Lebanon has the distinction of being classified as one of the "100 Best Small Towns in America" by author Norman Crampton. In fact, Lebanon was ranked number three of the 100 small towns contained in the book. Lebanon is a full service community and serves as the central service center for the Upper Valley. As might be expected for a community near a major university complex, many libraries, museums and a variety of cultural and arts opportunities are at the beck and call of residents. Persons residing or working in Lebanon have a wide range of housing options open to them, with something available to just about every taste, living style, or pocketbook, from modern, in-town garden apartments to traditional, single-family homes to old farmhouses out in the country. Lebanon is characterized by ridgelines, surrounding the bottomlands of the Mascoma and Connecticut Rivers, that are accented by a number of prominences giving Lebanon's terrain a strong, undulating form. The Mascoma River serves a dual role of linking the eastern and western ends of the City and of partitioning the north from the south. The Connecticut River serves as a landmark that defines the City limits on the west and ties the northwest section of Lebanon with the southwest corner. The climate consists predominantly of mild, sunny summers and cold, snowy winters. The average rainfall is 35.6 inches, and the average annual snowfall is 76 inches with a continuous coverage range of 92 days per season. Average temperatures in January: high - 30, low - 8; for July: high - 81, low - 53. Elevation: 562 The town has a zoning ordinance. Contact the Town Clerk's office for more information. 1999 Local Property Tax (per $1000) was $30.89 The school budget for 2000/01 was $20,542,306 The city budget for 2000 was $28,157,430. United States Postal Service, 44 Lafayette St., Lebanon, NH 03766 Phone: (603) 643-2638 Fax : (603) 643-3202 Norwich, Vermont - Recreation Housing (1998) Single-Family Units 2,625 Building Permits Issued 6 Multi-Family Units 3,018 Building Permits Issued 36 Mobile Homes 305   the area location labor market utilities services & businesses education history recreation events The population of Lebanon in 1998 was 12, 768. Town Size: 37 Square Miles Location   Lebanon is located in the west central area of New Hampshire on the Connecticut River border with Vermont. It lies between Claremont to the south and Hanover to the north. Lebanon is characterized by ridge lines, surrounding the bottom lands of the Mascoma and Connecticut Rivers, that are accented by a number of prominences, giving Lebanon’s terrain a strong, undulating form. The Mascoma River serves a dual role of linking the eastern and western ends of the City and of partitioning the north from the south. The Connecticut River serves as a landmark that defines the City limits on the west and ties the northwest section of Lebanon with the southwest corner. Elevations range from 340 to 1,336 feet above sea level. Distances Manchester, NH 83 miles Boston, MA 125 miles New York, NY 302 miles Montreal, PQ 205 miles   Transportation Road Access Federal Route 4; State Routes 10,12A, 120 Nearest Interstate I-89, Exits 17-20 Public Transportation Advance Transit Nearest Airport Lebanon Municipal AMTRAK service from White River Junction, Vermont Vermont Transite Bus service from White River Junction, Vermont     Labor Market Hartford, VT to Lebanon, NH   While Lebanon's dominant employment is governmental, educational, and medical, the city has acquired a reputation as a good location for industry and is now home to more than 30 industries with employment of more than 2.500 persons. Those numbers are expected to increase in the next two decades. The Unemployment Rate in 1999 was 1.1%, down from 3.9% in 1990. Area Income in 1990 Per Capita Income: $15,012 Median 4 Person Family Income $40,745 Median Household Income $32,221 Professional services is the largest sector of the Lebanon economy, followed by retail/wholesale, then manufacturing. The City is the retail shopping center for the region having five shopping plazas. Company Name # of Employees Product or Service Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center 5000 Medical Center & Clinic Timken Corporation 815 Ball and Roller bearings Lebanon School District 340 Education Thermal Dynamics 325 Plasma cutting torches Alice Peck Day 315 Hospital City of Lebanon 155 Municipality Tally Systems Corporation 120 Software Luminescent Systems, Inc. 170 Electroluminescent lights Fluent, OMI 216 Software   Utilities   Of the 5,020 parcels in Lebanon, 47% are served by municipal sewer and water, 10% are served by water only, and 1% is served by sewer only. Granite State Electric provides electrical service. Bell Atlantic provides telephone service. Frontiervision provides television cable service. There are numerous Internet Service Providers in the area. The area is also served by a number of companies providing propane gas and heating oil. The city has its own professional police force and fire department. The Medical Facilities in the area are: Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital - a 32-bed facility with 50-bed nursing home. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center - a newly constructed 429-bed medical center, with medical school. Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center - located approximately 20 miles away. Police and Fire Department Contact Information Lebanon Police Department Lebanon Fire Department 36 Poverty Lane   Lebanon, NH 03766 Lebanon, NH 03755 Tel: (603) 448-8800 Tel: (603) 448-8810 E-mail: training@lebcity.com E-mail: fire@lebcity.com EMERGENCY NUMBER: 911     City Clerk Tel: (603) 448-3054 Lebanon, NH 03755 E-mail: clerk@lebcity.com   width="50%">Lebanon, NH 03755

E-mail: clerk@lebcity.com

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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