Lewiston -- Really That Bad?

Cammum
Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:23:40 +0000

Lewiston is working class and parts are run down but there is lots happening at Bates itself and most students find things to do in the town as well as getting involved in community service. Lewiston has art galleries, museums, vintage clothing shops and some upscale restaurants, some of which are located in renovated mills along the Androscoggin. There are also tiny ethnic restaurants if you’re more adventurous. There’s a nature preserve that’s a short walk from campus and you can see bald eagles along the river. Within a bike ride or short car ride you can canoe or kayak on a lake, swim in Range Ponds, pick apples, go to a farmer’s market, or have lunch at an organic farm. If you ski, there are weekend shuttle buses to the slopes. The outing club organizes trips locally to surf, boulder, showshoe, climb things. The college subsidizes Zip Cars that you can use to get to Freeport or Portland which have lots going on culturally. Bates also runs shuttle buses on weekends to the movie theatres and shopping areas across the river in Auburn where there are malls, chain restaurants, and big box stores. The school admissions web site has student blogs where you can read more about how people spend their time.