It was saddening this morning to read of another reviewer’s bad experience vacationing in New Hampshire. As someone who has been visiting and enjoying New Hampshire since early childhood, I wanted to add another perspective.
New Hampshire, called the Granite State is one of the northern New England States. There are things to do and see in every season from skiing and snowboarding in the winter to theme parks and boating on the lakes in the summer. New Hampshire can be divided into several regions-each having it’s own wonders and experiences. I will focus on the two I know best.
The White Mountains.
This mountainous area hosts many of New Hampshire’s ski resorts. In the winter these offer downhill and cross country skiing, snowboarding and fun evenings in the lodge and local clubs. North Conway is the largest town in this area and it boasts many shops and outlet malls. The North Conway Scenic Railway is taken over each year for the weekends in December by the ’’Polar Express’’-a train ride and visit to the North Pole based on Chris Van Allsburg’s classic children’s book.
In the summer, this area is alive with tourists and nature lovers. There are a number of child oriented theme parks-Santa’s Village, Storyland, etc. Several of the ski resorts have gondola rides to the mountain tops, nature trails and water slides. For us, the big attractions are Franconia Notch State Park and Mount Washington. You can drive up Mt. Washington on a winding steep road.(Visitors are cautioned to make sure their cars are able to make the trip) Or you can take the old fashioned Cog Railway to the top and enjoy the scenery without the stress of driving. It is important to check conditions-the mountaintop stays foggy some days-and to realize whatever the weather at the bottom; it is usually much cooler at the top. Also in the State Park area, you can view the famous ’’Old Man of the Mountain’’ also called Profile Rock. You can hike through the exquisite flume gorge. Take a scenic drive on the Kangamangus Highway. There are many hotels and motels small and large. Both food and lodging are reasonable. The best places (not necessarily the chain hotels) fill up so make reservations if you can. There is extensive shopping in New Hampshire’s famous outlet malls.
This only touches on NH’s mountain beauty but it’s time to move down to the lakes.
There are two lake areas-the Lakes region and Sunapee. Both offer numerous opportunities for swimming, boating, fishing, camping and sightseeing. The centerpiece of the Lakes region is the vast Lake Winnipesaukee. In this area you will find water parks, the Polar Caves(huge underground caves), shopping and much more. Visit the Castle in the Clouds for a breathtaking view of the entire area. It’s a reasonable drive (an hour) between this area and the White Mountains so it’s easy to combine both in week’s vacation. We use the lake area for relaxing days at the water and then go to the mountains for a day here and there.
New Hampshire is also a prime location for ’’leaf peeping’’-taking scenic drives to see the changing foliage each fall. Hotels are frequently reserved well in advance and the roads tend to be more crowded at this time but the views are amazing. This is a wonderful time to take one of the scenic railways for a beautiful view of the countryside. For fun take the Hobo train-complete with a hobo’s lunch.
For more information, check out New Hampshire’s Web site https://newhampshire.com.(maps, attraction lists etc). There is much more than I described to see. There are also tourist centers off all the major highways where you can get maps, attraction information, discount coupons and make hotel reservations.