Article Overview: New Hampshire National Parks
New Hampshire National Parks! We’ve got a few incredible national park sites for you to see on your next visit to the Granite state.
I’ve been to so many of these amazing places since retiring from teaching in 2018. Did I mention that I taught history? I spent a lifetime teaching about the history behind these momentous sites. Then I got to see them firsthand. And now I’m sharing the stories of these incredible places with you. It doesn’t get any better than that!
To be clear, these are national park sites (as in managed by the National Park Service) but they are not capital letter National Parks. There are only 63 of those (so far).
So, What Is A National Park?
We get asked that question a lot because there’s a difference between a “national park” and a “national park site.” To help you understand that difference you might want to check out our article titled: What Is A National Park Really?
One book that you might want to pick up before making your trip to the Granite State is: Explorer’s Guide New Hampshire (Explorer’s Complete) by Christina Tree.
We’re going to give you two reasons why you’ll want to make New Hampshire your next vacation destination.
While New Hampshire doesn’t have any congressionally-designated national parks it does have two national park sites. They are: the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site.
New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia.
White Sands National Park, New Mexico.
Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana.
Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri.
Pinnacles National Park, California.
1. Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Among the New Hampshire National Parks is the longest hiking trail in the world.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a marked hiking trail that runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Just how long a hike is that? Approximately 2,200 miles.
The original concept for the Appalachian Trail was the brainchild of Benton MacKaye.
MacKaye was a forester, planner and social reformer who wrote a 1921 article in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects first proposing it.
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“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”
-Henry David Thoreau
Benton MacKaye | New Hampshire National Parks
In MacKaye’s original vision, the Appalachian Trail would put back together the various parts of American life that were rapidly coming undone in the early 20th century.
It would fuse leisure and industry, environment and labor, community development and wilderness preservation into an interrelated project.
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“Let us assume the existence of a giant standing high on the skyline along these mountain ridges, his head just scraping the floating clouds.
-Benton MacKaye
What would he see from this skyline as he strode along its length from north to south?”
Giving City Dwellers An Escape | New Hampshire National Parks
MacKaye wanted to give city dwellers an escape from their humdrum urban existences. His bold proposal was nothing less than a wholesale reinvention of social life, economic organization, and land use.
The trail was built by private citizens and completed in 1937. It is managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers.
It’s a truly magnificent hiking trail traversing the scenic, wooded, pastoral and wild lands of the Appalachian Mountains.
To learn more about the man behind the Appalachian Trail, I recommend: Benton MacKaye: Conservationist, Planner, and Creator of the Appalachian Trail by Larry Anderson.
AMC’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center
Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC’s) Pinkham Notch Visitor Center in New Hampshire is at the base Mount Washington.
This place is best known for their eight “huts” that are conveniently spaced a day’s hike apart along a 56-mile-long stretch of the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
The Visitor Center is a great place for hikers to get a hot meal. The Black Moose Deli is open for lunch and family style dinners are gloriously served in the evenings.
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2. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park
Of the New Hampshire National Parks, my personal favorite is Saint–Gaudens National Historical Park.
Saint–Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire, preserves the home, gardens, and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of America’s foremost sculptors.
An Immigrant Who Rose To Greatness
Saint-Gaudens is the story of an immigrant who rose to greatness. He was born to an Irish shoemaker and his wife shortly before their relocation to New York in 1848.
Saint-Gaudens began his artistic career as a cameo cutter. In 1867, his father sent him to Paris to study with the academic sculptor François Jouffroy. He then moved back and forth between Europe and America taking jobs sculpting busts and cameos.
By the 1880s, he had graduated to public monuments.
Saint-Gaudens Purchases A Home In America
In 1885, Saint Gaudens bought a farm in Cornish, New Hampshire. He settled permanently in the United States. His residence served as both his home and his studio. It was also a place where artists could gather.
He renamed his property Aspet in honor of the French village where his father was born.
“For we constantly deal with practical problems, with moulders, contractors, derricks, stonemen, trucks, rubbish, plasterers and what-not-else, all the while trying to soar into the blue.”
-Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Self Described Choice Spirits | New Hampshire National Parks
During the summer months, a select group of artists, musicians, and actors came to Cornish. They came seeking inspiration from the New Hampshire countryside and interaction with one another. They also came to learn from Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
The art produced by the self-described “choice spirits” of Cornish helped define New England as a landscape of history and myth for all equally select group of patrons. (Source: Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Visitors Can Take Self-Guided Tours
Visitors can take self-guided tours of the grounds and galleries on their own. All of the artwork has interpretive labels. There are also exterior wayside exhibits located throughout the park and on the nature trails.
