Nice for families of all sizes and ages. Gated so easy to keep an eye on your kiddos (:read more

One if our favorite parks in the area. Has a basketball court and a paved loop perfect for bike…read moreriding/scootering. Okay gThere are two playgrounds - one for older kids and one for smaller kids. Plenty of benches for grownups to sit and some shaded areas when it gets a little warm. No bathroom facilities, only port-a-potties if needed.

For a mere $15 cash you can access some pristine hiking opportunities. I have trekked these grounds…read morein all 4 seasons. Each has its own unique set of challenges and joys. Whether it is ice and snow with trax on or wet leaves on a steep incline, you can bet on a challenge. The most commonly used trail up the mountain is the 2 mile (one way), White Dot trail. It is well marked and easily followed. The elevation gain is rapid, as this is a shorter hike. The views are absolutely stellar from the summit. There is a small shop at the base and you receive a map upon entry with basic guidelines and trails. If you are into the outdoors, I highly recommend this spot! Laces up!

Things to note before reading this: 1) I'm a beginner hiker…read more2) My legs get me from point A to B but they are not strong once resistance is involved lol so leg day is always my biggest challenge and because of this... 3) I'm always the slow hiker of the group and I like to take my time I came here last year on a Saturday at the end of October. I went with some friends who have hiked this mountain before. I went into this hike without looking up what to expect, I knew it was going to be challenging but boy was I in for a surprise. I just went with what my friends who invited me said. So the parking at the first trailhead was full and found parking at the second trailhead (Gilson Pond parking), which is the Red Dot Trail, and was our group's first time doing. It was my first official mountain hike. The Red Dot trail was quite a challenge since it involved a lot of climbing once you got to the midway point. There was a boulder that took me a while to overcome and after that there was more to climb and "oh my God" (Janice from Friends voice) reactions to seeing these climbs. We started at around 9am and stopped just right below the peak at 12pm. One person in our group completed the hike and went up to the peak. We had breakfast as we experienced the view then we took the White Dot Trail back down and connected to the Red Dot Trail to get back to the Gilson Pond Parking Lot I think we got back to the car close to 3pm. It was a sunny 60-70 degree morning and I was mostly in a t-shirt throughout the entire hike but I needed my jacket at the peak because of that windchill and the cloud cover. I was sore everywhere for the next week. ---------- Fast forward to this October, my husband and another friend wanted to do a Fall/Autumn hike. I found a site with all the New England hikes and experience levels. I saw that Mount Monadnock was in the advanced category and I very proud of myself for doing it last year. Anyway they decided on Mount Monadnock the night before. I still had trauma from last year's experience so I did my research this time and we decided on the White Dot Trail. We went yesterday which was a Saturday on the holiday weekend. Clear sunny day. The parking for the White Dot Trail was full again and the park ranger at the gate said all 3 parking lots are full from reservations. So reservations are encouraged! We drove all this way and were determined to do a hike so thankfully he suggested we could do the Dublin Trail which is about the same distance to the peak as the White Dot Trail. The Dublin Trail trailhead is a first come first serve parking lot so it's free parking and there's a donation box for the park that is welcomed. Based on my research the night before, someone on Reddit said this is a nice trail for beginners and I can confirm that it is since I am still a beginner hiker. It was a gentler incline, it still worked my legs, than the Red Dot Trail with easier /moderate climbs. We started at 9am again and got to peak at 10:50am. We left the peak at 11:30 and got back to the car at 1:10pm. So roughly 3hrs roundtrip, including stopping to take photos on the way up and down- 4hrs including a break to eat. It was a chilly morning in the 60s, I started in 3 layers (tshirt, a winter running long-sleeve, and a thermal jacket) at the start and by 30 minutes in I was down to my tshirt. I was in a t-shirt for most of the hike, closer to the peak I had to add a layer. We were able to find a spot on the peak to shield us from the wind because it was ripping. I was fine in the two layers with the help of the shield of a rock from the wind but outside of that protection I needed my 3rd layer and cover for my ears. A layer with a hoodie would have been great but I didn't have that so I was glad I packed a winter head band to cover my ears. What was funny was seeing how much my white jacket puffed up from the wind, I felt like the Michelin Mascot. About 15 minutes on the way down I started to shed layers again. What a difference the temperature drastically feels between the peak and below the peak. One thing I loved about the time of month of this hike was how beautiful the ground was to look at, at the start of the hike. You spend so much time looking down on the ground on these kind of hikes because of the terrain it's such a bore. I tried to take a photo of how pretty the leaves on ground were but the photo still doesn't do it justice. I've never seen such tricolor foliage on the ground, it's always yellow or brown.

Pros: Lighted…read morebaseball/soccer field (with timed sprinklers) with bleachers, dugouts. Lighted basket ball court that they flood & turn into an outdoor ice skating rink in the winter complete with "warming" center with a snack bar, bathrooms, etc. Extremely basic playground, a few toddler swings, a few big kid swings, a slide, etc, but it is fenced in (there are openings in the fence though, & they're open, not gated), with a bubbler, a picnic table, & a big tree that provides a nice shady spot no matter what the time of the day is or where the sun is. It's kept up really well, they do a nice job keeping the grass & shrubs trimmed. Conveniently located less than 1 mile from all of the schools in Jaffrey & from Jaffrey's town center & main street. Parking on the street & across the street. The grade school uses the area on field days for the higher grades. Cons: No gates on the openings to the playground. Small, so if there are more than a few people there you're kind of "on top" of each other. I've seen it get super crowded on game days. It's Jaffrey, so if you are there at the same time as some "townies" & they're chatty you might get stuck having to make small-talk with people you'd rather not get stuck having to chat with. The parking on the street & across the street can get super crowded on game days & big trucks & XL SUV's frequently park on the street leaving their vehicles sticking out into the street... Overall: I think having the ice skating rink in the winter really "makes" this area. During warmer winters when the lakes don't freeze over for very long it is nice to have somewhere to go to ice skate.

