The Granite State has plenty to offer in the Great Outdoors. Read our picks for the best outdoor attractions in New Hampshire for 2013.
BEST WATERFALL PARK
BABY FLUME & HUNTINGTON CASCADES,
Dixville
Get two waterfalls almost in one with the Baby Flume, just east of The Balsams resort, and Huntington Cascades across the street. Pack a lunch and grab a picnic table as Flume Brook pours into the Baby Flume. Then walk off your meal with an easy trek to the Huntington Cascades, which stretch 100 feet high.
Dixville Notch State Park, Route 26. 603-538-6707; nhstateparks.org
BEST BOAT RIDE
PISCATAQUA,
Portsmouth
Set sail aboard a “gundalow”: a flat-bottomed cargo barge that once dominated the waterways of the Piscataqua region 400 years ago. Help haul lobster traps, trawl for plankton, or just sit back and enjoy the sights.
Gundalow Company, 60 Marcy St. 603-433-9505; gundalow.org
BEST ROCK GARDEN
THE FELLS,
Newbury
Located on the shores of Lake Sunapee, The Fells was the summer retreat of the Hay family, including John Milton Hay (born in 1838), who served as Abraham Lincoln’s assistant private secretary and later as Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of state. Pathways meander among hundreds of alpine and rock-garden plants, nestled among lichen-covered rocks.
456 Route 103A. 603-763-4789; thefells.org
BEST WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE TRAIL
GREGG TRAIL,
Greenfield
Hikers of all abilities can look for wild turkeys and patches of wild blueberries along this 1.6-mile path (round trip) ascending to The Knoll, with an observation deck overlooking a scenic panorama, including Mount Monadnock. One of two such wilderness trails at the Crotched Mountain facility.
1 Verney Drive. 603-547-3311; crotchedmountain.org
BEST DAYTRIP
ISLES OF SHOALS,
Portsmouth
Tour the waters surrounding the nine small islands off the coast of Portsmouth (four belonging to New Hampshire, five to Maine) onboard the M/V Thomas Laighton. Choose the “Star Island Stopover” and explore one of the most famous of these islands, with views of White Island Light, a stop at the magnificent Oceanic House, and a visit to the reconstructed Gosport Village, a replica of the old fishing hamlet on this site.
315 Market St. 603-431-5500; islesofshoals.com
