Around New England

Here it is, time to start thinking about the holidays already.  This week we discuss cutting down our own Christmas Tree in the White Mountain National Forest. 

There are some rules that must be followed by the White Mountain National Forest.  We also talk about it in our blog on the website.  

We  recommend stopping in at the White Mountain Visitor Center to pick up your permit and to get some helpful tips on where to go.  The people working there were super friendly and will answer any questions your might have.  It's located right off Exit 32 on route 93 in NH.  There are many other attractions in that area to check out.

Some important items to bring are a saw, clippers, rope or ratchet straps, gloves, and be sure to wear your hunters orange as it is probably going to be prime hunting season.

We also mention some great programs for elementary school aged kids to participate in.  Every Kid Outdoors is for national lands and waters.  Ski NH Passport is the one for 4th and 5th graders to get great deals on skiing!

Depending on where you end up getting your tree, there are so many great places to grab food or a drink.  On our trip, we joined some other people who also got their tree at Tuckerman Brewery in Conway.  If you end up near Littleton, we suggest Schilling Beer Co!  Both spots have great pizza and beers!

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This week we hike Mount Sunapee in Newbury, NH.  The summit is located within the Mount Sunapee State Park.  

The hike was around 6.5 miles roundtrip with almost 1,700 feet of elevation gain.  We hiked the Andrew Brook Trail.  One of the highlights of this trail is Lake Solitude along the way.  The lake is 2 miles from the parking lot.  It is a beautiful destination on its own but we highly recommend continuing the other 1.2 miles to the summit!  Along the way you pass over an overlook of Lake Solitude.  

Continue from the lake up to the summit.  On the day we went up, the chairlift was running for tourists to sightsee.  There was even a yoga class finishing up!  The lodge at the summit was open, and we were grateful it was as one of us forgot the sandwiches!  The Summit Cafe was very good, and surprisingly affordable.  

We attempted to grab a coffee at Sweet Beet Market & Cafe.  Don't make the same mistake we did...Get there before 2.  The market is adorable and the cafe is a small section of the market.

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Join us this week as we check out a quick and easy 2 mile roundtrip hike to Moxie Falls in West Forks, Maine.  This is one of Maine's tallest waterfalls at around 90 feet tall! 

We hiked this one on the way home from Non-Moosehead Lake (as Mike calls it now).  The ride out there from Greenville, Maine was rugged to say the least.  15 miles of dirt roads with no cell service and no civilization around at all.  We still didn't see any moose!  

The hike itself is pretty straightforward, the trail is very well worn with dirt and a few roots to watch out for.  There aren't really any other trails out there so it's hard to get lost if you stay on trail.  There is a boardwalk as you approach the falls, and there are viewing platforms as well.  It gets busy, so go early.  

If you want to take a dip, take the only branch off the trail about 100 yards downstream of the falls.  It leads to a quiet and beautiful swimming hole.  This trail is much more rugged than the main trail to the falls but is not difficult.  It's worth checking out too.

After the hike, check out Confluence Cafe they had great coffee drinks and sweet treats.  It's like a little food truck and their space off the road is so cute!  Check them out!

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Join us this week as we add another Maine hike to our favorite hike catalog, Mount Kineo!  This small island on Moosehead Lake is only accessible by boat.  There is a ferry that cost $15 per person to get over there.  There is also a 9 hole golf course on this island that Mike is slightly obsessed about playing one day!  The gem of the island is the 700 foot cliffs that make up Mount Kineo.

There are two trails that go to the summit.  The bridal trail is less steep but a little longer than the Indian Trail.  We took the Indian Trail despite hearing it was kind of scary with some drop offs along the way.  They were not that bad!  It was definitely worth taking the steeper trail for the views.  We did the 6 mile loop all the way around the island.  If you just go up and down Bridal or Indian Trails, it is a little over 3 miles roundtrip.  We also recommend hiking around the whole island on the North Trail and the Carriage Trail.  This brings you by the campsite, Hardscrabble Point.  There is a bathroom here which is handy on this longer hike!  The only other bathroom is at the clubhouse on the golf course. 

There is a lot of cool history here too, like 3 different hotels that all ended in fires!  Listen to the episode to learn more history about Mount Kineo.

After hiking, we went to the Stress Free Moose Pub in Greenville, Maine.  It was very good, which was nice since there isn't a lot of choices in this area.  We would highly recommend going here.

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Join us this week as we go to Milton Massachusetts to Blue Hill Reservation.  We did a rain-shortened 4 mile loop that should have hit the summit of Great Blue Hill.  As soon as we were as far away from the car as possible, the rain came down and didn't stop until after we finished the hike.  We still had fun!  

