Episode Transcript
Welcome back to Exploring America State by State the podcast where we roll down the windows, skip the fast lanes, and discover what makes each corner of this incredible country worth the detour. Today, we're heading northeast. We're trading highway noise for pine-scented mountain air, chasing waterfalls and winding roads and country diners that have been pouring coffee since before your grandfather was born. Today, we're in New Hampshire. Now, if you've ever driven through New Hampshire on your way to somewhere else, I want you to stop right there. Because friend, you've been making a mistake. New Hampshire isn't a pass-through. It's a destination. A state that earns your attention and rewards your patience in a way that few places on this entire map can match. So buckle up Let's go. THE DRIVE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING If there's one road in America that belongs on every traveler's bucket list, it's the Kancamagus Highway. Locals call it the Kanc. Thirty-four and a half miles of pure, uninterrupted New England landscape stretching through the heart of the White Mountain National Forest. No traffic lights. No billboards. No strip malls. Just mountains, rivers, covered bridges, and skies so blue they almost don't look real. Pull over at Lower Falls and sit on the smooth river rocks for a while. Let the water talk to you. There's something about the sound of the Swift River rushing over granite that clears out whatever noise you carried in from the highway. Bear Notch Road a quiet scenic spur off the Kanc adds another dimension if you have the time. Wooded, unhurried, and almost entirely yours. For RV travelers, the Kanc is absolutely doable just mind a few tight turns on the eastern approach. The White Mountain National Forest has excellent campgrounds right along the route. Jigger Johnson and Blackberry Crossing sit streamside and offer hookups and tent sites. Book well ahead in July and August. These fill up fast and for very good reason. MOUNT WASHINGTON THE BOSS OF NEW ENGLAND No New Hampshire episode would be complete without Mount Washington. At sixty-two hundred feet, it's the highest peak in the entire Northeast, and it is not playing around. The summit has recorded some of the most extreme wind speeds ever measured on Earth. There's a bumper sticker that reads, this car climbed Mount Washington, and earning it on the eight-mile toll road is every bit worth the white-knuckle drive. But if driving isn't your style, take the Mount Washington Cog Railway. It has been running since 1869. Steam engines, steep grades, and views that make your stomach do something interesting. At the summit, there's a weather observatory, a museum, and a café where you can eat soup while the clouds swirl right past the windows. On a clear day you can see five states and Canada. That is a genuinely hard thing to beat. And if you want to earn it on foot, the Tuckerman Ravine Trail is the classic route six miles round trip with serious elevation gain. It's tough and beautiful and worth absolutely every step. THE SEACOAST YES, NEW HAMPSHIRE HAS A COAST Here's something that surprises a lot of first-time visitors. New Hampshire has a coastline. It's only eighteen miles long the shortest ocean frontage of any coastal state in America but it punches way above its weight. Hampton Beach is the classic summer scene. Boardwalk, seafood shacks, live music on the sand, and the wide open Atlantic. It gets busy in July and August, and there's a reason for that. The Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom has been hosting concerts since 1899. Pull up, get a fried clam basket, and watch the waves. It's uncomplicated American fun, and sometimes that is exactly what you need. For something quieter, Odiorne Point State Park in Rye is a hidden gem. Rocky coastline, tide pools, a nature center, and almost no crowds. The contrast to Hampton Beach is striking. New Hampshire's short coast contains remarkable multitudes. LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE AND THE LAKES REGION About an hour inland from the coast, the landscape opens into something slower. The Lakes Region of New Hampshire is anchored by Lake Winnipesaukee eighteen miles long, seventy-two square miles of clear freshwater, and more than two hundred and seventy islands. It's the kind of lake that makes you wonder why you ever bothered with the ocean. Wolfeboro on the eastern shore calls itself the oldest summer resort in America, and it absolutely looks the part. Charming main street, ice cream shops, antique stores, and a waterfront that invites you to simply sit. Take the M.S. Mount Washington cruise boat for a full lake tour a perfect summer afternoon in every sense. For places to stay, the Wolfeboro Inn is a classic historic, comfortable, right on the water. Over in Meredith, Mill Falls at the Lake is a full resort complex built around a beautiful historic mill site, with spa services, walkable dining, and stunning views across the water. Both are excellent summer bases in the Lakes Region. HIDDEN GEMS YOU MIGHT MISS Now here's where I lean in, because New Hampshire has some genuine secrets. Start with Sculptured Rocks Natural Area in Groton a small canyon carved by glacial meltwater, with swirling potholes and glass-clear water rushing through smooth stone walls. It's free, it's quiet, and almost nobody outside of New Hampshire knows it exists. Lost River Gorge in North Woodstock takes things literally further. You'll squeeze through glacier-carved boulder caves, crawl under waterfalls, and emerge into chambers with names like the Lemon Squeezer. It's adventure hiking without a permit or a guide. Pure, wonderful fun for anyone who doesn't mind getting a little dirty. For history lovers, Canterbury Shaker Village is one of the best-preserved Shaker communities in the country. Twenty-five original buildings set on a quiet rolling hill, with guided tours that tell the story of a people who valued craft, simplicity, and quiet dignity above everything else. The on-site café serves seasonal farm meals that are outstanding. And in Portsmouth New Hampshire's most underrated city spend a half day at Strawbery Banke, an outdoor living history museum that spans four centuries of American life right in a real historic neighborhood. Then wander the restaurant district. Portsmouth has quietly become a serious food town, and we are going to come back to that. A WORD ON TOURIST TRAPS I believe in honesty. New Hampshire has a couple of spots where the price tag outruns the experience. Story Land in Glen is wonderful if you have young children, but without kids it's a short walk. Santa's Village admission can