There are certain things I expect to see in New Hampshire. Covered bridges. Mountains. Lakes. Moose signs. A random Dunkin’ approximately six feet from another Dunkin’.
What I don’t necessarily expect is an abandoned castle in the woods, an English estate garden, Arctic tundra or a mountainside covered in sculptures from artists around the world.
Yet all of those things are here.
These are seven places in New Hampshire where, for at least a few minutes, you might genuinely forget you’re still in the Granite State.
Credit: Getty ImagesCredit: Getty Images
1. Madame Sherri Forest — Chesterfield
It feels like: You stumbled onto castle ruins somewhere in Europe
You’re hiking through the woods in Chesterfield and suddenly there’s a massive stone staircase leading to…
Well, nowhere.
The Madame Sherri Forest contains the remains of a once-elaborate summer home built by Antoinette “Madame Sherri” Bramare, an eccentric costume designer and socialite who worked with Broadway productions including the Ziegfeld Follies. Her Chesterfield property became known for extravagant parties before the home fell into decline and eventually burned. Chesterfield, NH
Today, the foundation, chimney and remains of the dramatic stone staircase are still visible just off the trail. It kinda feels like you’ve discovered the ruins of some forgotten estate hundreds of miles from New Hampshire.
“Nothing says relaxing New Hampshire hike like unexpectedly discovering the remains of an eccentric socialite’s party castle.”
Credit: Fuller Gardens via FacebookCredit: Fuller Gardens via Facebook
2. Fuller Gardens — North Hampton, New Hampshire
10 Willow Ave, North Hampton, NH
This might feel like an English estate with an incredibly manicured garden was just randomly dropped next to the Atlantic.
Fuller Gardens began as part of the summer estate of former Massachusetts Governor Alvan T. Fuller. Its formal rose gardens were created in the late 1920s, and today the property includes hundreds of rose varieties, formal English perennial borders, a Japanese garden, sculpted hedges and a tropical conservatory.
It’s also seasonal, generally operating from spring into early fall. Fuller Gardens
You’re basically one fancy hat away from convincing yourself you own an estate.
Credit: NPS/Don Freeman, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park via FacebooKCredit: NPS/Don Freeman, Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park via FacebooK
3. Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park — Cornish
139 Saint Gaudens Rd, Cornish City, NH
This place gives artist’s retreat somewhere in Italy vibes if you ask me.
This might be one of New Hampshire’s most underrated places.
Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park preserves the home, studios and grounds of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. The property combines gardens, historic buildings and large outdoor sculptures, with views toward Mount Ascutney.
I’ve learned that the Saint-Gaudens was part of the larger Cornish Colony, an artistic community that attracted the creatives… writers, painters, sculptors and others to this part of New Hampshire.
READ MORE: 7 Weird or Unique Things You Can Do in New Hampshire
Walking between formal gardens, bronze sculptures and historic studios feels a lot more like visiting an artist’s estate overseas than hanging out in rural western New Hampshire.
The grounds remain open year-round during daylight hours, while the historic buildings have a more limited seasonal schedule.
For approximately 45 minutes, you can become the sophisticated art person you’ve always pretended to be.
4. Castle in the Clouds — Moultonborough, New Hampshire
455 Old Mountain Rd, Moultonborough, NH
This feels like a European country estate overlooking the Lakes Region. I’d say that it most feels unfair.
High above Lake Winnipesaukee sits Lucknow, the 16-room mansion we know today as Castle in the Clouds.
Shoe manufacturer Thomas Plant and his wife Olive built the estate in 1913–1914. The original property covered roughly 6,300 acres and included the mansion, stables, gatehouses, a greenhouse, golf course, tennis court, private lake and miles of carriage trails.
Plant reportedly spent more than $1 million creating it, an amount the estate estimates would be around $25 million today.
You get the mountain road, enormous mansion, gardens and sweeping views of the lake below.
I also have a house overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee. That comment exists entirely in my imagination.
Credit: Getty Images Sculptured Rocks NH – 1Credit: Getty Images Sculptured Rocks NH – 1
5. Sculptured Rocks Natural Area — Groton, New Hampshire
It feels like this is tiny slot canyon wandered into New England
This one is completely natural, which somehow makes it even stranger.
At Sculptured Rocks Natural Area, the Cockermouth River carved a narrow canyon into the bedrock as the last Ice Age was ending.
Over thousands of years, water and sand shaped the rock into curved walls, unusual formations and deep potholes. The protected natural area covers 272 acres. There are places just just make you say “WOW”, and Sculptured Rocks Natural Area is one of them.
This is really cool. You are still surrounded by the classic New Hampshire forest that you love, but once you look down into that carved rock canyon, the landscape changes completely which is so wild.
If you think about it… it looks almost like somebody took a much more western-looking geological feature and accidentally dropped it near Newfound Lake.
New Hampshire apparently got bored making mountains and decided to try sculpting for a while.
6. The Alpine Garden on Mount Washington
This feels like you somehow hiked into the Arctic.
It’s wild because you don’t even have to leave New Hampshire to reach something resembling polar tundra.
Have you heard about the Presidential Range? it’s an alpine environment above tree line that’s filled with low-growing plants adapted to extreme cold, wind and harsh weather. Mount Washington Observatory notes that the White Mountains contain one of the largest areas of alpine tundra in the eastern United States.
The state’s Natural Heritage Bureau describes the Alpine Garden as a broad plateau on Mount Washington’s eastern shoulder with rare alpine plants and multiple natural communities typical of the tundra system.
So basically… you can leave a forest and eventually find yourself standing somewhere that looks a whole lot more like the Arctic than New England.
The vegetation is extremely fragile, so staying on designated trails matters. And because this is Mount Washington, rapidly changing weather is very much part of the deal. NH Natural and Cultural Resources
Nothing prepares you for going from New Hampshire woods to ‘Did we somehow take a wrong turn and end up in Greenland?’ That’s kinda what it feels like.
Credit: Andres Institute of Art via FacebookCredit: Andres Institute of Art via Facebook
7. Andres Institute of Art — Brookline
106 Route 13, Brookline, NH
This is how I picture it… an international art museum swallowed an entire mountain and that’s what you get at Andres Institute of Art.
You don’t normally go hiking expecting to encounter giant works of contemporary sculpture. That’s exactly the idea behind this place.
The Andres Institute of Art occupies 140 acres on a former ski area in Brookline and describes itself as New England’s largest outdoor sculpture park. Its trails wind through the forest past more than 100 permanent sculptures created by artists from around the world.
There are more than 10 miles of trails, and the collection represents artists from dozens of countries. Admission to the hiking and sculpture trails is free, although donations are encouraged.
You’re basically taking a hike through New Hampshire woods…
And then there’s a giant sculpture.
And another.
And another.
It’s like somebody combined hiking and an art museum because apparently simply walking through the woods wasn’t complicated enough.
Within one relatively small state in the northeast, you can find:
Castle ruins.
English gardens.
A mountaintop mansion.
An international sculpture park.
A canyon carved by glacial-era water.
And actual alpine tundra.
None of them particularly fit the stereotypical picture people have when they think of New Hampshire.
And that’s exactly why they’re worth finding.
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