Pawtuckaway State Park

Large State Park In South Eastern New Hampshire On Pawtuckaway Lake, With Lakeside Camping, The Low Pawtuckaway Mountains, Described By Geologists As The Ring Dike Of An Ancient Volcano, And Boulder Fields Well Known To Climbers. · Nottingham, New Hampshire

A large state park in south-eastern New Hampshire, roughly 5,500 acres (confirm) around the western shore of Pawtuckaway Lake in Nottingham, with a swimming beach, a big lakeside campground and a wild back country of woods, marshes and low hills. The three Pawtuckaway Mountains, North, Middle and South, rise to around 900 to 1,000 feet in a rough ring; geologists describe them as a ring dike, the eroded roots of the plumbing of an ancient volcano, exposed after the land above wore away over many millions of years. A fire tower on South Mountain gives a view over the lake and the forest toward the coast and the White Mountains. Glaciers scattered huge boulders across the woods, and the Boulder Natural Area is one of the best-known bouldering spots in New England, with climbers carrying crash pads along the trails on any fine weekend. On the lake, families swim from the sandy beach, paddle to island campsites and fish for bass. The park is about an hour from the northern suburbs of Boston and busy on summer weekends, while its trails stay quiet much of the year.

7 Pawtuckaway Road, Nottingham, New Hampshire, 03290, United States

The park is open all year for hiking, bouldering and other day use, generally from dawn to dusk. The beach and day-use area are staffed with a fee booth from about late May to early September, with lifeguards on some summer days (confirm), and quieter self-service or free use outside that season. The campground typically runs from about May to mid-October, with reservations through New Hampshire State Parks; it is closed in winter. Park roads to some trailheads may be gated or unploughed in winter, when visitors park at the entrance or roadside lots. Hunting is allowed in parts of the park in the autumn seasons.

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