The American Hiking Society has designated June 1 as National Trails Day; but with thousands of miles of hiking trails through New Hampshire’s State Parks, you could make every day Trails Day, by hiking a different path.
There are 25 State Parks in New Hampshire and 1200 miles of trails to say nothing of 1300 lakes, ponds and streams and the 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest. All of them protect wilderness wonders and unspoiled views because they’ve some of the oldest natural preserves in the country
Try the route New Hampshire’s only President, Franklin Pierce took with his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the White Mountains. Or relax in the rocking chairs on the front porch of the Hanover Inn at Dartmouth. Visitors to Hanover “hike” the Appalachian Trail each time they walk along Wheelock or Main Street. A bronze plaque identifying the Trail that was placed by members of the Dartmouth Class of 1952 is embedded in the sidewalk within site of those chairs. The Appalachian Trail traverses New Hampshire from the Connecticut River at Hanover in the west, past the Androscoggin River and Berlin in the east on its 2,180 mile route from Georgia to Maine.
Or drive the scenic 100-mile loop of the White Mountains Trail. But be sure to pull off the road at one of the trailheads to hike one of the many easy trails along the way
