Is Middle Earth freely explorable in Lord of the Rings Online?

Solution 1:

You can largely explore the world freely. By my recollection, there are only a few points at which you can be gated by some sort of progression. The few that come to mind are Eastern Angmar (must complete a certain epic quest to pass the watching stones), Moria (must complete a portion of the epic quest to open the Doors of Durin), and Caras Galadhon (reputation requirement to enter the city).

These zones can be gated by level as you can only pick up quests a certain number of levels above yours (7, I think) and thus you won't be able to complete them for progression (Angmar, Moria) or reputation gain (Lothlorien). I believe you can get past the Moria restriction by using some sort of summon: hunter port, captain summon, Moria keg, or mustering horn.

The main issue you will have if you're not inclined to level up much or at all is that once there is a large enough gap between the level of the zone and your level, you become an aggro magnet for the enemy NPCs. You should consider doing some questing as the quests will take you to some of those iconic places (e.g. Old Forest, Rivendell, Orthanc, The Argonath) as well as leveling you enough to make your exploration more enjoyable.

Note: Regardless of your status as a VIP (subscriber) or not, you are able to access every zone on the map. Bree, Shire, Ered Luin, and Lone Lands are 100% free for all account types (VIP, Premium, Free). This means you can pick up quests, start/complete deeds, and join instances for those zones. Beyond those zones, the availability of quests, etc. Will be dependent on account type (as part of subscription fee or buying quest pack from the store) or whether the zones were part of a paid expansion (Moria, Isengard, Rohan, Helm's Deep)