Peabody Smith Realty

The White Mountains of New Hampshire & Northeast Kingdom of Vermont

The White Mountains have long been known for natural splendor, cultural richness, historical charm and stimulating recreation- and some of the most beautiful scenery in the eastern US. The White Mountains are considered to be one of the most popular year-round destinations in the East.

Twenty 4,000 foot peaks are found here along with the highest mountain in the Northeast, Mt. Washington, but it’s the 800,000 acre White Mountain National Forest that truly shapes the region. The forest is part of or abuts every town in the region, ensuring much of the region’s land will remain a working forest and natural playground.

The choice of recreation is nearly endless, from hiking, scenic drives and fishing. In winter, there is plenty of skiing, snowshoeing and festivals are all part of the winter fun. While the White Mountains may be known for its outdoor recreation, the arts lover will find much to choose from, from summer stock theatre and special cultural events throughout the region. History lovers will find a historical museum in nearly every town, as well as museums the whole family will find fascinating, including Franconia’s Frost Place, once owned by poet Robert Frost.

With Quebec to the north and New Hampshire to the east, Vermont’s ‘Northeast Kingdom’ real estate market includes Caledonia, Essex and Orleans counties and has all the beauty and romance of a long lost era. ‘The Kingdom’ is the most rural part of Vermont and is famous worldwide for four-season recreation, rugged natural beauty and spectacular fall foliage.

Real estate in the Northeast Kingdom includes more forested land than any other region in Vermont and includes Kingdom Trails, a multipurpose wilderness trail system near East Burke.

The Northeast Kingdom is also home to many of Vermont’s largest lakes including Caspian Lake, Crystal Lake, Lake Memphremagog, Seymour Lake, and Lake Willoughby where the fishing is excellent and canoeing and kayaking experiences are plentiful.

Its history, relaxed atmosphere, raw beauty and abundant natural areas have made the Northeast Kingdom a muse for many poets, artists, and novelists.

The White Mountains and Northeast Kingdom offers something for everyone. Come by and take a visit, see for yourself what life in the White Mountains and Northeast Kingdom is all about.

Neighborhoods:

Franconia, Sugar Hill & Easton, NH
North of the Franconia Notch State Park is the Franconia-Sugar Hill-Easton area. This gentle countryside is a bit more rural, the pace slower, the views absolutely gorgeous. Long renowned as an unspoiled outdoor paradise, the area offers abundant four-season activities to challenge all levels of interest and expertise. Many hiking trails, rushing streams for fly fishing, crystal clear lakes, brilliant fall foliage, ski resorts, and more. Whatever season you visit, Franconia Notch’s stunning panoramic views and wide range of activities will lure you back time and time again. Come explore the “road less traveled” and discover our charming, quintessential New England villages. Shopping in tax-free New Hampshire is at its best with a number of appealing shops featuring antiques, handmade crafts and local delicacies. Old-fashioned courtesy and gracious hospitality thrives here, and our service providers are a delight to do business with. Restaurant experiences offer something for all tastes-from world-class gourmet cuisine to classic country fare. With pure mountain air, spectacular waterfalls, lofty mountain peaks, rushing rivers and sparkling lakes, this area North of the Notch is ideal. www.franconianotch.org

Littleton, NH
The Littleton area is truly a destination. Named the 9th Best Small Town in America and winner of the Great American Main Street Award, it is the center for business, unique shopping experiences, recreation, cultural arts, medical care, education, and countless other services in NH’s White Mountains and North Country. The quality of life attracts many to move here and is envied by all who visit. The charm of all four seasons provides ample opportunity to enjoy each at it fullest; whether you walk past homes well preserved from the late 1800’s or drive and park to take our historic walking tour- browse the retail shops, bookstores and art galleries eclectically lined along Main Street. Fine restaurants and cafes offer grand choices.

Littleton created and instituted a formula that has become a model for New Hampshire and the rest of the country for economic development. Communication, cooperation and investment in both economic infrastructure and people have brought about a town that focuses on these fundamentals along with a powerful sense of community. Littleton exhibits an energy that will continue to promote its economic and cultural prosperity.

