Was looking for a nice late afternoon walk while on vacation. Came across this spot that was around…read more10 minutes from our hotel. Lots of fast food restaurants nearby if you are looking to have a picnic or eat in the park. So many benches you relax on and there is a nice 1 mile walking path around the lake. This park has a lot you can do. Soccer and football areas, play structure, fishing - can even launch a boat, small hikes and a pool. It was so lovely we actually ended up coming back to take some graduation photos. Lovely spot!

Lovely pond and adjacent park. There is a looped one mile walk around it with benches.read more

The Derry dog park, a fall from grace. This dog park has…read moregotten bad. Very muddy, stinky, run down, and barb wire on top of the fence. WTF is with that? Many dog owners that are irresponsible with not watching their dogs! Poop that is left behind or a pup that is too aggressive. The org that runs this park needs to step it up and do an overhaul.

I am very pleased, with how many owners watch & intercept their dogs if any rough plays starts to…read moreget out of hand. I have watched a few owners try to correct their dog by taking their dog to anoth location in the park. If that does not work the. The owners removes their dog from the parks. Great responsibility. So far everyone one I met & watched are very friendly with other dogs as well.

What a nice park, and have been visiting every fall to see "Maudslay is Haunted", a "theater in the…read moreopen" fundraiser. This may be our last year however as the parking rate increased. While parking is $5 for Mass residents, I've always been more than happy to pay the $10 fee for out of state visitors, but this year we were surprised to see that rate increase to $20 for out of state plates. I suspect that means that they have enough residents visiting and want to discourage those from out of state. For this reason, I'm only awarding 3 stars. The "Theater in the Open" event is lots of fun, a "spooky trail" geared toward children, but adults will enjoy it as well. Additional fee is $10 per person. If you want to visit, I suggest hitching a ride with an in state Mass resident to enjoy this hidden gem of a park in Newburyport.

I want to give this fabulous place to stretch your legs a 5 star, however there is not one trash…read morecan around. Not one!!! If your dog poops, it rides home with you. If your baby needs changing, it rides home with you. Uggggghhh... you pay to park and can't get a trash can??? The trails are fun because they are not well marked, so it's quite an adventure. If you love a nature hike with make your own experiences this is a great stop. Just remember, there are no trash cans.

This is a great little park if you are in the neighborhood. It is probably a quarter or a third a…read moremile round. It has a couple benches and plenty of grass to sit on. It is very very quiet and almost never has more than a w visitors. There are a couple fountains and little areas where you can sit and relax. A great place to start you day with a coffee and paper, read a book, or do a cool down walk after a run through downtown Newburyport. From downtown it is about a 5-10 minute walk, (in the direction of Plum Island).

Yes there is a 1/2 mile walk to the trail and then 1/2 mile walk back to your parked car no biggie…read moredon't let that deter you from doing this hike. Agree there are better views in other parts of NH but this is ok. Bugs are vicious on certain parts of the trail and better off brining a bug net because someone else posted they don't care if you have bug spray I mean I even walked with can, I would still hike it though I prefer paid for parking on the website it's 5.00$ a person and you can use the whole state park for all day It was full of camps for swimming so if your not a fan of a lot of people maybe this lake is not for you Hope everyone enjoys there time there

Our walk/hike on the Shaw & Fundy Trails were perfect because they are well-trodden, pine-needle…read morecarpeted trails that were good for our sister who has a bad knee & can't handle trails with vertical climb, tree roots &/or rocky faces. The trails passed by marshes, over creeks &, at times, we had to navigate through areas that had some minimal flooding. Signage is practically non-existent, with arrows primarily @ intersections & also kind of confusing where the parking lots are for the trailheads. There is very little blazing on the trees but again, the trail directions are obvious. Not too much indication of wildlife, although, of course, we were in the thick of the trees. The folks at the Visitor Center are super friendly, knowledgeable & helpful.

