QUICK GUIDES

Thinking of visiting New Hampshire’s only seaport? Now you have more ways than ever to explore the nooks and corners of the city. Here’s our original list of  phone numbers and Web sites. These may change over time (posted in fall 2012) to let us know if you find an error and have an added spot to post. We’re not including individual historic house or museum tours here, but wide-ranging trips that explore a number of locations. Check for prices and times. Most are available only seasonally. (Continued below)

SEACOAST BY BIKE 

David Balkin is not only a long-time Kittery resident and bike enthusiast, but also a community activist and media host. He is known best on this side of the historic Memorial Bridge as "The Great Balkini" and columnist for SeacaostNH.com. He is currently among those working to save the historic 1923 lift bridge.　

SEACOAST BY BIKE 

He’s out there again. Despite record snowfall and plunging arctic temperatures, the Great Balkini will not rest. While most Yankees are in the basement fixing things, our intrepid columnist has donned his high-tech long johns and taken to the chilly roads.

SCENIC WALKS

The great people at Great Works Land Trust have given us another public trail among 150 acres of forest and wetlands in the corner of South Berwick, Maine. The steep banks above the falls are not for hikers with children and the geologic wonder at the end is well worth the trip.

SEACOAST WALKS

This rural walk through tall pines, open fields and gardens reminds us of the days when family farms dominated local real estate. We wandered through on a lush July afternoon.

SEACOAST BY BIKE

Our two-wheel guru talks love and the art of bicycle maintenance. This is the time of year to assess your relationship – with your bike. The Great Balkini predicts that your chances of making it together are 50-50. Here’s how to tell which half you’re in.

SCENIC WALKS

All hail Richard Rogers who preserved this land in the 1950s for public use. Today it is among the nicest flat and easy woodland walks in the Piscataqua River region – and dogs are welcomed – as long as they and their masters behave.

SEACOAST TRAVEL

You can’t do better than half and full-day tours with "The Lighthouse Guy" himself. Expert Jeremy D’Entremont will take you and your family around and inside the local lighthouses from New Hampshire to Portland, Maine. It’s new and exciting and you travel in luxury.

SEACOAST BY BIKE

In this episode, the Great Balkini gets a blowout on a lonely Maine road on a freezing day. Things are looking bad. Could this be curtains for our hero? Enter a new technology that has been a long time coming. Read on.

SEACOAST BY BIKE

What happens when a largely monogamous cyclist meets a strangely appealing new ride? Columnist David Balkin compares the new "Ugly Betty" Trek Madone and finds her hauntingly appealing. Can he resist? Read on riders.