Reaching the New Hampshire shore: Seacoast walks

October 24, 2026October 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / Leave a comment

I decided to walk across New Hampshire this year. What’s life without an ambitious goal? The project changed in style and scope more than once before it finally took on a modest, manageable shape. In a series of dayhikes between April and October, I walked in every town in a line between Hinsdale on the Connecticut River and Rye on the Atlantic coast. In Hinsdale, I scooped up a tiny bit of Connecticut River water into a little plastic container. When I arrived at Odiorne State Park in Rye six months later, I poured the water into the ocean, with a little flourish.

Earlier posts on Granite State Walker describe a few of the walks that were part of my cross-state project. This one is about the finishing touches, featuring walks in Stratham, Greenland, North Hampton, and Rye.

Stratham Hill Park

Thousands of cars pass through Stratham every day on Route 33. I wonder how many of the drivers realize that on the way, they’re passing a gem of a municipal park.

Stratham Hill Park boasts about 15 miles of trails. From the parking lot, I only needed a fraction of a mile on one of them to get to my favorite thing in the park, a decommissioned fire tower that offers 360 degree views including a view of Great Bay. Bonus: foliage season was arriving on the Seacoast.

aerial view of mixed-hardwoods forest with leaves changing color, a body of water in the background — Early October on the New Hampshire Seacoast, with a sliver of Great Bay in view. All photos in this post are by Ellen Kolb.

view from observation tower in Stratham Hill Park (New Hampshire), showing path leading from woods to tower — Early October on the New Hampshire Seacoast, with a sliver of Great Bay in view. All photos in this post are by Ellen Kolb.

Seacoast Greenway, Greenland-North Hampton

One of the most exciting trail developments in southern New Hampshire is the construction of the Seacoast Greenway along an abandoned rail line, roughly parallel to U.S. 1. When completed, it’ll be part of the East Coast Greenway, envisioned as a multi-use trail that will go all the way from Maine to Florida. I had read that a large segment of the Seacoast Greenway, eight or nine miles, had been completed between Portsmouth and Hampton. I had only a short time to explore it; which part should I choose?

I decided on the middle, more or less. Where the unpaved trail crosses Breakfast Hill Road in Greenland, there’s a small parking area on each side of the road. On my midweek visit, I got one of the last of the eight available spaces. (There’s plenty of parking further north, where the trail passes the Chris Rice skateboard park on Route 33 in Portsmouth.) From that trailhead, I walked south as far as North Road in North Hampton.

This trail is much closer to the coast than the rail trails to which I’m accustomed. Instead of being shaded by tall hemlocks, I was practically out in the open, with marshes and shorter trees flanking the trail. Every marker I saw looked fresh and new. Cyclists far outnumbered walkers and runners. I didn’t feel crowded, though I was careful to stick to the right side of the path.

I wouldn’t call myself an avid birder, but I do keep the Merlin ID app on my phone to help me identify bird calls. The Greenway gave the app plenty of work to do. I wanted to figure out what kind of hawk was screeching nearby; it didn’t sound quite like the red-tailed hawks nesting near my house. As the app reported “red-shouldered hawk,” it also noted the half-dozen kinds of songbirds determined to be heard over the hawk’s insistent cries. I loved the racket!

The Seacoast Greenway is an inviting trail, and I’ll return another time to explore it further.

Seacoast Greenway (New Hampshire) with unpaved trail and a marker indicating "North Hampton Town Line" — New Hampshire’s Seacoast Greenway extends from Portsmouth to Hampton, with more miles coming within a few years.

Odiorne State Park, Rye

Odiorne Point State Park never disappoints me. I can walk from ocean to dense coastal woods without leaving the park boundary. Benches and picnic tables dot the property. There are concrete bunkers on site dating back to World War II, reminders of the nation’s past coastal defense. I heard my first Carolina wren in the park’s woods, and had a too-close encounter with a red-tailed hawk on the shore.

