Freeport, Maine, LLBean, 170 Plus Outlets, a Waterfront Area and a Desert too!
Written: Sep 03 '05 (Updated Oct 04 '05)
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Pros: Great shopping opportunities and the Desert of Maine
Cons: Parking up the hills.
The Bottom Line: Freeport is one of the top outlet towns of the northeast and certainly of Maine. If you know your prices, you can get away saving $$$.
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| popsrocks's Full Review: Freeport |
I've been traveling up to Maine for many years and a stop we have made for bargains and interesting things to do is Freeport, Maine. My daughter is now in school in a college in the Portland, Maine area. Freeport is just a fifteen minute drive north. Route 1, that works its way through all the Maine coast, weaves its way through the main part of town.
LL Bean
Freeport Maine is the home of LL Bean flagship store. It's a huge, well-maintained complex that is also a sort of city-center in that they offer headline entertainment for free many nights of the year on their property. People start setting up chairs at nine in the morning to get a good spot.
Besides selling their goods they also create interest in the great outdoors through giving on-site workshops and demonstrations. My wife and I joined them this weekend on one of their Walk-On-Adventures. All year long, depending on season, you can participate in kayaking, clay shooting, Cross Country Skiing, Fly casting, archery or Snowshoeing. To be brief, for a small fee, they bus you to an appropriate area where an expert in the field will instruct you and give you a taste of the sport. We went on a fly fishing hour and a half for $12.00 each. It was fun and instructive. Families and adults went on these. It's done first come first serve. Be there before 9AM for the popular adventures.
LL Bean gives a picture opportunity by providing a twenty foot high boot that kids love. Very cool.
I could spend hours looking around the well-displayed and organized store.
Outlets
Driving and walking along the main street of town one sees nothing but high-end outlet stores. According to their brochures there are over 170 such outlets there. You can sit on a bench and read their names on the countless shopping bags that drag along the sidewalks from the arms of eager shoppers. This seems to be a place of high energy. Everyone has their own favorite places to shop and there are countless places for a snack or treat to eat.
Parking
Be prepared to walk. If you are a shopper, you will "Shop till you drop". Though the main area of stores stretches about six or seven blocks, there are a number of small side streets too. There is a good amount of parking but on a busy day you may have to circle around one of the huge lots behind the stores a couple of times for a nearby spot.
Parking is free but most is up a slight hill to get to. It seems that once the shopping is done, I drive down to the road and pick up my wife and a few shopping bags. Considering the number of stores in town, the parking isn't terribly bad.
Waterfront area
The Freeport most people see is the main drag of LL Bean, Bass Shoes, Banana Republic, A. Wilbur's Candy Shop, Nine West Outlet, Lenox and so much more. These are neatly lines streets of brick buildings in a comfortable and safe atmosphere. Just look out for overloaded shopping bags swinging from the arms of people distracted by items in store windows.
The waterfront area is a seven minute ride to Casco Bay area. This is where you can see pleasure craft, lobster boats and deep-sea fishing boats with a serene background. You'll find B&Bs dotting this area and some places to eat too. The popular Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster heads the list and is first in line when getting to the waterfront area. Though the Maine waterfront areas are always a favorite of mine, Freeport isn't on my top list of seaside places to visit. The Maine coast has so many more that are far more interesting to me like Boothbay Harbor, Old Port area of Portland, Old Orchard Beach and Bar Harbor.
Desert of Maine
Besides the shopping and the seaside areas of Freeport it also has an area that is a phenomenon. It has a Desert! I visited it earlier this year with my wife and two youngest daughters who also found its looks and history interesting. The Desert of Maine gives an educational and fun spirited tour through the grounds at a very reasonable price. I believe it's a must stop for families with kids.
The Desert is just ten minutes or so from the main street of Freeport and is just five minutes off the interstate. It also has camping available.
In Closing
Freeport, Maine does have some of the best shopping outlet shops available anywhere. It's in a beautiful location though you do have to cross a pretty busy street at times. Don't forget to take a quick look at the waterfront and take the tour of the Desert of Maine, that I believe is a good value and fun for the kids and educational for adults.
MAINE,wonderful coastal towns and so much more.
A Canadian side trip from Maine's Acadia National Park
Portland Maine
Portland Museum of Art
Portland Head Light
Howard Johnson's Hotel, Portland
Freeport, Maine
Desert of Maine, Freeport
Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster
Maine Wildlife Park
Old Orchard Beach
Recommended:
Yes
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