I-93 wraps around the community while offering outstanding postcard vistas along the way. Exits lead North, South East and West to all that the North Country has to offer for vacationing - recreational facilities and sports activities for all levels for all seasons, famous White Mountain attractions, year-round and seasonal cultural and art centers, the natural wonders of Franconia Notch and much more. www.littletonareachamber.com

Bethlehem, NH
Bethlehem residents enjoy an outstanding quality of life. Located in the beautiful White Mountains region, Bethlehem offers clean, fresh air and an unparalleled array of outdoor recreational activities. Bethlehem also provides its residents a safe, small-town community environment. There are ample opportunites to meet neighbors and friends in a variety of settings -- organization and club meetings, school functions, outdoor concerts, nature presentations, and town meetings to name a few.

More than half the Town of Bethlehem lies within the 780,000 acre White Mountains National Forest. Each year, more people visit the White Mountains National Forest than visit Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks combined. At 1,500 feet above sea level, Bethlehem is arguably the highest occupied village east of the Rockies. Known for its virtually pollen-free air, it was once the headquarters of the National Hay Fever Association. Today antique shops and restaurants line Main Street.
www.bethlehemwhitemtns.com

St. Johnsbury, VT
Continuing up the highway, St. Johnsbury is the region’s largest town, with easy access from Interstates 91 and 93. There visitors can tour the Fairbanks Museum and enjoy cultural programs at Catamount Arts. St. Johnsbury was recently named fourth of the top 10 retirement spots, according to Retirement Places Rated. Citing the lower costs and environment, the report indicated the Northeast Kingdom looks very enticing to retirees. The Northeast Kingdom offers a diverse economy built around manufacturing; retail, wholesale and service industries; banking; real estate; insurance; government employment; and tourism and agriculture.

Oddly enough, many who live in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom love the region for what it does not offer ... no traffic jams, skyscrapers nor any real urban sprawl. What they do offer are pristine lakes, friendly neighbors and a burgeoning economy. Vermont's Northeast Kingdom truly offers an enviable quality of life that is easily accessible to major market centers, interstates and state highways. In a recent report, Vermont ranked the most livable state in the nation, according to "The Rating Guide in America's Fifty States". Based on analyzing numerous factors - relating to quality of life, business climate, safety, arts, politics and more. It has been said that the area could be the country's largest theme park, the theme being nature. Venture to Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, and you will discover such an enchanted place. www.nekchamber.com

Attractions:

Cannon Mtn. in Franconia Notch
Cannon Mountain, high in beautiful Franconia Notch, is New Hampshire's version of Shangri-La. In just eight minutes you can soar to Cannon's 4,200 foot summit on our 80-passenger aerial tramway, and in the winter ski down. Or visit Echo Lake at the base of the mountain - while the kids enjoy the crystal clear water and play in the sand, you can relax on the white sandy beach. Later tour the covered bridges and glacial formations at the Flume Gorge. Cannon is close to dozens of other attractions - great places to eat, sleep, and shop - and its Parkway location makes it easy to get to from anywhere in New England. Cannon Mountain is 7,500 acres of pristine mountain splendor and fun. www.cannonmt.com

Bretton Woods Mountain Resort
Located in the heart of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, The Mount Washington Hotel located in Bretton Woods has been welcoming guests since 1902. Sparkling white towers capped with red-roofs rise majestically against a backdrop of the northeast’s highest summits. The Mount Washington offers guests a vast array of recreational and leisure activities including golf, tennis, horseback riding, carriage and sleigh rides, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, ice skating, snow tubing, musical entertainment, shopping, award-winning family programs, and alpine and cross country skiing at Bretton Woods - New Hampshire’s largest ski area. www.brettonwoods.com

Burke Mountain
Four-season natural paradise -- Here in the heart of the unspoiled Northeast Kingdom, the Vermont you see on postcards is a 360-degree experience everywhere you go with year-round recreational opportunities. Internationally acclaimed mountain biking, camping, fishing, hiking, river rafting, golfing, hunting, cross-country skiing... The list goes on and on. The un-mega ski resort -- Burke is about pure skiing/boarding experience on uncrowded slopes. Home to the nation’s oldest and most successful ski academy, Burke is a place apart from the pretensions and commercialism of so many resort areas. You’re just as likely to share the mountain with a future Olympic ski racer as with a family member from a nearby town. With easy access, about three hours of highway driving from Boston, Burke Mountain is just seven miles from I-91 exit 23 with no rural traffic jams along the way. There is so much more that only you and your family can discover, because living here will truly be your experience.
www.skiburke.com

Loon Mountain
Spend the day at Loon Mountain cruisin’ the trails or riding the new superpipe. Find Yourself in the Forest! 2100 feet of vertical drop. 275 acres and 44 trails. 8 lifts to first class tree skiing, alpine skiing and snowboarding. Tubing, major terrain park featuring a superpipe, ice skating and horseback riding! www.loonmtn.com

Golf & Tennis:

Maplewood Country Club
The Maplewood was established in the late 1800's as a resort hotel for New Englanders. In 1914 a Donald Ross designed golf course was added to improve the resorts offerings and provide the hotel guests with the best golf course possible.