Odiorne Point State Park is a public recreation area that opened in Rye, New Hampshire in July…read more1972. It is administered by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation. The park is located along the Atlantic seacoast in Rye, not far from Portsmouth. The area is the site of the Pannaway Plantation: the first European settlement in New Hampshire. Settled in 1622, the plantation was completely abandoned by the 1630s when the settlers moved to nearby Strawberry Banke. The land was settled in the mid-1660s by the Odiorne Family, whom the park is now named after. From 1942 to 1947, the park was the home of Fort Dearborn. The ruins of the deactivated World War II-era fort can still be seen today. Today the park is home to hiking trails, bike paths, a playground, picnic areas, pavilions, and a Seacoast Science Center which opened in 1992. My family and I visited Odiorne Point State Park this summer while we were heading to Maine for a summer getaway. We had some time to kill before we could check in to our AirBnb, so we decided to stop at the park. We had fun exploring the grounds and my two sons especially enjoyed playing on the nautical-themed playground. The highlight of the park is the Seacoast Science Center. There are all sorts of exhibits devoted to the conservation of marine and coastal environments. My two sons loved learning about whales, local shellfish populations, the local fishing industry, the fight against ocean pollution, and underwater exploration. There was even a cool gift shop where we picked up a few things. Whether you live in the area or you're just passing through like us, Odiorne Point State Park is a fun place for the whole family!

I feel the need to preface all of my nature reviews with this: being 90% forested and having around…read more3500 miles of coastline, Maine (and NH) has a tremendous amount of spaces, walkways, paths, and trails of all kinds and of all levels. There's something for everyone. What I'm reviewing is how a spot compares to similar outdoor spots in my personal opinion. Being in nature - and remembering to carry in, carry out - is always five stars! :) Parking? Yes. Loop trail? Yes. Well marked signs? Yes. Element of surprise? Yes. I was looking for state parks in New Hampshire and this one caught my eye because of the name, if we're being honest. It sounded magical! So was the way it was advertised: "picnickers can enjoy sweeping views of the ocean and rocky shore, and explorers can uncover evidence of past military occupation. An extensive network of trails wind through the dense vegetation and traverse the park. [t]he property is also renowned for its... seven distinct habitats that can be visited within an hour's walk. Although the spectacular rocky shore is the one of the most notable, the woodlands, uplands, salt marsh, freshwater and salt ponds, and sandy beach (non-swimming) combine to create one of the region's most diverse nature walks." I like a little bit of everything, and this sounded like it had just that! The first time I came I bought a pass online; when we arrived it was a freak snowstorm and we were the only ones there. So we had a literal winter wonderland to play around it. The views from the coast were lovely and offer plenty of picnic tables to sit and enjoy yourself at, but exploring the woods that day was even more amazing - we spent a lot of time with a big buck who kept finding himself lazily meandering on the same trail as us. Thank goodness for binoculars! And the element of surprise! There was also some tremendously graffitied old batteries, a breakwater (that becomes nearly inaccessible when the tide is high; reversely when the tide is low that same area exposes a Sandy beach), there's an area called Pirate's Cove, an old cemetery, and Dolphin Fountain (which looks like it belongs in France, not NH). This became an immediate favorite! I can't wait to come back and see it in Spring and Summer! (SIDE NOTE: There's also the Seacoast Science Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, that provides educational exhibits related to the seacoast area for a separate fee; but, I haven't been able to check that out yet!)

though this park is not very large, it's so beautiful by the water and i'd recommend checking it…read moreout! would be an awesome spot to picnic too

This is a great spot to try out if you are visiting with young children. There are several picnic…read moretables under shady trees to enjoy a snack. The playscape is beautiful with a fun zip line feature and plenty of climbing, slides, and swings for different ages. We enjoyed the playground first then walked over to the small beach which wasn't too crowded and perfect for an hour of cooling off in the water and searching for cool rocks. There is an outdoor shower for washing off after the beach by the bathrooms. The only thing we were surprised about was the lack of garbages, not a big deal as we just put our garbage in our bag to throw away later.

The way to Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse was closed for renovation so we ended up just checking…read moreGreat Island Common. It's actually a large enough place with plenty of parking and had some good amount of spots for gatherings/picnics/BBQ. I didnt feel like it was the most beautiful place although the view of the harbor was. I enjoyed the little painter decor that they have and that wide open feel of just standing by the waters. However i felt like the place needed some TLC. Idk. The gentleman by the entrance was very kind and sweet though and allowed us to just check the area for some quick pics for free as we didnt stay too long for this visit.