Brookside Park

Follow the signs from the intersection of Route 4 and Route 118 in Canaan
Tel: (603) 271-3254

This 5,000 acre state park includes most of Mount Cardigan, which has an elevation of 3,100 feet. A hike on Mount Cardigan is one of the best in the region. Don't miss the delightful picnic area with beautiful pine trees and great rock formations. It's on the western slope of the mountain. The park is open form mid-May until mid-October.

Campgrounds

Reeds Mill Rd.
Croyden, NH
Tel: (603) 863-8176

Nightly rates are $17 for tent sites, $21 for sites with water and electricity and $23 for RV sites with full hookups. If you like to camp on a lake, but the sound of motorboats drives you crazy, this is the place for you. Loon Lake doesn’t allow boats with motors. And, if you don’t have your own boat, you can rent a paddle boat or a canoe. The 118 wooded campsites include 90 sewered RV sites. Flush toilets and hot showers are on-premises, and the camp store stocks basics such as milk and ice. Hiking trails are clearly marked throughout the 750 acres. Two beaches on man-made Loon Lake (on many maps this lake is still called The Overflow) include one for adults only and one with a great kid’s playground. You can fish in the lake too. Pickerel, perch and bass are plentiful, and the owners have recently introduced rainbow trout. The campground is open from mid-May until mid-October.

Route 4A
Enfield, NH
Tel: (603) 448-5076

Nightly rates are $25 for a full hookup, $21 for water and electricity and $18 for unadorned tent sites. A total of 90 campsites include 60 with RV hookups and 30 for tents or pop-up trailers. The sandy beach on Lake Mascoma is a great place to swim, fish and boat. Metered and bottled gas is sold, and a small camp store is right on the premises. Seasonal as well as overnight sewer sites are available along with flush toilets, sinks and hot showers. Pets are OK as long as they are leashed. The campground is open from mid-May until mid-October. Take Exit 17 off Interstate 89 and turn right on U.S. Route 4. Turn right again onto Route 4A, and the lake and campground are less than a half-mile on your left.

Route 10
Newport, NH
Tel: (603) 863-4001

Rates are $14 a night for two with an additional $2 charged for each child older than 3 and $7 for each additional adult. Camp along the Sugar River in your choice of sites — from pine groves to grassy meadows. The spring-fed pond is perfect for swimming, and trout fishing is great at the river. You can play horseshoes and volleyball, and the group area includes a covered pavilion. The kids will enjoy the playground, and you’ll all have fun during the special theme weekends. Some themes in the summer of ’97 were “Christmas in July” and a “Western Weekend.” Ask about planned events when you call for reservations. The campground doesn’t have full RV hookups, but water and electricity are on site as well as flush toilets and hot showers. You’re just 4 miles south of Newport for laundry and grocery needs. The campground is open from mid-May through mid-October.

Route 11
New London, NH
Tel: (603) 763-5600

Sites are $18 per night. This small, 28-site campground has graced Otter Lake for more than 40 years. Wooded and water-view campsites are dotted throughout the 14-acre grounds on the 180-acre lake. All sites include water and electricity. You can swim, rent canoes and paddle boats and fish for bass and pickerel in Otter Lake. Flush toilets and hot showers are a few of the amenities. The kids will enjoy the playground, and you can buy firewood and ice at the campground. A general store is down the road at the other end of the lake. Leashed pets are OK. The campground is open from mid-May through mid-October. It’s just a mile west of Exit 12 off I-89 on Route 11 (Otterville Road).

The Pastures Campground

Route 10
Orford, NH
Tel: (603) 353-4579

The cost is $15 a night. The Pastures is the only campground in New Hampshire that’s right on the Connecticut River. It’s a popular stop for those traveling the river via canoe. Campers looking for peace and quiet will be happy here. The 60 sites are all in open pasture land — not the usual New Hampshire woods. All have water and electricity, and there’s a dump station for RVs. You can get firewood at the campground, but that’s about all. The Orfordville General Store is just a quarter-mile up Route 10 and has everything from deli sandwiches and soft ice cream to ice, milk and cereal. The campground is open from mid-May through mid-October.