Visitors can tour the house. There are three rooms open to the public on the first floor where you can see the actual furnishings which belonged to the Saint-Gaudens Family.
Flower Gardens At Aspet
The beautiful flower gardens were designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. They are definitely worth seeing while visiting the park. There are pathways which divide the garden beds and magnificent statuary which marks the east and west ends.
Barn Complex At Saint-Gaudens Farm
Another point of interest are the farm buildings. These include a 2.5-story barn with associated shed additions, forming a U-shaped complex that opens towards the farmhouse. There is also a garage which was added in 1949.
Pond At Saint-Gaudens Farm
The beautiful pond at Saint-Gaudens was added in 1970. It’s another popular attraction for visitors to the complex.
“What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art.”
-Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Hiking Trails At Saint-Gaudens
Saint-Gaudens is a place for both art lovers and nature lovers. Over 100 acres of the park is forested with several nature trails winding through this woodland area. Interpretive wayside panels about the area’s natural history, are located along the trails.
The Ravine trail (.25 miles) begins at the Ravine studio. It ends at the Temple. The beginning and end of the trail consists of a steep slope, while the majority of the trail is flat and follows the Blow-Me-Up Brook.
The Blow-Me-Down & Sycamore Trails
The Blow-Me-Down Trail (2 miles round trip) begins at the lower field past the temple. Visitors can follow this trail all the way to the Blow-Me-Down Mill at the lower end of the park. A boardwalk near the trail’s lower end takes visitors to the shallow end of the mill pond.
The Sycamore Trail (.25 miles), a spur off of the Blow-Me-Down Trail, leads to an area frequented by beavers on the Blow-Me-Down Brook. (Source: National Park Service)
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White Mountain National Forest
Our specialty is more than just parks so we’re adding a forest to our list of incredible places to visit while in New Hampshire.
The White Mountain National Forest in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine ranges from mountainous hardwood forests to majestic alpine peaks.
It’s breathtaking scenery includes clear mountain lakes and streams, wildlife, and outdoor recreation opportunities year round.
If you’re looking to escape the crowds then keep in mind that national forests are typically much less crowded than national parks.
Things To Do At White Mountain National Forest
The 800,000 acre White Mountain National Forest is mainly located in New Hampshire though it does stretch into western Maine. There are so many incredible things for you to do during any season of the year. They include:
- Swim in cool, clear lakes and swimming holes
- Fish the forest’s rivers, lakes, and ponds
- Hike a cornucopia of waterfalls
- Climb the tallest mountain in New England (Mt. Washington)
- Or take a coach tour to the summit of Mt. Washington
- Or take a ride on the Mount Washington Cog Railway
Outdoor activities also includes bicycling, birdwatching, boating, hunting (pursuant to state regulations), gold panning and rockhounding (free permits are required), scenic driving, stargazing, and winter sports. And, you can do all of this inside of the national forest.
The People’s Forest | The Story Of The White Mountain National Forest
If you want to take a deeper explore the history of this magnificent forest there’s a wonderful documentary to watch. The People’s Forest is the story of the White Mountain National Forest.
The documentary is about one of the greatest environmental comeback stories in American history. In the late 1800s, the White Mountains were ground zero for a vast environmental disaster caused by intensive logging and the massive forest fires, erosion and flooding that followed.
The destruction of New Hampshire’s forests sparked one of the nation’s first grassroots conservation movements and a decades-long national battle over the fate of eastern forestlands.
Leading the way was a unique partnership of citizens, business and civic groups that believed conservation could benefit both the environment and economy. This is the dramatic story of how those unlikely allies helped create the first National Forests east of the Mississippi and save the White Mountains. (Source: New Hampshire Film Festival)
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Want To Learn More About New Hampshire?
If you would like to learn more about this wonderful state then check out: 10 MUST-SEE Historic Sites In New Hampshire
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail
- Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park
About The People Behind More Than Just Parks
You should probably know that we don’t just make this stuff up out of thin air. My sons have spent their entire adult lives exploring and filming America’s national parks and public lands.
We’ve worked with the National Park Service, Department of Interior, U.S. Forest Service, USDA, & countless states over the years creating films on important places and issues.
Our work has been featured in leading publications all over the world and even some people outside of our immediate family call us experts on the national parks.
Meet The Parks Brothers
We’re Jim Pattiz and Will Pattiz, collectively known as the Pattiz Brothers (and sometimes the Parks Brothers) and we absolutely LOVE the national parks.
Our goal here at More Than Just Parks is to share the beauty of America’s national parks and public lands through stunning short films in an effort to get Americans and the world to see the true value in land conservation.
We hope you’ll follow our journey through the parks and help us to keep them the incredible places that they are. If you’re interested in joining the adventure then please sign up below!
