Family Fun Adventures Abound in the Lakes Regions of Maine

Out and About Sebago Lakes Region July 6-13
July 6, 2011
Out and About for the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine July 14-20
July 13, 2011

Family Fun Adventures Abound in the Lakes Regions of Maine


View of Mount Vernon from Minnehonk Lake in Belgrade Lakes Region
While shopping for a new vacation home in one of the Lakes Regions of Maine, you may want to take a break. From tame attractions to wild thrills, we suggest some great places to play.
Amusement parks offer family fun adventure and Seacoast Fun Park in Windham is no exception. Small in scale, it’s big in excitement. Traditional activities include the Go Kart track, bumper boats, Ferris wheel and 18-hole mini-golf course. Looking for something different? Try the hill slides on inner tubes or Rocky Mountain Disk Golf. And for the thrill seekers in your party, there’s the Giant Sky Swing, Crazy Ape Tree Top Adventures high ropes courses and zip lines.
Other amusement parks to check out are Palace Playland in Old Orchard Beach, plus Funtown Splashtown USA and Aquaboggan Water Park in Saco.
Still feeling like a monkey? Then spend some more time in  Saco and challenge yourself both mentally and physically at Monkey Trunks. The King Kong course is a 48-challenge high ropes course with three zip lines, a giant swing and a 50-foot leap of faith. To use the zip lines, you must first complete some challenges. The younger set will enjoy the Mini-Monkey course. All participants receive safety and ground training. Spectators are welcome at no additional cost.
If you like zip lines, then another place to visit is Sunday River Zipline Tours. Fly through the woods on a six-zip line course that will take you across a ravine between ski trails on the South Ridge. At speeds of up to 25 mph, expect the tour to last about 2 1/2 hours. And for those who want to try a zip line, but don’t have as much time, it takes approximately 1 hour for family members to race each other on the side-by-side 750-foot Twin Zips. Other fun family things to do at Sunday River include Geocaching tours to locate 11 hidden geocache boxes and scenic chairlift rides aboard the Chondola.
In the York County/Sanford Lakes Region, you might enjoy the amusement park/zoo combination of York’s Wild Kingdom. Kiddie rides, a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, roller coaster, Go Karts, Merry-Go-Round, haunted, glass and fun houses await. You’ll also find an 18-hole mini-golf course, batting cages, midway games and a large arcade. In the zoo, enjoy some interaction with the ducks, petting zoo animals and a deer encounter, explore the butterfly kingdom and view the animals from African Lions and Bengal Tigers to Lemurs and Kangaroos, Black Bears and Bobcats.
Another animal kingdom worth a visit is the D.E.W. Animal Kingdom and Sanctuary on a working farm in Mount Vernon owned by Julie and Bob Miner. Some of their traditional farm animals including goats, geese, chickens, rabbits and ducks roam freely. Exotic animals on the farm include lions and tigers and bears, oh my! And a wallaby and hyena and more. None of these roam freely, but they’re fun to watch. Because D.E.W. Animal Kingdom is certified by the State of Maine to rehabilitate injured, sick or orphaned animals indigenous to Maine, you may also see native wildlife here.
We’re jumping around a bit, but the Seacoast Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport is another place worth exploring. Home to 250 transit vehicles, most of them trolleys, this is the largest electric railway museum in the world. Explore the exhibits, witness the restoration process and ride a streetcar along a rebuilt portion of the Atlantic Shore Line Railway.
If your children enjoy interactive museums, you won’t want to miss the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor. Here the exhibits encourage creativity and a sense of wonder. They can learn about similarities and differences between Maine and other countries such as Brazil, Japan and Italy, walk through the pages of some classic Maine children’s stories, make noise in the sound studio, play with color and design in the artscape, explore a giant human body and play doctor, get a glimpse into the work of a paleontologist as they dig for bones and set off on Mission: Discovery to explore space. The Children’s Museum & Theatre in Portland is another fun place that the younger set will enjoy.
And to top off your day, take in a movie or two at Bridgton Twin Drive-In. Owned by the Tevanian family since 1971, the Bridgton Twin Drive-In on Route 302 is a favorite summer attraction. Screen One accommodates 300 cars, while about 150 can view Screen Two. Movies are shown seven nights a week during the summer and on weekends in the spring and fall. Occasionally there are midnight shows.
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