My wife and I will be traveling to Manchester in October. This will be our first time in New Hampshire. We are in our late twenties and enjoy sightseeing, hiking, nature, beer, the water and anything else intereting. I'd really appreciate assistance/suggestions for visiting the area in and around Manchester.

Manchester NH is an interesting old mill city on the banks of the Merrimack River. You will find some good restaurants in the old mill buildings and around town. The new Verizon Arena has sports and big events. I think a lot of the city is still a little depressed but wonderful strides have been made, esp in the old mill buildings. For hiking you might wants to head west to Mt Monadnock or further north. The White Mountains are only a little more than an hour away. Depending on the weather, you might still be able rent a canoe or kayak in a variety of locations around Concord NH. The Union Leader is published in Manchester so the Thurs and Sunday editions will give you a listing of activities throughout the state, including nightlife and music. They also have a website. Portsmouth NH is on the coast and only an hour away. This is probably a must-do visit. Portsmouth is a great walk around city with great restaurants. You can take a short cruise around the harbor or inland rivers. Personally I don't care for the Rt 101 Manchester to Portsmouth drive but like the Rt 4 from Concord to Portsmouth (you'll go thru Antique Alley in Northwood). You can also do easy hikes up Mt Kearsarge in Warner (off Rt 89 NW of Concord). Should you come during foliage season, be aware that there will be a lot of traffic on weekends. If you head to the mountains, go during the week. Have fun!

You could make a stop @ the Anheuser-Busch plant in Merrimack. They have Clydesdales and such and a brewery tour, bring a sweatshirt though as it gets cold in the plant tour. Portsmouth also has the Portsmouth Brewery downtown and serve great food and many different microbrews. I would definitely go into the White Mountains and the Kancamangus highway, hiking, nature, beautiful views. Have a great time!

Thanks for the suggestions. We are actually going to stay in Portsmouth for two nights and then spend the last few night in Nashua. While staying in Nashua we'll visit areas around and in-between Manchester.

Are you going for fall foliage? I just talked to my hubby about fall foliage for anniversary trip Oct. 15 weekend and he suggested flying into Manchester. Any itinerary suggestions?

The lakes region has some nice fall colors, Wendy. Alton Bay is a nice place to stay...check out www.bayside-inn.com or the king birch lodge.

Jedi - if you enjoy a good hike, head to Alton Bay....I think it's about a 45 min drive from Manchester.

Mt. Major/Lake Winnepesaukee/Alton: One of the most popular and fantastic views of the lake can be had from the rocky flat top of Mt. Major, which will give you an elevation gain of about 1,100 feet. Most of the hike is pretty easy, as it follows old logging roads. Toward the end as you near the summit, it becomes steeper. The last stretch can be very steep and potentially slippery when wet. The summit is wide, flat, and offers panoramic views of the entire Lakes Region. This climb is especially stunning during the fall foliage season. Total trail is about 3 miles in length and is located on Route 11 between Alton and Weirs Beach.

Wolfboro is a lovely town to visit. The Mt. Washington cruise ship does foliage tours around Lake Winni. And the Indian Museum in Warner is a good stop. I also like the previous suggestion of the A.B. tour; that's closest to your Nashua leg.
Lost River and Loon Mt in Lincoln have really nice mild "hiking" trails and caves to explore.

Hi jedivader, I have lived in Manchester for the last 25 yrs. I work in Nashua and drive by the A.B brewery every morning. One Sat. in each month, they bring the horses out for pictures. October is usually very nice, but bring a sweatshirt, it does get chilly. NH is small enough to visit the whole state in a short time. Depending on your likes, I would suggest a short visit to either Maine or Vermont, they have their own beauty as well. Feel free to e-mail me. I would be more than willing to get you maps, etc.

Jedivader - I was so glad to see Dreamer mention Wolfeboro! My parents live there, and it is a wonderful little lake town. I'm am going in a few weeks. The town has several lakes, is close to hiking (I also enjoy hiking Mt. Major when I visit).

Have a great time. It is a beautiful part of the country.

Karen

Just be aware that Manchester NH is a fairly large, not particularly attractive city surrounded by typical malls and such - ditto for Nashua. They are nice cities, but not 'charming New England'. I would head for the White Mountains, the Sunapee area, or the Peterbourogh area if you want beautiful counrtyside, hiking, etc. Portsmouth is a very interesting old harbor town that would be worth a night or two.

Zootsi's right. I would head west along Rt. 101 to Peterborough for restaurants, galleries, shopping; and to Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey for hiking, more restaurants. This is the Monadnock Region and depending on when in October you will be there, the foliage, covered bridges, etc., will be lovely.

Thanks for the assistance !

We are mainly going for the foliage and because we have never been to New Hampshire.

Manchester and Nashua are NOT places where I would choose to spend a vaction and would recommend that you skip them. They are just cities. Portsmouth is a good choice and I would second the Peterborough area, the Lakes region and the White Mts. Be aware that the foliage will peak in the mts. earlier than the southern part of the state and that full color times vary every year.

Jacqueline, you make a good point but it sounds like jedivader and his wife might want something of a night life so staying in Manchester or Nashua would be ok. During the daytime however, you are right that they need to drive out into the country side. Between Manchester and Nashua is very industrial and commercial.
Yesterday we explored some of the area between Concord and Keene. Lots of pretty country but I was starting to wonder where we would find a good stopping place. With a NH atlas we were well off the beaten path. Fortunately my husband wanted to go by the John Deere dealer in Walpole and lo and behold, there is a famous chocolate place in the quaint town of Walpole. We got some iced chocolate frappes which have nothing to do with any frappes I've ever had before. Then I think we passed only one or two restaurants until we got to Hillsboro NH.

check out www.portsmouthnh.com

The chocolates that dfrost is talking about are Burdick's, and there is a delightful place right there to have lunch too (and possibly dinner; I'm not sure). Not to mention that Walpole, home of Ken Burns, is one of the loveliest New Hampshire towns.

Thanks for all the help.

I will definitely have more questions as the trip gets closer. It sounds more and more like we should not spend too much time around Manchester.

Sorry it took so long to let everyone know how my trip went.

We had fun. At first, there seemed like there wasn't all that much to do. We drove out towards Portsmouth 2-3 times. Went to the Portsmouth Brewpub, Redhook Brewpub (tour) and the Smuttynose Brewery (tour). We spent 2.5 hours sitting at Smuttynose talking and drinking with the Brewmaster. If you are into beer, definitely call Smuttynose for a tour. We went to a pupmkin festival with thousands of lighted pumpkins. There wasn't much to do in Manchester so we drove to the White Mountains. We climbed through the Lost River, saw where the Old Man used to be and drove all around the mountains checking out the foliage. We actually saw a black bear on the side of the road. Also, stopped at Woodstock Brewing for beer and dinner. Also visited numerous covered bridges. All-in-all it was a good time.