Located in the historic town of Bethlehem, New Hampshire, in the shadow of Mt. Washington. The Maplewood is a short two and a half hour drive from Boston, and is a wonderfully unique location, offering special wedding receptions, the original 18 hole Donald Ross Championship Golf Course, 20 guest suites in our Inn and delicious food in our grill room. www.maplewoodgolfresort.com

Mt. Washington Hotel & Resort Golf Courses
The spectacular grounds of The Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods offer an 18- and a 9-hole championship golf course. Golfers are sure to be wonderfully challenged by the courses' magnificent settings and impressive layouts.

The Mount Washington Course:
One of America's most scenic, The Mount Washington Course was completed in 1915 under the personal supervision of legendary Scottish Architect, Donald Ross. Credited with the design of over 400 courses, Ross' most famous works include Seminole, Inverness, Oak Hill, the Broadmoor and his signature designs at Pinehurst. His layout here in Bretton Woods has hosted four New Hampshire Opens.

The Mount Pleasant Course:
When it first opened in 1895, The Mount Pleasant Course was said to be situated in one of the most romantic locations in the World. Created for the enjoyment of guests visiting the elegant Mount Pleasant House (a Grand Hotel that stood on the present site of The Lodge at Bretton Woods until the 1930s), the course offered unsurpassed views of the Presidential and Rosebrook Mountain Ranges. The course was fully restored and upgraded in 1989 by Cornish & Silva Golf Course Architects, with advice from world renowned golfers Gene Sarazen and Ken Venturi, and now offers players a more challenging round alongside the Ammonoosuc River.
www.mtwashingtonhotel.com

St. Johnsbury Country Club
Golf began in St. Johnsbury in 1923 when Willie Park, Jr., two-time winner of the British Open designed nine diverse, interesting and singular golf holes for the newly formed club. It would be the last of Park’s 60 North American designs due to his ailing health. The Installation of the greens was completed by his brother Mungo.

In 1992 famed architect Geoffrey Cornish, aided by lifelong member Jim Havers, cradled the original nine in the embrace of nine peripheral holes. While the older holes require finesse, the new nine demand power. Bring your best up-and-down skills to par the outward half, display placement and clear thinking on the way home.

St. Johnsbury has earned a reputation for flawless greens, lush fairways and well-carpeted tees. The maturity of the original nine holes and the state-of-the-art new loop blend together to produce two distinct golfing experiences that complement each other perfectly. www.stjohnsburycountryclub.com

Four Seasons Tennis
Four Seasons Aquatic & Sports Center offers indoor & outdoor tennis courts, squash courts, two indoor pools, tennis lessons, weight training, and much more. Conveniently located on Route 302 in Lisbon, NH, they offer something for “every body”.
www.FourSeasonsTennis.com

Museums & Galleries:

The Frost Place
The Frost Place, nestled on a ridge overlooking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is poet Robert Frost’s 1915 farm homestead, now a Center for Poetry and the Arts.

It includes a Museum of his life and work, with signed first editions of all his books. Also on the half–mile Poetry Nature Trail, a walk though fields and woods, visitors may see 16 of Frost’s Franconia poems mounted on plaques, surrounded by dozens of New England wildflowers and plants.

When the Town of Franconia, New Hampshire, voted in 1976 to buy Robert Frost’s old house and barn and establish The Frost Place, it became the only town in the nation with its own resident poet. Each summer since 1977, a nationally honored poet has been chosen to come live and work in the house where Frost wrote some of his finest work.

The Frost Place is open to the public from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. The summer program begins in early July on Frost Day with a reading by the summer poet-in-residence. www.frostplace.org

The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium
The Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium is northern New England's premiere museum of natural history. The Museum was founded in 1889 by St. Johnsbury industrialist Franklin Fairbanks. A lifelong amateur naturalist, Fairbanks collected examples of nature's artistry and diversity throughout the world. His vast personal collections were first made accessible to the public in his "cabinet of curiosities" at Underclyffe, his elegant St. Johnsbury mansion. Fairbanks commissioned architect Lambert Packard to design a monumental structure in which to make his remarkable collections available for display and study. To this day, the collections of Franklin Fairbanks remain the backbone of northern New England's largest museum of natural history.

