MAINE - Augusta/Kennebec

To say the snowmobile trails in Maine are some of the finest in the country would be an understatement at best. Maine’s Interconnected Trail System (ITS) is provided to snowmobilers through the joint effort of the Maine Snowmobile Association, headquartered in Augusta, and the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, Department of Conservation. The organization’s website provides maps and directions, information on trail conditions and planning a trip, calendars of snowmobiling events, directories of snowmobiling clubs, and much more. You can get a detailed map of the Interconnected Trail System by contacting the Maine Snowmobile Association at PO Box 80, Augusta, 04332. Phone: 207-622-6983

People who love movies: do yourselves a favor and get out of those multiplexes that look and feel like a walk through the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. New England has a healthy scattering of proudly small, independent movie theaters that show new releases along with independent films, shorts, and other cinematic art that doesn’t necessarily include exploding helicopter scenes. Among these is Railroad Square Cinema at 17 Railroad Square in Waterville. Host of the Maine International Film Festival, this cinema hosts new movies along with art house and independent films. It was saluted by the Sundance Film Institute as one of only a few select theaters in the country included in its Art House Project. Phone: 207-873-6526.

The Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center presents a wide range of artist programs -- a live music series, children’s events, outdoor performances in the park, and more -- in the historic Johnson Hall Performing Arts building (1864) at 280 Water Street in downtown Gardiner. What’s in store for 2012? Music and drama from Primo Cubano, Lynn Deeves, Fred Garbo INflatable Theater, Castlebay, and the plays "Can U Here Me Know?" and "A Journey to Oz." Phone: 207-582-7144.

Center for Maine Craft at 24 Service Plaza Drive in West Gardiner offers works by over 300 Maine craft artists, musicians, authors, illustrators and artisan food producers. The center maintains a constant calendar of educational and exciting programming. Keep checked the website to learn about exhibitions, events, studio days, music, barbecues, and more. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (closes 8 p.m. in the summer). Phone: 207-588-0021.

Fans of novelist Richard Russo and his wonderful story, Empire Falls, will be pleased to learn that a version of the restaurant that was the centerpiece of the novel actually exists. The Empire Grill on 105 Water Street in Skowhegan was renovated in 2003 to serve as the set of the HBO mini-series Empire Falls, based on the book. The Grill now has a tradition of giving away a muffin every day to an unsuspecting customer. Grill owner Kerry Pomelow told Yankee magazine, “a lot of people want the muffin … just to be able to say they got it.” Phone: 207-474-3440.

If you are traveling internationally, you may buy items without having to pay either the sales tax (called value added tax) or the customs duties assessed by the United States – primarily on liquor and tobacco but also with many other products. The savings from duty-free shopping can be significant. At Duty Free Americas in Jackman (2621 Route 201 North), shoppers can find discounted prices on premium spirits, wine, beer and tobacco as well as designer fragrances, cosmetics, fashion watches, crystal, jewelry, leather goods, gifts for children, and more. Currency exchange is available. Phone: 207-668-7738.

Hussey’s General Store at 510 Ridge Road in Windsor claims “If We Ain’t Got it, You Don’t Need It.” With 30,000 square feet of retail space, this family-owned business has been selling essentials to Augusta-Kennebec communities since 1923. Essentials? By that, Hussey’s means groceries, clothing, new and used guns, fishing equipment, hardware, furniture, appliances, gifts, collectibles, wedding dresses, used books, tools, feed and grain, and so much more. This has to be one of the standards of the general store business, anywhere. You need anything? Come and challenge the Hussey’s tradition. Open daily. Phone: 207-445-2511.

Get out and put those legs to use! The 6.5-mile Kennebec River Rail Trail welcomes locals and visitors alike for walking, running, cycling, skateboarding, rollerblading, and dog walking. The trail parallels the existing rail bed along the Kennebec River, and stretches from Augusta Maine's Waterfront Park, through the towns of Hallowell and Farmingdale, to its conclusion in the city of Gardiner, Maine. The trail starts at the Maine State Housing Authority parking lot on Water Street in Augusta and follows the river down to the Hannaford Parking Lot in Gardiner. About a half mile of the trail goes through downtown Hallowell on Water Street or Route 201.

The Maine Art Museum Trail offers more than 53,000 works of art, from ancient to contemporary, in a dazzling array of collections at seven leading art museums. Museums on the trail include Bates College Museum of Art (Lewiston), Bowdoin College Museum of Art (Brunswick), Colby College Museum of Art (Waterville), Farnsworth Art Museum (Rockland), Ogunquit Museum of American Art (Ogunquit), Portland Museum of Art (Portland), and University of Maine Museum of Art (Bangor). The museums’ permanent collections include works of art by the many artists who have vacationed or worked in Maine. They also feature masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and Pablo Picasso, Greek and Roman sculpture, early American silver and furniture, and contemporary textiles, prints, ceramics, and sculpture. Some museums also offer free admission during selected hours.