session runs a couple of hours, is very reasonably priced, and they supply the equipment!

-- Take a walk on a Maine beach -- yes, in the winter time. Can be a great experience -- and certainly no summer crowds to face

-- Visit the Portland Head Light lighthouse in South Portland. Yes, it%26#39;s a ';touristy'; thing to do, but can be a great outdoors experience in the winter without the warm weather crowds around.

-- Consider driving the hour to North Conway New Hampshire and set up an outdoor adventure with the Eastern Mountain Sports Outdoors folks -- they offer classes in rock climbing, ice climbing, all sorts of outdoor stuff.

-- If we%26#39;ve had enough snow, look for a local place to go ';tubing'; -- downhill sliding on a giant inner tube -- lot%26#39;s of fun at a very reasonable cost.

-- If the weather%26#39;s really bad, check out the Portland Museum of Art www.PortlandMuseum.org

Just a few quick ideas off the top of my head -- am sure others will chime in with more.

Portland in the winter..............anything to do???

Hi Mainer. I love your suggestions, especially LL Bean %26amp; snowtubing-where can we do both? Also, early February is when we%26#39;re scheduled to be there so there should be plenty of snow.......right? The New Hampshire idea sounds right up our alley too but the kids will have a fit if we try to put them back in the car after the 7 hour trip! Thanks for the help.

Snow tubing:

Windham: http://www.seacoastfunparks.com/

Oxford: http://www.oxfordplains.com/tubing_2006.htm

Besides the opportunities at LL Bean, you can also ski at the municipal golf course in Portland, at Pineland in New Gloucester and the Harris Farm in Dayton.

You probably already have enough suggestions to fill the time but you might also consider (if the weather is decent) a Casco Bay ferry boat run to the islands. It takes about three hours and is a great way to see Portland and the surrounding area from a different vantage. Afterwards, lunch at Duck Fat is pretty nice.

Thanks CB for the help with the tubing locations. Knew there were some in southern/western Maine, but wasn%26#39;t exactly sure where.

As far as the L L Bean Adventures, I%26#39;d start by checking their website www:llbean.com

If they haven%26#39;t put the list of what they%26#39;re offering on their site yet, I%26#39;d grab one of the L L Bean contact phone numbers off the site and give em a call...you can even start with one of the numbers for their catalog mail order centers -- the folks there can easily transfer you to the right place. If memory serves me correctly, most of the programs operate within a few miles of the L L Bean headquarters in Freeport, ME -- just a skip and a jump from Gorham and Portland.

It%26#39;s a good thing that you like outdoorsy stuff and not touristy, because there%26#39;s not alot of wintertime touristy stuff in the area anyhow.

The most obvious thing would be skiing/tubing. Oxford Plains (link in previous post) has tubing, and so does nearby Mt. Abram, which I think is a better destination since the tubing is better, they also having skiing, and is right outside Bethel, which is a charming Maine town to visit and maybe have dinner after.

Other than that, it%26#39;s probably L.L. Bean, unless you%26#39;re really adventurous and want to find rentals for cross-country skiing or find skating on the many frozen ponds and lakes.

You might also consider walking some of the Portland trails; see:

www.trails.org/map_files/existingtrails.html

Thank you. I checked out Mt Abram.......that looks like the destination for tubing. Also, the family decided we will do ALL the trails (not in one visit of course). We love new challenges!!