Find Route 1-A on a New Hampshire map – it’s right there, tracing our 18-mile Atlantic coastline – and you’ll find the town of Rye and Odiorne Point. Other state parks are nearby, but accept no substitutes: this one’s the best.

I happened to arrive at low tide on this visit, letting me take a longer shore walk than I’d expected. I saw that some of the trails lacing the park were being detoured away from the sand dunes, which are getting a bit of restoration. I watched for colored blazes on the trees as I worked my way back inland, avoiding the restoration area.

There’s a modest entrance fee at this park ($4 in 2026), payable in an “iron ranger” lockbox when the entrance is unstaffed. It’s a bargain. No charge for New Hampshire residents 65 and older.

(Odiorne Point State Park is pretty special on a summer day, too.)

Seaside park with a bench and bare tree near the ocean shore — Ocean view from Odiorne Point State Park, Rye NH.

You can read about some of the other paths on which I made my way across New Hampshire this year: the Fort Hill and Ashuelot rail trails in the southwestern corner of the state, a Swanzey trail with an interesting natural feature, a shady rail trail in New Boston, and the trails crossing Goffstown and Manchester. An earlier post describes part of the Rockingham Rail Trail, which took me all the way from Manchester to Newfields, one segment at a time.

Short climb, grand view: Mt. Kearsarge via Rollins State Park

September 2, 2022September 8, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 3 Comments

My last visit to Mt. Kearsarge in Warner, New Hampshire was a few years ago, as the fire tower was being rebuilt. I recently decided to go back for my first uphill walk since the virus-in-the-news laid me low earlier this year. From the upper end of the auto road in Rollins State Park, which is a treat in itself, I hiked the half-mile-long Rollins trail to the Kearsarge summit.

fire tower on Mount Kearsarge in Warner, New Hampshire, accessible from Rollins and Winslow State Parks. Photo by Ellen Kolb. — ^{Mt. Kearsarge fire tower, Warner NH. Ellen Kolb photo.}

It was a splendid morning at the end of August. A muggy summer heat wave had just broken, giving way to clear dry air and brisk breezes. As self-imposed rehab assignments go, this hike was unbeatable.

^{Summit cairn, Mt. Kearsarge. Ellen Kolb photo. Twin hills in far distance at left are the Uncanoonucs in Goffstown NH.}

The hills and trails of southern New Hampshire spell home to me. I looked south from Kearsarge’s summit cairn and scanned the horizon: the Uncanoonucs in Goffstown, Joe English hill in New Boston, a view of the Wapack Range from the north – is that Crotched Mountain ski area nearby? – and aloof and stately Monadnock.

The ledgy summit features a 360 degree view, in case someone finds the view of the southern hills unsatisfactory. My advice is to soak it all in.

At $4, park admission is a bargain. See nhstateparks.org for up-to-date information on fees and maps for this and other state parks. Kearsarge is home to two of those parks. Rollins from the south features the auto road and a short hike; Winslow from the north offers longer trails. The Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway makes its way over the summit as well.

The auto road closes to motor-vehicle traffic in November and usually re-opens on Memorial Day weekend. I enjoy walking on the auto road in the off-season when the weather allows, sharing the road with other walkers and ambitious bicyclists. The summit is out of reach for the likes of me until the snow and ice are gone, but there are a few vistas along the auto road that make an uphill walk worthwhile.

Autumn walk to Oak Hill’s fire tower

November 11, 2021February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Take time for Oak Hill when you’re passing through New Hampshire’s capital city. Concord has many fine parks and trails, but only one includes a fire tower. The tower on Oak Hill was rebuilt not long ago, so it’s as shiny-and-new as you’ll ever find it. A hard frost or two has smacked down the local insects. Autumn colors are muted now, more gold-and-bronze than scarlet-and-yellow. Trees are losing their leaves, and so views are opening up. Wear something that’s blaze-orange; ’tis the season.

Find maps to all of Concord’s trails at concordnh.gov/1033/Hiking-Trails. Oak Hill is #12.

