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Rangeley one of the ‘Best Summer Lake Towns’ of 2010

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The view looking south at sunset over Rangeley Lake.

RANGELEY – Franklin County’s local lakeside community just received some big national attention.

The town was one of eight selected for the United State’s Best Summer Lake Towns of 2010, by the online edition of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine. A nationally-famed resource for tourists, vacationers and travelers of all sorts, the online magazine boasts a readership of 1.8 million page views a month.

Rangeley residents and business owners, as one might expect in a community that thrives on the tourist trade, are ecstatic.

“We’re extremely pleased to be included in the best summer lake towns at Budget Travel,” Rebecca Schinas, executive director of the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce said. “We believe that Rangeley is an inland jewel of Maine.”

The article, which includes brief descriptions of each community and a handful of possible activities, can be seen at budgettravel.com. Schinas noted that the suggestions lean toward the “quirky,” and only scratch the surface of the activities available in Rangeley. The article, written by Beth Collins, recommends renting a watercraft for a lake tour at Sam-O-Set Four Seasons and Dockside Sports Center, a visit to Threads Galore, a local fabric and quilting goods store that offers lessons, and a tour of the sugar shack at Maine Mountain Maple Plantation. For lodging, the article recommends the North Country Inn Bed & Breakfast.

“It’s a bit like visiting your favorite great aunt,” Collins wrote, “if she served you quiche or pancakes topped with fresh fruit every morning.”

Tom and Susanne Lillis bought North Country Inn in November, after spending six years in Rangeley. Susanne Lillis said she had already had received a strong response to the article Monday morning.

“The telephone hasn’t stopped ringing and the email is overflowing,” Lillis said. “We’re happy, we’re pleased and we’re overwhelmed.”

Lillis credited the multi-course breakfasts, featuring fruit smoothies, blue cheese and ham quiches and baked goods, “the best view in town” of the July fireworks display and the Lillis’ new website for their recent success. She’s hoping that a mention in a prominent travel website will help keep the inn’s four rooms and breakfast table filled year round.

“Year round” is something that Schinas and the Chamber hope readers will take away from the article, which does primarily focus on summer activities. Rangeley, Schinas said, is a four-season town which attracts droves of travelers in the spring, fall and winter, with nearby Saddleback ski mountain, as well as the summer.

“It is a beautiful place in the summer,” Schinas said, “and it’s great to be recognized for that. But Rangeley is beautiful all year round.”

The owners of the Sam-O-Set Four Seasons and Dockside Sports Center were delighted to be mentioned as well. Jackie Swain, part owner of the family-run business, said that they had learned about the article after a family member had brought it to their attention. Sam-O-Set Four Seasons rents out cabins as well as watercraft. They also lead on boat tours, which received a specific nod in the article.

“This is quite a plug for the business,” Swain said, echoing comments made by her grandson and fellow marina operator, Matthew Swain. “We really do appreciate the article, it was excellent.”

Town Manager Perry Ellsworth agreed, calling Rangeley “truly magnificent.”

“We are thrilled to have Rangeley portrayed in Budget Travel Magazine, as the great place to visit or reside that it truly is,” he said Monday.

Upcoming events in Rangeley can be viewed at the chamber’s website, http://www.rangeleymaine.com/, including events put on by the Rangeley Friends of the Arts, the Wilhelm Reich Museum, Lakeside Theater, the public library and other organizations. Of particular note is the weekend of July 24 and 25, which encompasses both the Rangeley Lakes Logging Museum Festival Days and parade, as well as the 10th anniversary of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

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