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Oxford Hills and
Lakes By Nancy and Richard Woodworth The famous – some locals call it infamous – milepost sign out in the middle of nowhere giving distances to nearby places like Norway, Denmark, Mexico, Poland, Paris, Naples, China and Peru would deceive no one. This is anything but the center of the universe. It's more like the name on the school bus we passed, "State of Maine, Unorganized Territory." The Oxford Hills region is an unspoiled land of sparkling lakes, hills that back up to the mighty White Mountains and tiny hamlets with English-sounding names like Center Lovell and Lower Waterford. It's an area of great beauty – we hear that the National Geographic called Kezar Lake one of the nation's ten most beautiful (its other claim to fame is that Bridgton native Stephen King has a summer home along its forested shore). There's a fortuitous concentration of small country inns that epitomize the genre. Unusual as a time capsule from the past, the area offers little in the way of formal activity or tourist trappings. "You are on your own," one inn brochure advises. More and more people seek the serenity of western Maine. "We're really out in the country," concedes Barbara Vanderzanden of the Waterford Inne. "But we have a central location not far from North Conway or the Maine coast." The charms of this rural retreat have yet to be discovered by the crowds. But that may be only a matter of time. Says restaurateur Michael Myers of the Lake House: "Western Maine is where it's going to be at." Happily, it's not there yet. That remains its special joy. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places in New England, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2004. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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