While many of the youth ball programs and other activities offered by municipal departments of recreation are restricted to residents, many other programs and facilities are open to the public, including in Augusta, Farmington, Skowhegan and Waterville.

A popular spot in Waterville is the Quarry Road Recreation Area, accessed off North Street beside MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Thayer Center for Health. Quarry Road Recreation Area is an all-season park that’s managed as a partnership between the city Parks abd Recreation Department and Friends of Quarry Road.

The area has been a winter sports hub for Waterville since 1938, and it was expanded by Colby College to include snow-making, night skiing and a small ski lift in 1960. In the mid-1970s, ski operations ceased amid an energy crisis and the 100-acre property sat vacant for 30 years until it the city bought it in 2006. The city redeveloped the cross-country ski trails with the help of local volunteers, eventually expanding the park to 220 acres, including 5.6 miles of groomed trails, 2.2 miles of snowshoe trails, a sledding hill and a welcome yurt.

 

Also in Waterville just down the street, check out the Alfond Municipal Pool off North Street. The family pool facility, which opens this month, charges daily or season fees for residents and non-residents.

The pool complex has a six-lane, 25-meter pool; a family swim area, a zero-entry area with a “raindrop,” an 18-inch deep kiddy pool with frog slide, a 12-inch deep kiddy pool with a whale and turtle “little squirts,” a spray pool with 16 water jets, and a slide pool featuring a twister and tube slide. A small snack bar is operated in the complex as well.