| |
 |
New Hampshire New Hampshire
|
 About New England’s Foliage
Every autumn throughout New England, diminishing length of daylight and falling temperatures induce trees to shed billions of tons of leaves. Preceding this preparation for winter the trees present a spectacular color show. Leaves that have been green all summer turn to brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red.
These color changes are caused by transformations in leaf pigments, primarily the green pigment chlorophyll. During summer, the leaves of trees are producing sugar from carbon dioxide and water by the workings of light and chlorophyll. Chlorophyll causes the leaves to appear green.
The shorter days and cool nights of autumn set off changes in the tree. One is the growth of a corky membrane at the base of the leaf stem, which interrupts the flow of nutrients into the leaf. This stops the production of chlorophyll in the leaf, and the green color of the leaf fades, allowing the reds, oranges and yellows to burst forth. The best autumn colors are produced when dry, sunny days are followed by cool, dry nights.
Color may begin to appear in isolated spots in far northern New England the first week in September. Typically, the color change begins at the higher elevations and in the northern part of the region mid-September and moves southward through mid-to-late October, ending in southern New England coastal areas at the end of October.
Visitors who travel to see our spectacular foliage are known as, “Leaf-Peepers.” While on your excursion do stop at country stores, orchards, local restaurants and shops. We have suggested some routes for you to drive. We also suggest that you try some backroads. Get a local map, and don’t worry about getting lost. You’ll always bump into a main road sooner or, hopefully, later.
|
|
Cathedral of the Pines
10 Hale Hill Road
Rindge, NH 03461 
Phone: 603-899-3300
A place of spiritual nourishment for people of all faiths. The sense of peace engendered by the tall pines that form its natural surroundings is conducive to prayer and meditation. Its peaceful, garden-lined walk ways contain serene, inspirational landscapes as well as quiet spots for prayer and mediation.
Hours: May through October, open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A warm jacket is often necessary. Guided tours are available; groups are required to make reservations. Fee charged for group tours.
|
|
Enfield Shaker Museum
24 Caleb Dyer Lane / 447 Route 4A
Enfield, NH 03748
Phone: 603-632-4346
This museum features the history of the Shakers, including gardens, a walking tour, demonstrations and classes. Events are scheduled throughout the year.
Fee charged.
|
|
Fells Historic Site
John Hay National Wildlife Refuge on Lake Sunapee
Route 103A / P.O. Box 276
Newbury, NH 03255
Phone: 603-763-4789
Outstanding gardens, a 100-foot perennial border, and a view of Lake Sunapee from the Rose Terrace. A brook trickles to a Japanese water lily pool in the hillside rock garden, which includes a large collection of alpine and native plants. Hidden behind masses of rhododendron, a walled secret garden awaits discovery.
Hours: Late May through October, daily with tours of the estate on weekends.
|
|
Fuller Gardens
10 Willow Avenue
North Hampton, NH 03862
Phone: 603-964-5414
Designed in the Colonial Revival style on a two -acre plot, these gardens bloom throughout the season, from an extensive tulip display in early May, followed by the Japanese garden and other late spring flowering shrubs, through the 2,000 rose bushes that bloom through October.
Hours: Mid-May through mid-October, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
|
|
 New England Vacation Tours
Phone: 802-464-2076
Toll-Free: 800-742-7669
Fax: 802-464-2629
Email: nevt@sover.net
New England Vacation Tours are your group tour experts. We are specialists for all-inclusive tours throughout New England offering Romantic Getaways, air travel and car rental programs, and arrangements for sea cruises along the coast. We have customized chauffeur-driven & self-drive tours, corporate meeting and private party planning & transportation, as well as hotel & country inns accommodations, resort travel and vacation packages. We have escorted fly & motor coach tours to Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, ski resorts in Vermont and New Hampshire including Mount Snow and Attitash, and other destinations in Eastern Canada and along the East Coast.
|
|
New Hampshire Farm Museum
Route 125, Plummer’s Ridge
Milton, NH 03851
Phone: 603-652-7840
Open: April through October.
The Farm Museum consists of the historic Jones Farm and the Plummer Homestead. The properties consist of 50 acres of field and forest, a working farm, historic houses and barns, a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop and exhibits on agriculture and rural life. The museum hosts special events, programs, and workshops.
|
|
New Hampshire Literature
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Robert Frost, whose writings are often considered to capture the heart and soul of New England, was born in 1874 in San Francisco. When he was 11 his family moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts. He began writing poetry in high school. Frost entered Dartmouth University, stayed for one semester, and then returned to Massachusetts to briefly teach school. In 1894, he sold one of his poems, “My Butterfly: An Elegy” to a national magazine, the Independent. He married in 1895 and attended Harvard College. In 1900, Frost’s paternal grandfather, worried by the young Robert’s apparent lack of ambition, bought a farm in Derry, New Hampshire for Robert’s use. The farm was completely isolated. For Frost, who especially enjoyed the seclusion, the farm was an ideal setting to raise his family and continue to write poetry in private. In 1906, Frost secured a position to teach English at Derry’s Pinkerton Academy.
