Name: Bellamy Park
Location: Bellamy Road, Dover, NH, below high school playing fields
Resources: Picnic area and playground, walking trails, summer programming for kids
Rules: Open dawn to dusk
Dogs: Must be on leash
Parking: Yes, free and lots of it except during school sports events
Dover city official web site

They call this a "natural setting" park. We’re not sure what that means unless it is a euphemism for "low maintenance". The 33-acre wooded area runs along a trickle of the Bellamy River on the grounds of a former mill and estate. It is tucked between the high school soccer fields and a new housing development and the location for Camp Sun n’ Fun daycamp for local kids.

Don’t look for historic or environmental interpretation here, or any clear directions at all. Most visitors enter over a bridge by the ruins of the mill and simply wander. There are nice woodsy spots along the river and some dramatic lighting between large densely packed pines. The camp area includes one building and a little playground in the middle of the woods. According to the city there are spots for fishing and there are good cross-country ski spots, but also some steep terrain leading toward the river.

Some areas appear unkempt and it is difficult to get the lay of the land. But there are nice walking spaces here especially with kids and dogs in the fall. The higher elevation area along the river is nicer. It is one of those "out of the way" spots but still close to town and there is plenty of parking.

Photos by J. Dennis Robinson. Copyrightc (c) 2005 SeacoastNH.com.

OUTSIDE LINK:  Bellamy River Mill