USA
New Hampshire’s Waterfront Playgrounds
Article and photography by Randy Mink
When people think of New Hampshire, they tend to picture a land covered in forests, lakes and mountains. But on a recent four-day swing through America’s fifth smallest state, I had a chance to explore its seacoast, a slice of real estate under the radar of most tourists.
To the surprise of many, New Hampshire cradles an 18-mile stretch of Atlantic Ocean coastline between Maine and Massachusetts. My favorite place was Portsmouth, a walkable city of 22,000 just an hour or so north of Boston. A center of arts and culture, its downtown brims with historic sites, specialty shops, art galleries and smart eateries. Brick sidewalks and gaslight-style streetlamps set the tone.
On my late-August trip, I combined salty coastal breezes with fresh-water fun in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, a vacationland about 90 minutes north of Portsmouth. With kids back in school, it was a good time to explore without the summertime crowds.
An Open-Air Museum
Starting life in 1623 as an English settlement called Strawbery Banke, Portsmouth grew into a prosperous port before the Revolutionary War. It has many residences from the 18th to early 20th century, some of which can be found among the collection of restored buildings that make up Strawbery Banke Museum, a living history compound that ranks as the city’s premier visitor attraction. The original name for Portsmouth came from the wild strawberries that in late spring reddened the banks of the Piscataqua River, which flows into the Atlantic.
Many of the museum’s houses have been restored to a particular period, but not necessarily the colonial era. The 1795 Shapiro House, for example, is interpreted and furnished as the 1910 home of a Russian Jewish family, while a 1750 house is being restored to 1937-1943 when an African American family lived there. Most buildings stand in their original locations; the oldest dates from 1695.
Some of Strawbery Banke’s buildings are dedicated to exhibitions, ranging in subject matter from maritime art to the Abenaki Indians, who lived in New Hampshire for over 12,000 years. At the cooper’s shop, a skilled craftsman demonstrates the making of wooden casks, buckets and barrels, while traditional hearth cooking takes place at the 1780 Wheelwright House.
In the 1950s, the old waterfront neighborhood, a working-class area known as Puddle Dock, was targeted for urban renewal, but concerned citizens rallied to save the buildings from demolition, most of which were rundown and divided into apartments.
Communing with History in Portsmouth
My overnight in Portsmouth was spent in the circa-1800 Sailmaker’s House, an intimate hostelry with nine cozy guest rooms. Residing on a quiet street near Strawbery Banke Museum, it originally was the home of a man who made sails for ships.
Steps from my lodging were back streets to explore and downtown areas buzzing with commerce. One day I walked to the stunning flower gardens at waterfront Prescott Park. Across the river, I could see Portsmouth Navy Shipyard, which has been building and repairing ships for the U.S. Navy since 1800. I continued to Memorial Bridge and crossed over to Kittery, Maine.
Harbor cruises in Portsmouth feature lighthouses, mansions and historic forts. The Isles of Shoals cruise visits the island group resting six miles off the coast.
History really came alive on a walking tour led by a Portsmouth Historical Society guide. Sights included Market Square, the hub of downtown activity; John Paul Jones House, where the Revolutionary War hero and “Father of the American Navy” stayed for a time; and Warner House, a 1716 Georgian mansion built for a sea captain.
Portsmouth wasn’t always such an attractive place and had a reputation as a rough-around-edges port town, but a 1970s revitalization set the stage for today’s visitor-friendly city.
Downtown Portsmouth abounds with fine restaurants and chic wine bars. You’ll find locally caught fish or shellfish on almost every menu.
For my big splurge, I reserved a table at The Library, an upscale steakhouse. Ceiling frescoes, fireplaces and shelves of books accent the three elegant dining rooms in a former 1880s hotel that hosted seven U.S. presidents and now contains pricy condos.
For breakfast one morning, I savored an authentic slice of Paris at La Maison Navarre, a cafe and wine bar on Congress Street, downtown’s main drag. Run by native Parisian Victor Navarre and decorated with posters of France, it specializes in good things French—quiche, crepes, croissants and other pastries, including macarons in 16 flavors.
Before leaving the coast, I took a drive to check out other communities, fancy oceanside homes and state park beaches. Hampton Beach, a classic Atlantic seaside resort, boasts a three-mile-long boardwalk with game arcades and other amusements along with gift shops, pizza places, and stores selling ice cream, fudge and saltwater taffy.
Lake Winnipesaukee
In the Lakes Region, which counts 273 ponds and lakes, I based myself in Meredith, a tidy village at the northern end of Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire’s largest lake. Once a prosperous mill town, picturesque Meredith invites visions of yesteryear.
I stayed at the Palmer Inn at Mill Falls, one of four lakefront inns in the Mills Falls Resort Collection. Next door, a complex of shops and restaurants called Mill Falls Marketplace incorporates a 19th century building that housed part of Meredith Linen Mills. Across the road, EKAL Activity Center rents watersports equipment and offers sightseeing cruises.
With a historic walking tour map in hand, I enjoyed exploring Meredith’s Main Street, a block from the inn. Besides homes dating as far back as 1800, the neighborhood is dotted with cafes, boutiques, arts and crafts galleries, and antiques shops. White clapboard houses and a Congregational church with a stately white steeple lend a classic New England touch.
Near the town’s museum, I encountered a sculpture of the comic strip character Archie, a tribute to its creator, Bob Montana (1920-1975), who lived in Meredith for 35 years. During my walk, I also found the depot for the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, a tourist train that runs along the lake’s western shore.
Weirs Beach
From Weirs Beach the next day, I took the two-hour M/V Sophie C mail boat cruise to watch the postal carrier make deliveries to residents of Winnipesaukee’s islands. The same company operates the M/S Mount Washington, which has been doing narrated lake cruises since 1940. (The original Mount Washington steamship launched in 1872 and carried passengers until it burned and sank in 1939.)
Weirs Beach is the lake’s most famous public beach. Its commercial strip abounds with souvenir shops and restaurants. Funspot, billed as the world’s largest arcade, boasts more than 600 games (video and pinball), plus an indoor mini-golf course and 20 lanes of bowling.
Canterbury Shaker Village
A key attraction in the Lakes Region, Canterbury Shaker Village provides a peek into the lives of an industrious Christian communal group that thrived in the 19th century. Known as Shakers for their ecstatic dancing in worship, the “brothers” and “sisters” of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming dressed simply, ate their meals in silence, enjoyed music and theater, and believed in pacifism and equality of the sexes. They practiced celibacy but took in children who needed a home.
Set on a hill among rolling meadows, the outdoor museum contains 32 buildings, many of them open for tours; the oldest dates to 1792. There were separate entrances for men and women. By the early 1900s, residents were mostly women, and the last remaining sister died in 1992.