Oak Hill is exactly that: a hill covered with oak trees. It’s all a walk in the woods except for the fire tower and a couple of vistas (conveniently marked on the trail map). Follow the Tower Trail’s yellow blazes from the parking area on Shaker Road. Once at the tower, a climb to the landing just below the cab will reward you with a 360 degree view.

_{With apologies for my unsteady camera work: Oak Hill’s fire tower with one of the neighboring communication masts.} _{All photos by Ellen Kolb/Granite State Walker.}

Along Oak Hill’s Tower Trail: granite marker at the Concord-Loudon town line.

Mount Kearsarge in Warner, seen from the Swope Slope vista on Oak Hill in Concord, New Hampshire.

View from Stratham Hill Tower, Stratham NH

October 12, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

A decommissioned fire tower is a five-minute walk uphill from the parking lot at Stratham Hill Park on Route 33 in Stratham, New Hampshire. I paid it a quick visit on a sunny and clear fall afternoon.

Stratham Hill tower can’r be seen from Route 33, but it’s only a short walk uphill from Stratham Hill Park’s parking lot.

Pack Monadnock via Raymond Trail: Miller State Park, NH

August 21, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

The view from Pack Monadnock’s summit was a treat even on this cloudy day. I hiked up via the Raymond Trail for the first time. The score is Ledge 1, Hiker 0 after a slight slip on the way down, and I keep a first aid kit in my pack for such occasions. The hike was otherwise uneventful. There are rocky stretches, but the Raymond Trail is not as ledgy as the Wapack Trail up the mountain. Unlike the Wapack and Marion Davis trails, Raymond Trail doesn’t start from the Miller State Park parking lot. It goes up the west side of the mountain from a trailhead on East Mountain Road that has parking for three cars (maybe four in a pinch).

Cell tower on mountaintop with view to distant hills — The Wapack Range stretches to the south, with the ridge of Temple Mountain in foreground.

meadowsweet flowers — The Wapack Range stretches to the south, with the ridge of Temple Mountain in foreground.

Coming from Manchester via NH 101: drive west through Milford, Wilton, and Temple. Take a right at Mountain Road, about 0.2 mile past the Miller State Park entrance. Mountain Road becomes East Mountain Road. The trailhead is on the right, about a mile off of 101.

Pitcher Mountain fire tower, Stoddard NH

May 12, 2014August 1, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

When was the last time I got to one of New Hampshire’s fire towers? It’s been awhile. The other day, everything came together for a tower expedition: perfect weather, access to a car, and an afternoon to myself. I took a beautiful drive to Stoddard for a visit to Pitcher Mountain. The walk from parking area to fire tower only takes me ten or fifteen minutes. The 360º views from the tower are splendid, and the drive is a treat. Dozens of miles on roads with no traffic signals and not a single Dunkin’ Donuts in sight: how’s that for a Sunday drive?

Pitcher Mountain fire tower, Stoddard NH. All photos by Ellen Kolb.

I couldn’t miss the small parking lot on Route 123 on Stoddard. There’s a sign, and a view of the tower from the road.

First peek at the tower, approaching from the east on Rt. 123.

The walk uphill from the parking lot through woods opens up to a field with a fine view of Monadnock to the south.

Mt. Monadnock in the distance, seen from the path to the Pitcher Mountain fire tower.

From the tower, there was a full panorama. Monadnock was the most prominent feature, but plenty of other peaks were visible as well. I had the second edition of Hiking the Monadnock Region (a fine guidebook by Joe Adamowicz) to help me identify some of them.

Wind farm in Lempster, seen from the fire tower

For more about New Hampshire fire towers:

One of the most interesting local publications in my collection is a little orange booklet called A Field Guide to New Hampshire Firetowers by Iris W. Baird and Chris Haartz (2002). Look for used copies online. The booklet includes a short history of all the currently operating towers in the state, along with notes on other towers that are still standing but have been decommissioned.

The New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands has a web page that includes information on the Tower Quest program, with a patch available to anyone visiting at least five fire towers. I admit I have one of those patches myself.

Updated 2026 with new web links.