Monadnock Region — Quintessential New England

The Monadnock Region is the epitome of New England picture books. You will find small villages where white clapboard churches and town halls edge manicured town greens. Rolling fields with neatly planted rows quilt the hillsides and country roads lined by rock walls inspire exploration at a leisurely pace. The views compare with something by Currier and Ives with the backdrop of Mount Monadnock reaching 3,165 feet.  It is said to be the second most frequently climbed mountain in the world, after Japan's Mt. Fuji.

Located in the southwestern corner of the state, the Monadnock region offers campers an opportunity to spend a vacation or a weekend in an area that typifies small town New England, village greens with a bandstand for evening concerts, white church steeples poking above the trees and waterways accented with stone arch bridges or covered bridges (there are 8 in the region) that symbolize small town New Hampshire.

The center of it all is the attractive little city of Keene with its broad Main Street decorated with floral displays. Get a glimpse into the past at Keene’s Thorne Art Gallery and places such as Fitzwilliam Jaffrey, and Peterborough, referred to as the “Our Town” of Wilder fame.

Most visitors plan a stop at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, an outdoor shrine honoring the men and women who have died in the service of their nation. Seated on pews in the shade of tall pines, the visitor is inspired by a view of "The Mountain" beyond the altar, which is built of stones from every corner of the world.
Visit Chesterfield Gorge and walk pathways through the deep cuts in rock formations.

Antique shops, summer theaters, and music festivals are plentiful. Stop at Granite Lake Pottery in Munsonville, where there is a large selection of hand-thrown stoneware, or you can spend an afternoon at Friendly Farm in Dublin to picnic and pet the farm animals. Families can watch chicks hatching, a working beehive and young animals nursing.

The Monadnock Region is an all season, small town, slow-paced camping experience. In the spring it all comes into bloom, which is a perfect time to visit Rhododendron State Park in Fitzwilliam. Summer brings fishing, swimming, boating, auto racing, and dog racing at nearby tracks. Take a hayride or shop the flea markets and craft displays at Colony Mill Marketplace. The fall season is as spectacular as anywhere in the state. Plan your visit around the Hillsborough Balloon Festival and Fair, Winchester Pickle Festival or the Keene Pumpkin Fesitval. Winter brings cross-country skiers to the woodland trails and skaters to the many ponds. Visitors also enjoy winter sleigh rides at Silver Ranch in Jaffrey all of it midst the beauty of scenery fit for a Christmas card.