Great hiking trails and easy to reach and lots of nice scenery as you explore…read moreThe trail is not crowded and good for dogs

BEAUTIFUL views of Monadnock and Contooket lake and River. I love taking my dogs on walks on these…read moretrails.

Nice park, came at sunset ... Perfect timing to watch the…read moresun set. Nice park, came at sunset ... Perfect timing to watch the sun set.

Awesome place to walk and walk exercise please joined the walk and relex your mind and enjoy to walkread more

I often stop by to admire the beautiful gardens at Beaver Brook. I'm not a hiker, so I can't speak…read moreto the inside of the property. I am, however, a (home) gardener and nothing gets me happy and smiling more than flowers -- annuals and perennials -- everywhere around me. All was good until a number of years ago when I read in a local newspaper that BBA had released rabbits on their property. I was floored then and wondered why that would be so. Then more recently, last spring to be more precise, I looked out my window at my newly planted and/or emerging plants and (gasp!) there was a rabbit eating away at my new zinnia plants. They were young (and succulent, I surmised while watching them be devoured) and stripped down to their stalks by the time I could get the hose so I could spray away the rabbit. It took 2-3 tries last year, and I hope I don't have to repeat that experience. Why?

This is a large network of trails with woodland and marsh habitat. The access roads are dirt and…read morewatch out for rocks on them. This might be due to heavy rains this year. Some trails were also damaged but passable. Saw a salamander and lots of flora including fall foliage. They have ample parking and a portable toilet.

Please note, the review left by Dustin V in 2016 mentions parking off Betty Spring Road. I realize…read morehis review is 8 years old; however, that parking "is" and has always been Handicapped Access ONLY. Parking there could mean a $200 ticket.

Close to Colonial Hotel, this is an accessible gem. A new parking payment machine has been set up…read morebut no charges at moment. There are lots of picnic tables and looks like swimming in a Great Lake with s sandy beach. Trails are clean and shady. I wish there was a map that showed distances: I was unsure how long it would take for me to hike around it, so I did not take the trail. Clean bathrooms, but only open until 3 pm at the moment.

It's a nice beach, but a .8 mile walk from the parks and recreation office where non residents have…read moreto park. When you're carrying beach chairs, a beach bag and water bottles on a hot day, it's not a fun walk. When we got to the lake, there were only three cars in the parking lot. There was plenty of room for non-residents.

Before they enforced the "residents only parking" it was a great spot to go swimming! But it has…read moregone downhill. They rake some of the weeds in the designated swimming area, but not all, so it can be very gross to walk on (which i don't really mind, but it can be yucky). They used to have a cute little shack that served food, but that has also closed (i also believe this went to the funding and upkeep which is why it has gone downhill other than the parking). It's unguarded now, but i can understand that as i am a lifeguard and know that we have a shortage of lifeguards right now. I don't know the laws of boating there, but be careful going beyond the designated swimming area because the boaters really like to go close (which can also be annoying when they're coming one after the other). So the closest parking area is basically a mile away, and it has little to no sidewalk the whole time. So it's very unsafe if you have children, especially if they have any type of disorder or handicap. I wish they would solve the parking problem, but it's been 2 years now so i doubt they will. For a town that gets a lot of traffic from tourism, they seem to be trying very hard to keep people out, which is sad.

Very short hike to witness beautiful waterfalls. If you are in the area, it's worth a stop.read more

Beautiful walk into nature and waterfalls. We went in the fall and it was absolutely beautiful.read more

I love Adam's playground. For the last 30-years this has been a place that i have always enjoyed…read moregoing to. They have 3 softball-baseball fields although one is too small to be used for adults. They have a skate park one of the only one within 30-minutes in any direction an outdoor basketball court that is in good condition for how old it is and how much use it gets. There are a lot of good games here and the skate park sees a lot of activity. The fields are packed for almost all of the spring and summer so it is harder to walk on. If you want to walk on for a pick up game go to ConVal or PES. There is a pool that i think opens in late June or early July and there is a playground area for the kids that has been kept in good condition. Ecco field (closest to the road) is doubled for soccer use and because of that there is no fence in right but that adds a neat feature for that. skating for hockey or just skating in the winter, sometimes is hard to keep maintained but they do a good job all things considering. Parking is hard to come by if they have a lot of people playing softball on all the fields. Some scrap construction materials laying around so you need to keep an eye on your kids for that. Tennis courts that have been kept in very good condition. One of the best features of any town in the area.

Definitely the best playground in the area! Huge, fenced in with two entrances, something for…read moreeveryone, including a swing for handicapped kids. Tons of toddler swings, regular swings, a tire swing, a baby/toddler area where everything is scaled down for them with a small climbing "wall", slide, steps, rocking "animals" & fire "truck", etc. On the bigger kids side there are monkey bars, big slides, big "rope" ladder, big climbing wall, & more! There's the biggest sandbox I've ever seen, filled with over 20+ plastic & metal Tonka dump trucks & a kid's size pretend house area with a table & benches. There's a bubbler there which is nice on hot summer days & a few trees provide some shade, although depending on the time of day & where the sun is, there are times when the heat is just unbearable & there's really very little shade. There are benches scattered all over the playground & two picnic tables under the trees, next to the rhododendron bushes. Across the street there are bathrooms in the little building next to the baseball fields. They're usually pretty gross but hey, they service both areas & there's only 1 woman's stall & 1 men's stall so it's not surprising. Next to the playground there's a pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, big gazebos, & a big (mostly) shaded parking lot.