feel steep for what amounts to an hour of holiday theming. And while the Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods is genuinely spectacular the views from that white grand hotel are the stuff of postcards the on-mountain dining prices can catch you off guard. Budget ahead and you will be just fine. The Old Man of the Mountain the famous rock-face profile that was New Hampshire's state symbol for generations collapsed in 2003. Some attractions still heavily promote it. You'll find a commemorative plaque and the beautiful ridge behind it. It is worth seeing. Just arrive with the right expectation and you will leave with genuine appreciation for what it meant to the people of this state. GETTING THERE AND GETTING AROUND If you're flying in, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is a gem small, easy, and refreshingly calm compared to Boston Logan. Portland International to the north is another solid gateway depending on your route. For getting around, a rental car or your own vehicle is the honest answer. The landscapes you want are spread across the state and the best of them are not on a bus line. That said, Concord Coach Lines runs a reliable service connecting Boston with Concord and stops further north a solid option if you're coming up from the city without wheels. For RV travelers, New Hampshire is genuinely welcoming in the warmer months. Beyond the White Mountain campgrounds, Ellacoya State Park on the western shore of Lake Winnipesaukee has fifty RV sites right on the shoreline with full hookups. Reservations open in January and fill almost immediately. Plan early or plan to be disappointed. EAT LIKE A LOCAL Let's talk about the food, because it deserves its own chapter. Start every morning with an apple cider donut. If you pass a farm stand and you will stop for one. Warm, spiced, and somehow tasting like fall even in the middle of July. This is non-negotiable. New Hampshire's craft beer scene has fully come into its own. Tuckerman Brewing up in Conway is an institution. Stoneface Brewing in Newington is doing outstanding work. But the one I keep coming back to is the Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewing in North Conway great beer, solid barbecue, mountain views from the patio that you will think about for weeks. Portsmouth is the undisputed dining capital of the state. Black Trumpet Bistro is creative, seasonally driven, and genuinely excellent. Jumpin' Jay's Fish Café is the right place for New England seafood done properly, without the tourist markup. For a lobster roll, follow your instincts down toward Rye Harbor and ask a local which shack is open. And seek out local sugarhouses anywhere in the state. New Hampshire produces serious maple syrup. The real stuff dark amber grade, harvested fresh in late winter tastes absolutely nothing like what comes in a plastic bottle at a chain diner. Buy a jar for the road. You won't regret it for a single mile. UNIQUE EXPERIENCES YOU WON'T FIND EVERYWHERE New Hampshire has a few things that are genuinely hard to replicate anywhere else in this country. Squam Lake the filming location for On Golden Pond is one of the most peaceful places you can spend a summer morning. Kayaking or paddleboarding across its clear water with the mountains ringing the horizon and loons calling in the early light is as close to perfect as a New England morning gets. Squam Lake Tours runs boat trips specifically to see the nesting loons. It's quiet, it's beautiful, and it's the kind of experience that becomes a memory you keep. Zip-lining through the White Mountains canopy at Bretton Woods or Attitash gives you a perspective on the forest that no trail can match. The aerial canopy tours in the region have expanded significantly in recent years and are outstanding for families and solo travelers alike. And if you happen to be there in late August, the Mount Washington Auto Road Hillclimb is one of the oldest motor races in the world. Even as a spectator, the energy around that event is electric and absolutely worth planning around. SUMMER TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS Summer is New Hampshire's peak season, and the state earns that reputation fully. The White Mountains are lush and green, the lakes are warm enough for long swims, and the days stretch out golden and long. July and August bring the Highland Games in Lincoln a spectacular celebration of Celtic heritage with athletics, music, and food and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen's Fair in Newbury, one of the oldest juried craft fairs in America. Farmers markets fill town squares across the state every weekend. For hikers, the Franconia Ridge Loop is one of the finest walks in the eastern United States. Five miles across alpine meadows and granite ridgelines with sweeping views in every direction. Start early on a weekday morning to get ahead of the weekend crowds. You'll be glad you did. For families, Weirs Beach on Lake Winnipesaukee has water parks, arcades, mini golf, and a classic boardwalk that still feels genuinely nostalgic in all the right ways. And the Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park a two-mile boardwalk winding through a natural rock canyon with waterfalls on all sides is accessible to every fitness level, visually stunning, and awe-inspiring for every age. In Summary New Hampshire rewards the traveler who slows down. Who pulls over at the waterfall. Who lingers over the coffee at the diner counter. Who climbs the mountain not because there is a badge for it, but because the view is something the eyes genuinely deserve to hold. Small in size, enormous in character. From the eighteen miles of coastline to the sixty-two-hundred-foot summit, from the covered bridges to the sugarhouses, from Shaker villages to the windswept top of Mount Washington this state quietly, confidently tells you: you are in exactly the right place. Pack your layers. Bring your appetite. Charge the camera. New Hampshire will take care of the rest. NEXT TIME ON EXPLORING AMERICA STATE BY STATE... Next week, we cross the Connecticut River into one of the most beloved, beautiful, and deliciously charming states in all of New England.-- Vermont. The Green Mountain State. We're talking covered bridges, artisan cheese trails, Ben and Jerry's in Waterbury, Burlington's Church Street, Lake Champlain at sunset, and a fall foliage season so spectacular it stops traffic on every road in the state. A way of life that feels like the whole state sat down together and decided to slow down and get it right. You do not want to miss it. Thank you for riding along today. Until next time keep the windows down, the map open, and the coffee hot.