Route 31
Washington, NH
Tel: (603) 863-2860

The cost is $14 per night. Hikers love Pillsbury State Park for the trails along the 52-mile Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway that connects Mount Monadnock to Mount Sunapee. Bring your canoe and fish for largemouth bass and pickerel in the 149-acre May Pond. Some of the 30 primitive campsites offer direct paddle-in access to the pond. A strict carry-in/carry-out policy is the rule here since there’s not an on-site dumpster. Outhouses with pit toilets are the extent of the amenities. The campground is open from mid-May through mid-October.

Route 10
Hanover, NH
Tel: (603) 643-2134

Nightly rates for sites with water and electricity are $22 on weekends and $17 during the week. Plain tent sites are $17 on weekends and $12 during the week. Thirty-five secluded campsites surround the 15-acre Storrs Pond. Seventeen of the sites include water and electric hookups. You can swim in the pond, which has two separate sandy beaches, or choose the swimming pool. Both the pond and pool have lifeguards until at least 5 p.m. Amenities include a playground area with a covered pavilion, picnic tables and fireplaces, a snack bar and tennis courts. The toilets flush, and the showers have hot water. Firewood and ice are sold. The park is open from mid-May through mid-October. Take Exit 18 off I-89 and drive through Hanover on Route 120. Go north on Route 10 and follow signs to Storrs Pond. This campground allows pets on leashes.

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Fishing

The region gets part of its name from Lake Sunapee so it's only appropriate that you try your luck there. You can fish for many New Hampshire specieds in Lake Sunapee, including smallmouth bass, pickerel, salmon and lake trout. The lake covers more than 4,000 acres. Not far from Lake Sunapee is New London, you can fish both Little Sunapee Lake and Pleasant Lake. In spring, try Pleasant Lake for salmon and brook trout. You may also find smallmouth bass, pickerel and horned pout. The latter three fish are your most likely catches in Little Sunapee Lake.

For warm-water fishing only try Goose Pond. It's just west of Hanover in Canaan and had both largemouth and smallmouth bass, white perch and pickerel. South of Goose Pond is Lake Mascoma in Enfield. Cold-water fish include rainbow and brook trout. Warm-water species include largemouth and smallmouth bass, white perch , pickerel and horned pout. The Mascoma River at the western end of the lake is a good spot for brook, brown and rainbow trout. Also in Enfield are Crystal Lake and George Pond for horned pout and pickerel.

Hunting

East of Lyme and Hanover in Dorchester, you'll find the adjacent WMA lands of Cummins Pond and Mascoma River for a total of 2,650 acres. The only animals not listed for at least one of these areas are rabbit, pheasant and quail. The Grafton Turnpike running east out of LIme is the best route for getting there.

Farther south and east of Lebanon is Enfield WMA in Enfield. Here you'll find more than 4,400 acres for hunting everything but rabbit, quail and pheasant. Exit 14 off Interstate 89 is on the southwestern portion of the WMA. Near Exit 11 of I-89 is Chadwick Meadows Marsh WMA. The 100-acre area is just off Route 114 south of New London in North Sutton. All of the big game expect wild turkeys are represented along with wild duck, wild geese and woodcock. The only expection in the furbearing animal category is bobcat.

Less than 6 miles east of Chadwick Meadows is the 1,000-acre Kearsarge WMA. All the furbearing animals (including) bobcat) are here as well as deer, black bear and wild turkey. And you'll have a chance with all the small game and game birds expect rabbit, quail and pheasant.

Grafton

This is a popular pond, with swimmers and anglers sharing the water with boats. Motorized craft are restricted to no more than 6 horsepower to protect the habitat and the users. The launch is on Potato Road next to a dam, as is the swimming area.

Enfield, Lebanon

More than 1,000 acres of water surface attract many boaters to this lake every summer. Its location, close to I-89 and Lower Shaker Village, bring it to the attention of passing tourists and residents alike. There are two good public launches on the lake, one at Shaker Bridge on Route 4-A and the other closer to the Museum at Shaker Lower Village.