The Frost family moved to England in 1912, after their New Hampshire farm failed. During his time abroad, Frost met and was influenced by several accomplished British poets. By the time Frost returned to the United States in 1915, he had published two full-length collections and his reputation was established. In 1917, he began teaching at Amherst College. He was co-founder of the Bread Loaf School of English in Ripton, Vermont. By the 1920s, he was the most celebrated poet in America, eventually winning four Pulitzer Prizes. After Frost’s wife Elinor died in 1938, he purchased the Homer Noble farm in Ripton, Vermont. The farm became for him a place of refuge and restoration, and was his final permanent residence. On Frost’s 89th birthday in 1962, he received a special Congressional Medal of Honor. The same day, his last book of new poems was published. He died in Boston.
Robert Frost Farm
Route 28
Derry, New Hampshire 03038 
Phone: 603-432-3091
Hours: Open from Memorial Day weekend to mid-June on Saturdays and Sundays only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; from mid-June to Labor Day, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through
Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Closed Mondays.
Cost: Admission fee charged
Robert Frost and his family lived at this farm from 1900 to 1911. The simple two-story white clapboard farmhouse is typical of a rural New England residence of the 1880s. Guided house tours, a children’s garden, walks along the Hyla Brook Trail, a summer lecture series, and poetry readings on selected Sundays are all available at the park. The Hyla Brook Trail is an interpretive trail with an accompanying brochure. Books and other Frost-related items may be purchased at the Visitor’s Center.
The Frost Place
Ridge Road
P.O. Box 74
Franconia, New Hampshire 03580
Phone: 603-823-5510
E-mail: rfrost@ncia.net
Hours: Memorial Day weekend 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; month of June, Saturdays and
Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; July 2 to August 31 daily except Tuesdays 1 to 5
p.m.; July 31 to August 6 daily except Tuesdays 3 to 5 p.m. and poetry
reading 8 p.m.; September 1 to October 10 daily except Tuesdays 10 a.m. to
5 p.m.
Cost: Fee charged
The Frost Place, a farmstead in the White Mountains of New Hampshire where Robert Frost lived and worked, is now a non-profit Center for Poetry and the Arts owned by the town of Franconia. Two rooms of the farmhouse are used as a museum of Frost’s life and work with signed first editions of his books. Visitors view the rooms where Frost lived and wrote and see an engaging half-hour video about his life. A half-mile Poetry-Nature Trail though fields and woods presents displays of Frost’s Franconia poems mounted on plaques, surrounded by dozens of New England wildflowers and plants. Each summer, a nationally honored poet has been chosen to come live and work in the house where Frost wrote some of his best work. The summer program begins in early July on a publicly designated “Frost Day,” with a reading by the summer poet-in-residence. It culminates in the first part of August with two weeks of public poetry readings.
|
|
Portsmouth Harbor Trail
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Phone: 603-436-3988
The trail passes more than 70 points of scenic and historic significance in Portsmouth, include ten buildings on the National Register of Historic Buildings, ten National Historic Landmarks, and three homes maintained by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.
Hours: Tours offered July 4 through Columbus Day, 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Monday; and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
|
|
Rhododendron State Park
Route 119 West
Fitzwilliam, NH 03447
Phone: 603-532-8862
Rhododendron State Park is named after the 16-acre grove of Rhododendron Maximum. A 0.6-mile long universally accessible trail encircles the grove allowing visitors to observe the fragrant blossoms in mid-July. A wildflower trail winds through the forest adjacent to the grove.
Hours: Early May to mid-June, weekends only, daylight hours; mid-June to Labor Day, daily, daylight hours.
|
|
Saint - Gaudens National Historic Site
139 Saint Gaudens Road
Cornish, NH 03745
Phone: 603-675-2175
Open: Daily late May- late October, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
This site was once the home of one of the country’s greatest sculptors, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The estate has a house, studio, and gardens. Fee charged.
|
|
Scenic Drives
Dartmouth
Connecticut River Route
Start in West Lebanon and take Route 10 north into Hanover, the home of Dartmouth College and its beautiful and historic campus. Continue north on Route 10 to the town of Oxford where you can turn right onto Route 25A. You’ll now be heading east toward the White Mountains. In Wentworth turn right onto Routes 25/118. After 3 miles take the right turn to continue on Route 118. You will travel though the small towns of Cheever and Dorchester and then arriving at Canaan where you get on to Route 4 West that will take you back to Lebanon and West Lebanon. Hanover
Lakes
Around Winnipesaukee
A drive around New Hampshire’s largest lake will provide you beautiful across the water and bring you through delightful towns and villages. Begin in Laconia and take Route 3 to Weirs Beach, and enjoy the arcade atmosphere. Continue north on Route 3 to the beautiful lakeside village of Meredith. Leave this village on Route 25 heading for Center Harbor and then Moultonborough at the northern most point of the lake. Now turn right on to Route 117 and after a few miles go right on to Route 109. Take this al the way to Wolfeboro, a town with great views, shopping and food. Now pick up Route 28 South to Alton Bay, the south tip of Lake Winnipesaukee. There pick up Route 11 Travel back north close to the lakeside and look for signs to take you back to Laconia.
