Monadnock Trio: Lakeside Cemetery, Short-and-Sweet Hikes, and Movie Theatre

By Jamie Trowbridge President, Yankee Publishing There are many lakes and ponds in the region, and they all have public access. The town of Harrisville has at least 10 ponds. Even if you don’t want to go into or onto the water, the ponds in Harrisville are beautiful to look at. The center of the village, an all-brick mill town, is surrounded by water and picture-perfect. If you like old cemeteries, Harrisville’s juts out into the water. Climbing Mount Monadnock is great, but if you want an easier hike — and one that’s great for little kids — I recommend Gap Mountain in Troy. The trail up the mountain is wide and gentle, and the summit is bare, exposing a view of Monadnock that makes it look like Everest. Other rewarding, short hikes in the region are Pitcher Mountain (Stoddard) and Pack Monadnock (Peterborough). You can drive up South Pack; for that reason, I recommend North Pack — the trailhead is off Sand Hill Road in Peterborough. The Wilton Town Hall Theatre in Wilton shows interesting movies in an old-fashioned movie-theatre setting. To be truly transported back in time, attend a showing of a silent movie on the last Sunday afternoon of each month. A pianist provides the music to accompany the movie, and, to top it off, it’s free.