The reservation is dog-friendly (on leash) in most areas.  We brought our dog and she loved it, until the rain.  

Next time we want to try Steel & Rye in Milton but they were closed.  We ended up at Glasser Coffee Co in Brighton, MA.

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Join us this week as we bike the Franconia Notch Recreation Trail from the parking lot for the Flume to Echo Lake Beach.  

This path is gorgeous and stops at all the attractions that are on the parkway.  There is so much we have done in this area, check out the Around New England Website for more ideas to do in the Franconia Notch area.

After we grabbed some of our new favorite iced coffee drinks around.  We went back to Pure & Brave Coffee for the iced golden maple latte.  They serve them in a can which is super convenient!

Some other places we would recommend when in the area are:

Mad River Coffee Roasters

Cafe Monte Alto located in Chase Street Market

Biederman's

Woodstock Inn & Brewery

Shillings Brewery

Crum Bum Bakery

Littleton Freehouse Taproom

Some places we can't wait to try.... Have you been to any?

Black Mountain Burger

Five Main on the River

Little Red Schoolhouse

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This week we go to Lyndenborough New Hampshire, to hike the Purgatory Falls Trail before checking out the amazing Chunki Chip cookies in nearby Milford!  

The trail is about 5.5 miles with about 300 feet of elevation gain.  The trail has three main waterfall attractions.  The lower and upper falls are fun spots to check out for a dip to cool off!  Listen to the podcast to get the best parking options for each attraction.  

There is no fee to hike here, just get there early as the parking lot is rather small.  There are no bathrooms, and everything is carry-in/carry-out of course.  The trail is nice but there are a lot of roots to watch out for in sections.  The marking isn't great, we followed the yellow blazes.

After we got 4 amazing cookies at Chunki Chip!  We had the Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Cookie Monster, and the Birthday Cake cookies.  None disappointed.  These are like no other cookies around.  You don't have to wait to be in the area.  The even Ship Nationwide!!  Check them out!

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This week we check out a fun walk around Haverhill's first and largest park,  Winnekenni Park in Haverhill, MA.  This park is located not far off 495 and has something for everyone.  It's really not too far from Ski Bradford which is a hidden gem of a learning ski mountain.  This park has over 700 acres to explore!

The hike around the pond is called the Winnekenni Shoreline Loop.  It's a lot of fun if you are up for an easy 4.5 mile hike.  If you don't want to do the walk (or aren't able to), you can drive up the road to check out Winnekenni Castle.  The castle was built with the stones from the property!  On the hike, be sure to keep your eye out for the glacial drumlins!  

After this hike we went to Roasted Coffee Bar for some coffee and baked goods.  Oh boy!  Their selection of buns were amazing.  We tried an original roll (like a sweet cinnamon bun) and a Nutella roll.  Their chocolate chip cookie was good too!  This place also had breakfast and lunch food that looked amazing.  We need to go back for some of that when we don't have the dog!  

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Join us this week as we head back to Vermont to hike Mount Ascutney.  We hiked the Weathersfield Trail.  This dog-friendly hike leads to great views from the observation tower at the summit (will this be the one Mike actually goes up?), the west peak, and even has a hang gliding platform that is actually used!  There are also cascades that are visible when the water is flowing.

The trail is very well maintained by the Ascutney Trail Association (ATA).  There is also an auto road that will take you within .4 miles of the hang glider platform and the summit firetower, although it is a little bit of a hike with elevation gain.  

After our hike, we enjoyed a great lunch at Brownsville Butcher and Pantry!  This place is a 10/10!  Their food is great, they have good coffee drinks, and soft serve ice cream.  The store attached to the butcher has great beer selections including Non Alcoholic Zero Gravity Craft Brewery.  They also carry the Vermont classic, Heady Topper!  Be sure to check them out after hiking this cool trail.  

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This week Mike and Pemi did a solo hike in the Seacoast area of New Hampshire while G was away for the weekend. 

This quick tour talks about the highlights of Stratham Hill Park.  It's super dog-friendly and has 10 miles of trails!  We did the 5 mile loop and it was great. 

This park is located near Portsmouth as well as Hampton and Exeter.  If you are staying nearby, plan on spending a little time here!  The trails can be tricky to navigate if you want to venture out far, so using AllTrails app was nice.  

There are a series of exercise platforms that you can utilize on this hike.  It was buggy the day we did this, but the trails we not muddy.  They could be muddy if there had been rain, so plan accordingly.  

Other nearby hikes that are great are the Great Bay Estuary and Odiorne Point State Park.

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