Sports and Recreation
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Trip Ideas
- Where to Go
- The Best of Vermont
- Rumblings of Revolution
- New, New England Dining
- Boston’s Artistic Expression
- Vermont Leaf Peeping
- Into the Wild
- Vermont Skiing at Its Best
- Visit Vermont’s Maple Sugar Shacks
- Connecticut for Kids
- Vermont’s Covered Bridges
- A Shore Thing
- Vermont with Kids
- Portland Maine Art Galleries
- Small-Town Flavor
- Connecticut’s Wine Trails
- New Hampshire’s Farmers Markets
- A Weekend of Vermont Art
- Family Matters
- Maine Wilderness Camps
- Vermont Cheddar Houses
- Connecticut Spas
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Bear Brook State Park
Located a few miles east of Concord and Manchester, New Hampshire’s largest state park (157 Deerfield Rd./Rte. 28, Allenstown, 603/485-9869, www.nhstateparks.org/bearbrook.html, $4 adults, $2 children 6–12, free children under 6) has a little something for everyone—hiking and biking trails, a fitness path, boat rentals, swimming, and fly-fishing. If it sounds crowded, don’t worry—with 10,000 acres, there’s plenty of room for everyone. The park also has nearly 100 campsites ($23/day) on the wooded shores of Beaver Pond; a swimming beach is set aside exclusively for campers’ use.
Biking
The Nashua River Rail Trail (Ayer, Groton, Pepperell, Dunstable, 978/597-8802, www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/nash.htm, free) connects Massachusetts and New Hampshire with a 12-mile biking trail on a former railroad right-of-way along the banks of the river.
Canoeing
Three seasons of the year, the Merrimack River Watershed Council (600 Suffolk St., Lowell, 978/275-0120, www.merrimack.org, free) leads guided canoe trips down the Merrimack and Pemigewasset Rivers nearly every weekend from April to October. Trips range from easy to moderate; best of all, they are free.
Auto Racing
NASCAR action comes to New Hampshire several times a year at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1122 Rte. 106, Loudon, 603/783-4744, www.nhms.com). The main event is the Sylvania 300 every September.
© Michael Blanding and Alexandra Hall from Moon New England, 2nd Edition
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