Crafted in the elegant Richardsonian Romanesque style, the Museum first opened its doors in 1891. At its dedication, Fairbanks set his museum on a distinctive course: "It is my expectation that studies in the natural sciences will be introduced into our public, common schools....In this way, the Museum will truly become a factor in the education of our children and young people. It is my desire that this institution take its place...as an educator of the young, lifting all who shall avail themselves of its advantages to a higher and larger knowledge concerning the things of God's creation." Today, the Museum's mission remains in harmony with the vision of Franklin Fairbanks: to "...inspire an appreciation and responsibility for our place in the natural world." www.fairbanksmuseum.org

Franconia Heritage Museum
The Franconia Heritage Museum is located in an 1880 New England Farm House with attached barn and sheds. See Historical treasures, documents and photographs received from various local families, over 10,000 items. Open from May to Oct, Thurs and Sat 1-4pm and other times by request. www.franconiaheritage.org

St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is a private, nonprofit public library and art gallery located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. The Athenaeum fills two roles: it serves the people of St. Johnsbury by enriching their lives, and it stands as a regional and national treasure - a monument to the nineteenth-century belief in learning. The Athenaeum is a legacy of the Fairbanks Family of St. Johnsbury, inventors and manufacturers of the world's first platform scale, who gave the Athenaeum to the town of St. Johnsbury in 1871. With his wealth Horace Fairbanks created a center of culture for the people of his town - a true "athenaeum."
The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum is committed to preserving its National Landmark building, collections and furnishings, and promoting life-long learning through art, literature, and information services. www.stjathenaeum.org

Area Shopping:

Littleton – Downtown & On “The Meadow”
Littleton remains the economic focal point for the Western White Mountains. It is the shopping, services and manufacturing center of the region, with dozens of stores and restaurants, numerous banks and more. “The Meadow” has seen much of the town’s recent commercial development, with box stores such as Walmart, Home Depot and Staples.
www.golittleton.com

St. Johnsbury
St. Johnsbury has an eclectic shopping district located on both Railroad Street and Main Street and they have the Green Mountain Mall which houses JC Penney, Sears Appliance, Fashion Bug and more. www.nekchamber.com

Hanover/West Lebanon, NH
West Lebanon, NH is the Upper Valley's shopping mecca, with a wide variety of discount shopping areas, commercial centers, and fast food restaurants. Located an hour south of the Littleton area on Interstate 93, you can find a multitude of shops. The Powerhouse Shopping Mall is a handsome, renovated mill that offers boutiques, sporting goods shops, specialty and gift shops, and eateries. In downtown Hanover you’ll find boutiques, a “Gap” store and the Dartmouth Book Store. www.lebanonchamber.com

North Conway
North Conway has a great downtown shopping area, but is also well known for it s multitude of factory outlet stores – Ralph Lauren, L.L. Bean, Liz Claiborne and more. North Conway has become a major New Hampshire shopping destination. New Hampshire, home of tax-free shopping. www.settlersgreen.com

Preserves & Parks:

Franconia Notch State Park
Franconia Notch State Park, is located in the heart of the popular White Mountain National Forest. Franconia Notch is a spectacular mountain pass traversed by a unique parkway which extends from the Flume Gorge at the south to Echo Lake at the north. For eight miles, I-93 winds between the high peaks of the Kinsman and Franconia mountain ranges.

Franconia Notch was the home of the famous Old Man of the Mountain, the same "Great Stone Face" immortalized by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Daniel Webster. While visiting, stop at the Flume Gorge Visitor Center and walk through the renowned Flume Gorge, ride the exciting aerial tramway at Cannon Mountain, and visit the New England Ski Museum. Take your time, stop for a swim at Echo Lake, net a trout while fly fishing at Profile Lake, ride your bike on the Recreational Trail, watch for rock climbers, hawks, and falcons on Cannon Cliffs, or hike on the Appalachian Trail.
www.franconianotchstatepark.com

