Favorite destinations and activities?
 

Just a couple more weeks now! I can tell we're all getting excited for the upcoming season. What a winter it has been!

I'm looking for advice for activities around the lake. We always boat with our dog Mila so we're looking for pet friendly destinations or activities that are pet friendly. This will be our third season on the lake. Our regular destinations are Wolfeboro and the West Alton Sandbar. We've never had a bad time on the lake.

What's your favorite thing to do around the lake? We're an active couple so we're always up for hiking and things of that nature. Looking forward to this season!

One of my favorites activities, although further north, has always been hiking and swimming off Kancamangus highway.

A hike up Red Hill with the dog is always fun. One of our favorites is to boat to Lago in Meredith where if you have a nice evening and a reasonably well behaved dog on leash you can have dinner on the back lawn.

An easy hike with great payoff is the Morse Preserve in Alton:

https://forestsociety.org/property/e...se-sr-preserve

Lots of trails in the Belknap Range:

http://belknaprangetrails.org/

Mt. Major
 

I took my 10 & 11 yr olds hiking up Mt. Major a few years ago and now they go with friends on their own. Tremendous panoramic views of the lake. Big (HUGE) flat rock ledge summit. Trail options from short & steep to long & moderate.
On first trip in early August there was a thick CARPET of the biggest wild blueberries that I have seen.
We took a dog once and met others with dogs as well.
Go early as this is more poular than the available parking supports.


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West Ratllesnake Mtn
 

West Rattlesnake Mtn. in Holderness(Rt113) is dog friendly(depending on size of dog) and an easy climb. Fantastic views, bring a lunch.

Dave M

The local bears know all about those blueberries too!

Put Fido in your boat and spend some time "rafting" (why do they call it that?) at Brawn Bay or West Alton Marina entrance.

Rattlesnake offers a great view at the summit. The Meredith town docks has multiple activities; shopping at Mill falls, Lago and Lakehouse (both amazing restaurants), and the Meredith sculpture walk!!

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Sculptured Rocks over on the backside of Newfound Lake is a pretty cool and different place to visit & swim. We go there at least once or twice every year. Dog-friendly.

https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/s...ural-area.aspx

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Hampshire.html

I totally agree about climbing West Ratllesnake Mtn in Holderness, unbelievable view of Squam Lake and South to Winnie in the distance. After the hike you can have lunch at 'Walter's Basin' down the road, great food at reasonable prices, get a table by the window for a nice view !

Another great day-trip is to take the Tram up Cannon Mtn, and walk the ridge trail to the top.
Breathtaking views, right off a postcard ! Never a disappointment. After the Tram ride, you can meander down and hike the 'Flume' !

Rafting
 

Rafting with our friends at the Red Neck Riviera. Right VB?

Thanks for all of the advise! I hadn't hear of a lot of those places. Here's to a good summer!

Options
 

Bigdog, Tram an excellent suggestion but they don't allow pets on the Tram.

If you have a dog free day you might want try the Tram. There's also Willard Mtn.(2800') on Rt302 that you may want to try, not that difficult of a climb. At the top your looking down the valley of Franconia State Park. Again bring a lunch. If you time it right you'll see the train coming from N Conway crossing the trussel bridge(on the right). If you want a restaurant, Fabyan's is up Rt302from parking lot to Willard Mtn. If you want a unique experience try the restaurant(Latitude 44o) on Bretton Woods Mtn.(across road from Fabyan's). You take a chairlift up to it. Views are spectacular. Could also have lunch at Mt Washington Hotel. Have done them all.

Dave M

geography
 

All of that advice is great - just one small detail. Mt. Willard (2804 ft) overlooks Crawford Notch, not Franconia. The drive on rt302 up the notch is beautiful, especially when you drive right up through the boulders at the north end. You come out at the railroad station and Saco Lake, the source of the Saco River. The trail to Mt. Willard starts on the west side of the tracks. The trail is 1.4 miles long and barely climbs at all. The AMC guide describes it as "From perhaps no other point in the mountains can so grand a view be obtained with so little effort."

Have fun!

That would be Cawford Notch. Its probably the best view for the least climbing.