Advice and help for New Hampshire weekend trips during Aug.
 

I will be working in Lowell, Ma. during the month of Aug. My wife and I are trying to plan 4 weekend trips in the area. I will be able to see Boston, Portsmouth, and other close points during the week. We will have a rental car and plan to by leaving Lowell on a Sat. morning (before 7 Am.) and returning late Sun. We enjoy seeing museums, shopping, nice drives, very easy walks (wife has bad knees), nice local food (both high end and road side stops). We have stayed in both B& Bs and hotels. I would rather spend my $$ on a meal than a room. With all that info, please advice on these four weekend trips: Travel time in Aug. will decide lunch times, thoughts about lunch, dinner and a place to stay. I have looked at several reports about staying in the various towns. Maybe, there is no new info about the B&Bs and or hotels.

Trip #1:
This will start from the Manchester airport area. We will fly in on a late Friday flight and get a rental early Sat. I ‘m planning on going to the White Mt. this weekend because we can start from Manchester.

Manchester to Woodstock

Woodstock to Bretton Woods …is the cog railroad worth the time or should I drive up
via way of later via way of Jackson

Bretton Woods to Bartlett

Bartlett to Glen

Glen to Jackson would like to spend the night in this area.

Jackson to North Conway …Shopping

North Conway to Lincoln via Kancamagus Hwy

Lincoln to Lowell, Ma. (118 miles)

Trip #2
Lake Region
I have no clue if this is the best loop to see the lake region. Seems like Holderness, Center Sandwich, and Tamworth might be best to stay for Sat. night.

Again leave Sat.

Lowell to Wolfeboro (88 miles)

Wolfeboro to Meredith (via Alton Bay and Gilford)

Meredith to Holderness and then best way to Center Sandwich

What would be the best way back to Lowell on Sunday afternoon?

Trip #3
Dartmouth and Lake Sunapee

Again leave Sat.

Lowell to Warner …taking the Lake Sunapee Scenic Drive from Warner to Georges Mills

Georges Mills to New London

New London to Hanover via I -89 - stay the night in the Hanover area (Hotels and B&Bs?)
Is the drive going north on RT 10 to Littleton worth the time?

Sun: Drive down to Cornish and see the Augustus Saint-Gaudens house and gardens. I think on Sundays in Aug they have a concert in the gardens. Has anyone done this ?After the concert we will drive back to Lowell

What might be the best way home?

Trip # $

Plan to go to Portland Me. for the weekend. (100 miles) This is covered very well in other posts.


Thanks for taking the time to read this and give me advice.

You've got all that very well organized.

First, highly recommend "New Hampshire, An Explorer's Guide". Chock full of everything imaginable with plenty of tips, recommendations, dining, scenic drives, places to stay, etc., not found in other tour guides.

Just my opinions, but

You might want to swap Sunapee for #1, as it's closer, a smaller area, with less to explore. I think it would be better to have two nights in the White Mountains.

In addition to the Kancamagus, Routes 2 and 302 are as scenic and will take you through the notches - which are breathtaking - the more notches the better!

We've gone up Mount Washington every which way. Didn't care for the Cog Railway. Lots of soot and fumes from coal engines, and the treck is more than a bit scary in both directions. Didn't much like driving ourselves either. Not too bad going up, but the ride down and taking care not to burn the brakes...Our favorite was riding up in the van. Those drivers are experienced at driving up and down and provide interesting history and amusing commentary. You can sit back and relax and enjoy the scenery in both directions. And, they drive you right to the top. Otherwise, you have to hike up a hill from the train depot or the parking lot.

Bretton Woods is still a terrific destination for the scenery (Crawford Notch) and a look at the Mount Washington Hotel (and lunch there if you can).

If you want to visit Littleton, a lovely town for a stroll, bit of shopping, and a few really fine dining spots with reasonable prices, it's more convenient while visiting the White Mountains.

You can easily drive a circular route all around the mountains in half a day, with stops, then drive another back. Or, a zig zag...all in one day.

As for Lake W, lodging is pricey because the season is so short, and there's not as much right on the lake as you would presume. And, you might want to see what concerts are scheduled at Meadowbrook, a terrific outdoor venue. No matter where you stay, you can easily drive around the lake in half a day, with stops. You might run into two night minimum stay requirements. A must-do is an afternoon cruise on the Mount Washington. We enjoy the dinner cruises as well (great music!).

Except for Sunapee, highly recommend two night stays, if you can. You'll be able to see so much more. If you're economizing by staying only Saturday night, with diligent shopping you can stay two nights for the price of one.

For example, the Eastlander in Portland regularly comes up on Hotwire for low rates.

And, Hanover is very expensive for lodging. White River Junction or Lebanon would be more economical.

B&B's are no longer the bargain. And, with no privacy, poor soundproofing, dreadful plumbing, stingy breakfasts (no choice, served only from 7-7:30), and lists of "rules", and so on, well, we've given up on them.

Just a thought...we try to plan our route so we're not driving with the sun in our eyes.

Note that there is also outlet shopping in Tilton, NH. And, there's no sales tax in NH.

You might want to have a look at www.visitnh.gov - check for festivals and craft shows you might find of interest. For example, there's a magnificent craft show in Newbury (Sunapee Region) and this year the dates are August 2-10. See

http://www.nhcrafts.org/craftsmens_f...smensfair.html


Feel free to e-mail me [email protected] for lodging recommendations.

This sounds like a great plan for the month. I love NH (especially the White Mountains) and visit often from Lowell where we live.

I hope you will also have time to do a few things in Lowell itself like a canal tour or take in the Boarding House Park summer Music series.

Have a great time.

