Away from the Crowds in New Hampshire

In Brookline, the Andres Institute of Art and Sculpture Garden features around 100 sculptures created by artists from all over the world that decorate the surrounding hiking trails. The stone and sculptures sit on and around Potanipo Hill.

Lincoln, New Hampshire, has a glacial pothole called the Basin. This is a 30-foot-wide, 15-foot-deep bowl formed from a torrent of rushing water pouring down the face of a granite cliff. The falls are formed by the Pemigewasset River in Franconia Notch State Park. In 1839, when the American essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau saw the Basin, he called it "perhaps the most remarkable curiosity of its kind in New England."

Manchester has Cat Alley, a public gallery of feline art. Formerly known as “Dean Court,” this little side street became the place to see street art featuring cats. A local realtor and a local artist working together created this urban art gallery and got a historical plaque installed.

Clark’s Trading Post is a popular attraction in Lincoln. It opened in 1928 as a roadside attraction featuring black bears. Besides the animal shows here, there is a lot to see, like the coin-operated player pianos.

The place is best known for its Bear Show, where trained bears perform various tricks, and its steam-powered train rides. The turn-of-the-century Main Street has a firehouse, a car garage, and an ice cream parlor.

New Boston has the interesting and unusual Frog Rock, a popular 19th-century natural landmark. (pictured above) Frog Rock sits deep within the Frances Hildreth Towne Memorial Forest in dense vegetation. This large boulder is roughly 10 feet tall and, when viewed from a certain angle, looks remarkably like a frog.

In Lyndeborough, legend has it that Purgatory Falls was the waterfall most used as a kitchen by Satan. It says that the Devil invited a number of churchmen to a bean cookout at the falls. While cooking the beans directly by the fires of Hell, the pot melted the surrounding rock, and as a result, the Devil got his foot stuck. Today among the upper falls, a large hole in the rock is known as “The Devil’s Bean Pot,” and nearby is an indentation in stone known as “The Devil’s Footprint.”

Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary in Amherst is a place to commune with nature. It has rare plants and unique fauna. The name of this sanctuary was derived from the poem “Hiawatha” by Longfellow and translates to “land of the hereafter.” The bog here is a “kettle hole pond.” A three-acre pond surrounded by diverse forest types, including birch, maple, oak, and pine A loop trail is supported by “bog boardwalks.”

You’ll find the Robert Frost Farm in Derry, where the famous poet from New Hampshire lived from 1900 to 1911. It is included in the National Register of Historic Places. It is a peaceful place with walking trails. There are ghost stories associated with this place and such legends as the moving doll and the haunted upstairs room.

In Cornish, the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park includes the summer home and final residence of American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The Cornish Art Colony was established here in the early 20th century, lasting through World War I, and today the site maintains a Sculptor-in-Residence program.

The historic site is made up of both his house and studios, a tribute to his collection with casts of many of his famous pieces and original works.

Sculptured rocks lie in a narrow canyon carved by the river in Hebron. Crossing the short bridge, you can see amazing shapes carved in these rocks. All of these are impressive natural sculptures carved through the years by the Cockermouth River. Along the river are places for swimming. Among the other highlights is the waterfall at the bridge.

In Jackson the Thompson Falls is a cascading waterfall in the White Mountains. It is located near the base of the Wildcat Mountain Ski Area in northern New Hampshire. It was discovered and named by the landscape artist Benjamin Champney of the White Mountain School in the mid-19th century. In 2011, the Thompson Falls Trail became an official trail of the White Mountain National Forest. The lowest tier of the falls features a deep swimming pool.

Wentworth by the Sea is an abandoned hotel once used for the film “In Dreams.” It is located in New Castle. The film was based on the 1993 book “Doll’s Eyes” by Bari Wood. The title of the film comes from a popular Roy Orbison song. The movie revolves around a woman whose psychic connection to a child killer tragically entangles her family and buffets her sanity. In the film it was known as the Carlton Hotel. In reality it is the Wentworth by the Sea, built in 1874 on the bridge-accessible island of New Castle. Today it has been renovated and reopened as a resort hotel.