Name: Northwood Meadows State Park
Amenities: None except bathroom at trailhead, wheelchair accessible.
Parking: Two moderately-sized lots, can be muddy
Rules: No motorized trail bikes or terrain vehicles, carry in and carry out, no fires or camping. Walk-in access only. Fishing with license allowed. Hiking and picnicking, cross-country skiing, biking allowed. Snowmobiles are also allowed.
Dogs: Yes, on leash.
Directions: Right on Route 4, Northwood, NH
Official NH State Parks web site

Unlike the little grassroots Seacoast trails we’re used to, Northwood is a full tilt industrial-strength state park. It looks like what it is – a manmade pond surrounded by tall pines created by damming up a brook so local can go fishing. The parking spot (just across the street from the jigsaw puzzle store) is smack on the high-speed main road between Concord and Durham. Visitors walk a ways up a very wide gravel road to what is a very nicely maintained pathway around the pond. The gradation is so smooth that we saw a man in a zippy wheelchair scooting around the entire circuit even on a muddy fall day.

This is no Disneyland. As an official wilderness area the only amenities are a few picnic tables and one commode. There is no interpretation, trail markers or trail guides that we could find. But the infrastructure around the pond is rock solid and wide open to hikers and bikers and sportspeople. We head the distant sounds of rifle fire, but I guess you hear that a lot in rural Northwood in the fall. There is no hunting in the wildlife area, so wily creatures who know the rules abound.

We probably walked 2 miles, but the single loop may be slightly less. The area is still and peaceful with no hills, but a little incline at each side of the trail. You’ll see lots of straight tall trees, wild mushrooms, a trickling brook, some large boulders, lots of dog walkers and hopefully some wildlife. – JDR

Continue NORTHWOOD MEADOWS NH photo tour