Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire is one of the jewels in the State Park system. The park is the epitome of a multi-use, all purpose park with hiking, equestrian, archery, camping, snowmobiling, fishing and swimming as just some of the activities. Divided into several sections accessed from sevral points the park contains 10,000 acres of woods, trails and ponds.
There are over 40 miles of trails winding through the heavily wooded park. Most of the trails can be accessed through the Podunk Road entrance to the park. The road is rough dirt and the trail heads are at several places along it.
Keep an eye open for the grave of an unknown civil war soldier.
There is a parking lot to leave your car with access to many of the trails.
Also available are equestrian trails with parking available for horse trailers.
Maybe the best option would be to stay at one of the campgrounds in the park. There is a large public site with swimming and facilities including a camp store.
The swimming hole here is for campers only.
Canoes and kayaks are also available for the campers.
There are also hike in camp sites and cabin rentals within the park.
Besides the hiking and camping there is a fly fishing only pond, a children’s fishing pond and an archery range.
If history is your forte there is much to offer there as well. The old CCC camp houses two museums of local interest. The Bear Brook Civilian Conservation Core Museum is housed in one of the few remaining CCC encampments still extant in the U.S.
An Antique Snowmobile Museum is also housed in one of the old CCC barracks.
Across the street from the CCC camp and museum grounds is the Old Allenstown Meeting House.
The day use portion of the park is further along Deerfield Road. Here you will find a lake with swimming, canoe rentals and picnic facilities.
In summary this is a great park for the whole family and has something to offer almost everyone.