Newbury, Sunapee, George’s Mills, New London

This has long been one of New Hampshire’s most popular lakes, and at more than 4,000 acres, it’s by far the largest in the region to which it gives its name. There are public launches at both ends of the lake, one at the north end in New London, (take a right at Exit 12 off I-89), and the other in Newbury at Mt. Sunapee State Park.

Cilleyville (in Andover) to West Salisbury West Salisbury to the Contoocook

The Blackwater River runs through a rural area that very few people bother to visit. The scenery is lovely, and the river offers both gentle paddling above the flood control dam in West Salisbury and wild whitewater below it. Put in just below the intersection of Routes 4-A and 11 in Andover. The first 3 miles include a short Class III rapid followed by some Class I and IIs. You can put in at the covered bridge on Route 4 in Andover if you prefer to skip the whitewater. The river flattens out here and twists through a series of ponds and marshes, eventually widening into a broad section known as the Bay. A broken dam at the bottom of the bay requires you to take out — you can stop here or put in again below the dam and continue downstream for about 12 miles of beautiful countryside. The current is fairly quick with only a couple of rapids. A much greater hazard here is downed trees. There is a take-out at a dirt road about a mile upstream of the flood-control dam in Webster.

Below that dam the Blackwater River is one of the most challenging rivers in the state. Class III and IV rapids here include boulders, notches, holes and turbulence the AMC guide compares to a washing machine. Survive it, and you’ll pass into a gentle 6-mile section that joins the Contoocook at Broad Cove in Hopkinton.

Canaan Center to Mascoma Lake to Lebanon

Remainders of old dams and some railroad bridges contribute to the rapids in Canaan, which are considered Class II. It slows as it reaches Route 4 and runs smoothly and quickly through West Canaan and Enfield, where there are several road crossings and easy accesses. Cross the north end of Mascoma Lake and take out at the dam. You can stop here if you’re not a whitewater fan, or put in below the dam for about 5 miles of very popular whitewater, mostly Class II with some Class III/IV sections. Take-out in Lebanon is at a parking lot just before the Route 120 bridge.

Exit 13 off I-89
Grantham, NH
Tel: (603) 863-4500

Thirty kilometers of groomed trails along with 15 kilometers of skate-groomed trails are just part of the winter scene at this small modern facility. In addition to skiing, you can enjoy sledding, snowshoeing and ice-skating. Lessons and rentals are available. Fees are between $6 and $9

N.H. Rt. 11
New London, NH
Tel: (800) 426-6775

Twenty-six trails cover 75 kilometers to make this one of the top cross-country centers in the region. Sixty-five kilometers are tracked, and 20 kilometers are skate-groomed. There are also 6 kilometers of backcountry available. About half the terrain is intermediate, about a third is easy and the rest is challenging; one trail is so steep it’s called the Freefall! Wednesdays have special "Soup and Ski" rates that include lunch and skiing. The center is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daily rates are between $8 and $12.

Park Route 31
Washington, NH
Tel: (603) 863-2860

This wooded park offers canoeing on May Pond, fishing areas in both the pond and nearby streams, hiking trails into nearby mountains, and a picnic area. Wintertime activities available include snowmobile trails and cross-country skiing. There is a public campsite available.

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Bicycle paths are emerging to connect downtowns and more rural areas with employment centers. Once completed, the multi-use Northern Rail Trail of Grafton County, NH will offer access for hiking, bicycling, skiing, horseback riding and snowmobiling.

The Appalachian Trail is a natural and recreational corridor that threads its way through the heart of Hanover, along the spine of Moose Mountain, past rural homes, between suburban developments, and right down Hanover's Main Street. Most redidents are only minutes away from the trail. The trail allows for a quick exit from the bustle of daily life in the Upper Valley.

The Monahan Valley area contains numerous hiking and skiing trials on private and public lands. Trials allow foot travel throughout the area. Wolfeboro and Cory Roads are also popular for foot travel, mountain biking and horseback riding.

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