White Mountain National Forest
The alpine areas of the White Mountain National Forest also includes Mt. Washington, the tallest peak in the northeast. The actual summit of Mt. Washington, surrounded on all sides by National Forest land, is a mix of ownership including a New Hampshire State Park and a small but significant piece owned by Dartmouth College. On each side of the mountain are historic private in-holdings that include a cog railway and an auto road. This is a special and wonderful place to visit throughout the year. There are campgrounds, hiking trails, scenic drives, historic places, and plenty of space to just sit back and relax. www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain

Willoughby State Forest, Vermont
Willoughby State Forest encompasses 7,300 acres in the northern area of Vermont. Lake Willoughby boasts 1,653 acres plentiful with rainbow trout, lake trout, brown trout, landlocked salmon and yellow perch. The South Trail is well known, offering sweeping views from Mt. Pisgah over to Mt. Hor and beyond. Viewing the nesting peregrine falcons and alpine plant life is enjoyed along the Willoughby Cliffs. Boating, hunting, fishing, hiking and swimming are enjoyed in the Willoughby State Forest. The lake holds the reputation of being a wonderful example of glacial scouring in the Northeast and being the deepest lake in the state with depths in excess of 300 feet. www.vermonter.com/nek/willoughby.asp

Forest Lake State Park, Whitefield Area, NH
Forest Lake State Park, just a few minutes North of Littleton, is one of the ten original New Hampshire state parks, and was created in 1935. The park spans 397 acres and its 200-foot sandy beach lies on the shore of Forest Lake. Popular activities in the park include swimming, picnicking, mountain biking, fishing, and boating. Amenities include picnic tables, and a group use area and playground. www.nhstateparks.org

Theatres

Weathervane Theatre, Whitefield, NH
The Weathervane Theatre is located in Whitefield and offers summer theatre, in alternating repertory. The theatre still holds onto its basic principles: namely creativity, respect and regard for the theatre medium and its capability to engage and emotionally move audiences, and a collaborative and caring/sharing environment in which the company can do the very best work possible within the compressed time-frame of the season.

Within the past dozen years, the Weathervane has achieved status as a major professional summer theatre in New England; as an enhanced Actors’ Equity Association theatre, with diversity in company backgrounds and in its commitment to non-traditional casting; with the re-birth of the Patchwork Players and the creation of an accredited Intern Program; and with the creation of the Theatre Summer Camp for Youth. And we can now say, with certainty, that the Weathervane is the only professional summer theatre in the U.S. performing an alternating playbill with a resident company. www.weathervanetheatre.org

North Country Center For the Arts, Lincoln, NH
The North Country Center for the Arts in Lincoln, NH, founded in 1985, is a not-for-profit arts organization supporting the arts in northern New Hampshire. At present, NCCA produces a summer Mainstage Theatre and a touring Children's Theatre.

The Mainstage company produces Broadway musicals. These productions have developed a reputation for high level of artistic performances in respect to acting, sets and costumes.
The Children's Theatre company, during an eight week summer season, travels to eight communities in NH, staging ten performances each week of adaptations of well-loved fairy tales. These performances are presented in partnership with other arts organizations that host the shows in their local communities. www.papermilltheatre.org

Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury, VT
Catamount Arts was founded in 1975 with a mission of enhancing the cultural climate of Northern Vermont and New Hampshire. Integration of the arts into community life has been their guiding principle and they attempt to cultivate awareness and appreciation of the arts through a diversified schedule of film, music, theater, dance, and the visual arts.

The Catamount Art Center opened in 1985 with a 100-seat film theater, galleries, instructional space and offices and has evolved into the focal point for the arts in the area. The Center is the home to the Catamount Film Series which offers nightly screenings of over 50 regional premieres a year along with several special mini-series and programs devoted to Vermont filmmakers. The Video Library contains over 2500 rental units with titles ranging from the classics - both foreign and domestic - to contemporary works and documentaries covering a wide range of subjects.

Local artists are supported through gallery. Museum bus trips to Montreal, Boston and New York are offered several times a year. Catamount annually presents an extensive series of performances at venues throughout Vermont's Northeast Kingdom bringing in nationally known touring artists as well as accomplished local performers. www.catamountarts.com

Colonial Theatre, Bethlehem, NH
Believed to be one of the oldest continuously operating movie theaters in the country, the Colonial Theater on Bethlehem’s Main Street has been transformed in recent years to a regional arts center, hosting seasonal concerts and theater productions, along with an ongoing (May to Sept) independent film series. www.bethlehemcolonial.org