Hi,

My parents live in Wolfeboro, and when my family goes up there for Xmas, my aunt and uncle stay at the Wolfeboro Inn, which they like. Their restaurant is pretty good. There are several B&Bs too, but I haven't been to them.

It's a great little town!

Thank you all for the fast reply. This forum is just great! I have already ordered the tour book. After I get a chance to study the book, I may come back and ask some more detailed questions. djkbooks, your info was just what I needed. Nice to know the driving time around the lake and mountains. Really, all the info that everyone gave has been of great help. Please
feel free to add more at any time.
thanks again..

Although you asked for suggestions for weekend trips, I thought I would recommend attending a Lowell Spinners Single A baseball game. The games are great fun even if you are not a baseball fan. The stadium is right down town and standing room tickets are as cheap as $4 - the expensive tickets are $7.

Also Lowell is hosting a summer music festival with lots of good acts. We are going to see the Saw Doctors - a really fun Irish rock band.

Lowell Memorial Auditorium is another venue for concerts.

www.lowellsummermusic.org

It might be worth it to buy a NH State Atlas and Gazetteer which provides detailed maps of NH roads, shows covered bridges, waterfalls, etc. Bookstores should have it. We use it to find alternate routes away from traffic.

Trip #2
Lake Region
I have no clue if this is the best loop to see the lake region. Seems like Holderness, Center Sandwich, and Tamworth might be best to stay for Sat. night. Again leave Sat.
Lowell to Wolfeboro (88 miles)
Wolfeboro to Meredith (via Alton Bay and Gilford)
Meredith to Holderness and then best way to Center Sandwich
What would be the best way back to Lowell on Sunday afternoon?

Center Sandwich is very small but very lovely. If you can find a place to stay on Squam Lake – that would be ideal for peace and quiet. There’s a summer theater in Tamworth, also in Meredith if you wanted to stay convenient to the theater. There’s a very small ice cream/cheese place at the Sandwich Creamery. You will need directions to find. See their website. We have not been to the Remick Museum in Tamworth but they seem to have interesting programs. You don’t have a lot of choices for routes from Holderness to Center Sandwich. This is very rural despite proximity to the big lake (Lake Winnipesaukee). Your speediest way back to Lowell would be Rt 93 from Meredith but expect heavy traffic heading south. However, you could get off to shop at the Tilton outlet mall (exit 20) then proceed south on Rt 3 to the town of Boscawen. There’s a casual barbecue place. Keep driving straight but ignore signs for Rt 93, drive over bridge over Merrimack River (there’s a canoe rental place also small herb garden nursery at Hannah Dustin). Turn right onto Mountain Rd. This is a pretty drive that parallels Rt 93. You can get back on Rt 93 at exit 16. BTW you might want to spend Sunday afternoon touring Shaker village in Canterbury NH. Beautiful and interesting. If so, after crossing river turn left following signs to Canterbury.
If you want a free concert Sunday at 6pm in Tilton, bring a picnic supper and lawn chairs. Each week is different type of music. Savinia-Hartwell Memoral.

Trip #3
Dartmouth and Lake Sunapee
Again leave Sat.Lowell to Warner …taking the Lake Sunapee Scenic Drive from Warner to Georges Mills - Georges Mills to New London
New London to Hanover via I -89 - stay the night in the Hanover area (Hotels and B&Bs?)
Is the drive going north on RT 10 to Littleton worth the time?
Sun: Drive down to Cornish and see the Augustus Saint-Gaudens house and gardens. I think on Sundays in Aug they have a concert in the gardens. Has anyone done this ?After the concert we will drive back to Lowell
What might be the best way home?
Start your scenic drive sooner. (Hope you get on the road early!) Get off Rt 93 at exit 13, turning left to head into downtown Concord. When you get to the shopping district, turn left onto Pleasant St. There’s a Foodie’s Pizza place on corner. This becomes Rt 103 and will take you thru nice towns of Hopkinton, Contoocook and Warner. In Contoocook you could stop at the farmer’s market (Sat am) for a slice a pie. Keep going to Warner. We have not been to Kearsarge Indian Museum but have heard great reviews. You could take road to top of Mt Kearsarge (walk to top) but from New London you could head toward Andover. There’s a road to a small state park which has terrific views looking toward Sunapee. Fee to enter park. Hike to summit from this side is very steep. Great view and picnic area just from parking area. Also in the area is Musterfield Farm in Sutton. Around the third weekend in August Old Farming Days are held to demonstrate how things used to be done. The farm is very beautiful with active vegetable stand. Antique tractors and equipment for the weekend. Usually also have a Revolutionary War encampment. Some old buildings were moved in i.e. schoolhouse. This is a little known gem.
I would visit Littleton in conjunction with White Mountains trip. Not far across the border of VT is the Great Vermont Corn Maze in Danville. Very rural area but great fun. Very well done maze and very challenging. We did not care for cog railroad because of smoke and so little time at the top. The van recommendation is probably great.
Hope you have a great visit!

Near Dartmouth/St. Gaudens site is the Enfield Shaker museum which is in a lovely spot on a small lake (Mascoma). I personally find it more interesting/relaxing than Lake Sunapee
http://www.shakermuseum.org/history.htm

There used to be an inn connected to the museum but it has closed. I believe there are some B &B's

As noted on another post, you should be sure to do some of the tours at the Lowell National Historic Park while you are there

A great corner of the state not mentioned yet is Peterborough, NH. It's about one hour from Lowell. It's a lovely drive to get there too.
Great boutique restaurants and shops, upscale artsy town, and beautifully scenic to explore the area by car.
Check out The Peterborough Players - a superb acting group that performs only in the summer. Quality of performance is comparable to NYC.
Great weekend getaway area if you want to spend more time doing things and less time driving.
You can see/do a lot without having to do a lot of walking.