Phillips and Avon, Maine Lodging, Shopping & Dining Guide

Phillips and Avon are two small towns in western Maine's Franklin county. They feature a bed & breakfast, several stores, a small airport, the Maine School of Masonry, and other attractions.

Dining: Phillips has a restaurant, "5 K Pizza", which sells hoagies, dagwoods, pizza, soda, chips, and other foods. It also has a game room, rents videos, and sells newspapers. A diner is located near the gas station and deli in Avon. There is another restaurant in the nearby town of Strong, and more dining in Kingfield.

Shopping: Most major types of products are available for purchase in Phillips and/or Avon, including grocery shopping. Stores in Phillips include Edmund's Market, Phillips True Value Hardware (a sign on the exterior also advertises bicycles, gifts, and crafts), the Mooseville Outlet Store, and an antiques shop. Edmund's is a small grocery store with Hannaford food products (also sold at Shop 'n Save and Hannaford stores), an ATM machine, newspapers, and soda machines. It is open seven days/week. A model train shop (trainandtrooper.com) can also be found in Phillips, along with a railway museum. In Avon, there is a convenience store and a deli (C&L Deli) nearby.

Lodging: The Echo Valley Lodge, in Phillips, is located along the Sandy River. According to the Maine Office of Tourism website, it has three cabins and two lodge rooms available. The Elcourt Bed and Breakfast is also located in Phillips. Some vacation homes are available for rent in the area as well. More lodging can be found in the towns of Rangeley and Kingfield, along with campgrounds in Weld.

Education: The Maine School of Masonry is located in Avon. Courses are available in bricklaying, fireplace construction, and other subjects related to masonry. More information can be found at the masonryschool.org website.

Other Attractions: A small airport (Lindbergh Airport) is near the town line of Avon and Phillips. An impressive arched bridge (over the Sandy River) can be seen in Phillips. It is near a waterfall and was built in 1927.

Additional establishments in Phillips include the Phillips Community House, the Paul G. Whittemore Building (has a library inside), a masonic lodge (Blue Mountain Lodge), a post office (next to Edmund's), a child care, a historical society, a cemetary, a church, a bank, a child psychologist's office, and an appliance repair business. The bank is a branch of Camden National Bank and has its ATM at Edmund's grocery store instead of the bank itself. Avon also has Dunham's Hatchery (seafood and stocked fishing pond) and the Opportunity Center.

Several Maine newspapers are available in the area, including the Sun Journal, Portland Press Herald, Morning Sentinel (Waterville), and Franklin Journal (Farmington). One of the nearest radio stations is WKTJ, which is at 99.3 FM and based in Farmington.

The towns of Kingfield, Strong, and Rangeley aren't very distant from Avon and Phillips. The closest major town (or small city) is Farmington, which has a much wider range of shopping, lodging, and dining available. For more information on Phillips, see the phillipsmaine.com website.