Laconia - Meredith - Wolfeboro
Merrimack Valley
Route 129, through Loudon
Leave Concord on Route 106 North Loudon. In town pick up Route 129 north through Loudon Center, and Lower Gilmanton. Ypu then pick up Route 107 though Pittsfield and then to Route 9 West that will take you back to Concord. Concord - Loudon
Manchester – Derry
Leave Manchester taking Route 27 East to Candia.After Eastr Candia turn right on to Route 107. Drive through Raymond and follow Route 107 and then get on to Route 102 Going south toward Chester and then Derry. Route 28 will take you back to Manchester.
Manchester - Derry
Monadnock
Mount Monadnock Circle
Leave Keene on Route 101 East. You’ll pass through Dublin, home of Yankee Magazine, and then to Peterborough. In Peterborough switch to Route 202 South and travel through Jaffrey to the small town of West Rindge. Turn right on to Route 199 and travel through the pretty town of Fitzwilliam to Winchester where you turn onto Route 10 North back to Keene.
Keene - Peterborough - Fitzwilliam
White Mountains
Spectacular mountains and too many drives for us to just pick one or two. So find the towns you will traveling to and pick one, or more, of these routes to drive. Don’t you wish you had time for all of them!
- Route 112, the Kancamagus Highway, between Conway and Lincoln
- Bear Notch Road, between Bartlett and the Kancamagus Highway
- NH Route 26, between Colebrook, Dixville and Errol
- NH Route 16, between Conway and Errol
- NH Route 2, between Lancaster and Shelburne
- Franconia Notch Parkway, which runs between Franconia and Lincoln
- NH Route 302, between Bethlehem and Glen
- NH Route 10, between Orford and Woodsville
- NH Route 112, between Bath and North Woodstock
- NH Route 118, between North Woodstock and Rumney
- NH Route 16, between Errol and Milan
- U.S. Route 3 between Colebrook and the Canadian border
- NH Route 49 in the Waterville Valley
- NH Route 110, between Dummer and Northumberland
- NH Route 117, between Franconia and Lisbon
Lincoln - Franconia - Glen - Conway
|
|
 Stonewall Kitchen
10 Pleasant Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Toll-Free: 800-207-JAMS
Email: info@stonewallkitchen.com
Stonewall Kitchen, Creators of Specialty Foods, respected and honored for our award-winning product line since the early days at the Farmers’ Market. Walking into our Company Stores, you are taken back to a simpler time with tin ceilings, schoolhouse lights, wainscoting and the aroma of good food simmering on the stove. Browse through our Company Stores and sample our specialty foods including: preserves, mustards, dessert toppings, grille sauces and more. Also find distinctive serviceware, linens, cookware and home décor. Stonewall Kitchen, a visit that will long be remembered. Company Store Locations: South Windsor, Connecticut *Avon, Connecticut * York, Maine * Portland, Maine * Camden, Maine * Portsmouth, New Hampshire * Rochester, New Hampshire * North Conway, New Hampshire. Please visit stonewallkitchen.com for more information and store directions.
|
|
 Stonewall Kitchen
Settlers’ Green
Route 16
North Conway, NH 03860
Toll-Free: 800-207-JAMS
Email: info@stonewallkitchen.com
Stonewall Kitchen, Creators of Specialty Foods, respected and honored for our award-winning product line since the early days at the Farmers’ Market. Walking into our Company Stores, you are taken back to a simpler time with tin ceilings, schoolhouse lights, wainscoting and the aroma of good food simmering on the stove. Browse through our Company Stores and sample our specialty foods including: preserves, mustards, dessert toppings, grille sauces and more. Also find distinctive serviceware, linens, cookware and home décor. Stonewall Kitchen, a visit that will long be remembered. Company Store Locations: South Windsor, Connecticut *Avon, Connecticut * York, Maine * Portland, Maine * Camden, Maine * Portsmouth, New Hampshire * Rochester, New Hampshire * North Conway, New Hampshire. Please visit stonewallkitchen.com for more information and store directions.
|
|
 The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel
1000 Cold Spring Road (Route 26)
Dixville Notch, NH 03576
Toll-Free: 866-714-9795
Fax: 603-255-4221
Email: info@thebalsams.com
Located high in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and deep in the Great North Woods, The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel truly is a world unto itself. Our 15,000-acre resort is open year-round, offering you the chance to get away from it all any time you desire. With great vacation packages like our popular Leisure Plan, you can customize your own experience to include elegant accommodations, award-winning dining and unlimited use of our resort activities and amenities. You’ll enjoy golf, hiking, biking, lake sports and more during the warm months, and just about every snow adventure imaginable in the winter. For a nice complement to the day’s events, our renowned table d’hôte cuisine and cooking classes offer a tasteful way to unwind.
|
| top of listings |
|
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Phone: 603-431-6774
The center consists of 182 acres of field, forest, and salt marsh, several buildings, and the annual interest income from a trust fund. It is used as a tree farm to demonstrate proper forest management, a bird and wildlife sanctuary, a garden and landscape demonstration site, and as a learning center in forestry planning, forest management, ecology, tree and plant identification, and wildlife stewardship.
|
|
|
|
|
|
