There is no place like the great state of NH. There is just so
much to see and experience here. Below is a list of 35 fun things to
do in New Hampshire.
1. Hike
Mount Monadnock- Mount Monadnock
is 5,000 plus acres that is located in Jaffrey. Mount
Monadnock is 3,165 feet high and filled with 40 miles of maintained
foot trails. It has been said that Mount Monadnock is the 2nd
most hiked mountain in the entire world.
2. Attend a Monarchs game- The Manchester Monarchs is NH’s own
hockey team. They formed in 2000 and played their very first
game on 11/16/2001 in which they won.
3. Visit the Old Man in the Mountain- At the base of Cannon Mountain
lays a museum that is dedicated to this NH icon. The Old Man
fell in 2003.
4. Go antiquing-
NH's Antique Alley is located on
route 4 and covers 4 towns: Northwood, Lee, Epsom and
Chichester.
5. Go sugar shacking- There are many sugar shacks in NH where you
can see how pure
maple syrup is made. The best time to do is
in March during maple sugaring season. My favorite place to go
is The Sugar Shack in Barrington.
6. Head to the races- Twice a year,
NASCAR’s finest hit New Hampshire Motor
Speedway in Loudon. They come once in the summer
and one in the fall during the chase.
7. Go to the local fairs- Fair season in NH runs from July to
October. It starts with the Stratham Fair and ends with the
Sandwich Fair.
8. Experience
Bike Week in Laconia. Bike Week
is something most NH bikers look forward to each June. It
lasts 10 days, is held in Laconia and attracts thousands of bikers.
9. Go pumpkin watching- Each October in Keene, thousands of pumpkins
light up the sky. It is an annual event that broke a record in
2003 with 28,952 lit pumpkins that are creatively carved.
10. Visit a covered bridge- There are around 59 covered bridges
located throughout NH.
11. Go leaf peeping- The
leaf peeping season peaks in New
England in October each year. Enjoy the beautiful rich colors
of red, orange and yellow. My favorite area to view the fall
foliage is Route 116 from Franconia Notch through the Easton Valley.
12. Be a penguin for a day- Each year in February, a group of people
don their bathing suits and take a dip in the ocean to benefit the
Special Olympics with The Penguin Plunge.
13. Take a ride on the
Kancamagus Highway- The
Kancamagus Highway runs from Conway to Lincoln and stretches over 34
miles long. It is a beautiful ride to see some amazing
scenery.
14. Go outlet shopping- There are 2 major outlet shopping areas in
the state. One is located in Tilton called Tanger Outlets and
one is in North Conway.
15. Go kayaking- My favorite place to go kayaking is Pawtuckaway
State Park in Nottingham. The lake offers small islands to
navigate and very little boat traffic to deal with.
16. Pick fruits- In June, you can pick delicious strawberries.
In July and August, you can pick raspberries and blueberries and in
September and October you can pick some of the best apples around.
17. Go ride the horses- There are several places to hit the trails
with a guide and a horse. My favorite place is Greenwood
Stables in Derry.
18. Head to the Casino Ballroom- The Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
has had some famous acts in concert such as Led Zeppelin and The
Doors. The casino has been in business for over 100 years.
19. Ride the gondola- Loon Mountain is the best place for the most
scenic gondola rides. The gondola takes you up 3,050 feet to
the top of Loon Mountain. Loon Mountain is located in Lincoln.
Another great place to ride gondolas is Cannon Mountain in
Franconia. On a nice day, you can view other states such as
Maine and Vermont and even Canada.
20. Attend a town hall meeting- NH has a long history of small town
values. Each spring, many town meetings are held throughout
the state. Let your voice be heard by attending your local
town hall meeting.
21. Visit the Clydesdales- Anheuser Busch’s beautiful Clydesdale
horses are an icon of the famous Anheuser Busch Brewery in
Merrimack. You can get a free tour of the brewery while you
are there.
22. See a one room schoolhouse- Located in East Washington, the one
room schoolhouse was built in 1849. There are two other one
room schoolhouses in the state that are fully functional. The
Alexandria Village School in Bristol and the East Village School in
Croydon. There is a
haunted one room schoolhouse in Epsom.
Other one room schoolhouses exist throughout the state.
23. Go star gazing- The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is
located in Concord and is the only planetarium in the state.
24. Attend a concert- NH has some great concert venues throughout
the state. The two big venues are the Meadow U.S. Cellular
Pavilion in Gilford which is an outdoor venue and The Verizon
Wireless Arena in Manchester which in an indoor venue.
25. Create your own sundae- Head over to the Kellerhaus in Weirs
Beach where you can make your own sundae with their sundae bar.
They have so many toppings to choose from like favorite’s
butterscotch, nuts, hot fudge and whipped cream.
26. Hike to a
NH waterfall- NH has hundreds of
gorgeous waterfalls.
27. Spend an afternoon with the bears- Head over to Clark’s Trading
Post in North Woodstock. Murray Clark and his family have been
providing bear shows for over 70 years. The trained black
bears put on an amazing show.
28. Catch a movie at the Drive-ins- There are only two drive-in
movie theaters in the state: Milford Twin in Milford and Weirs
in Weirs Beach.
29. Take in the flowers at Prescott Park- Prescott Park is located
in the heart of Portsmouth NH.
In the summer, it is full of gorgeous flowers. There are
benches to sit on not only to view the flowers but to enjoy the
stunning waterfront as well. Strawberry Banke is also nearby.
30. Place your bets at the Seabrook Greyhound Park in Seabrook, the
Hinsdale Greyhound Park in Hinsdale and The
Lakes Region Greyhound Park in Belmont make for
an exciting Sunday afternoon. If horses
are more your thing, then head over to the
Rockingham Park in Salem.
31. Take a ride on the roller coaster- Canobie Lake Park is NH’s
only permanent amusement park. The Corkscrew Coaster is just
like your normal everyday corkscrew complete with all the twists and
turns.
32. Catch a play- The Barnstormers Summer Theatre is located in
Tamworth and the Peterborough Players are in the town of
Peterborough.
33. Make your own beer- At Incredibrew in Nashua you can make your
very own beer. They have been doing this since 1995.
34. See a sub- The U.S.S. Albacore is a real Navy submarine.
It was decommissioned in 1953 and is open to the public at Albacore
Park in
Portsmouth NH.
35. Visit the stones- America’s Stonehenge is located in Salem and
is the oldest man-made construction in the United States.
