Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

August Saint- Gaudens began his artistic career in 1861 as an apprentice to a cameo cutter in New York City. After six years of training he traveled to Europe to study sculpting and classic art and received his first commissions.  Back in the US in 1870s he quickly became known for his realist statues of prominent people. His success allowed him to buy and remodel an inn built in 1817 to serve as the family home for his wife and son. He transformed the 190 acres surrounding the house by planting hedges and gardens, and created recreation areas such as a golf course and a lawn bowling green.

There a lot to see - visitor center, first floor of the house, the studio, stable and icehouse, out buildings that are now exhibit galleries, gardens, sculptures, and two trails.

Nothing, except the visitor center which has a movie and a few displays, is accessible. The routes on the park's Accessibility Map are over uneven, grass ground and very difficult. Other routes have mulch or uneven bricks and lead to steps or other obstacles. 

RV parking is in the grassy meadow before the small main parking lot. The road to the visitor center is uphill so visitors who have trouble walking may wish to be dropped off. There is an accessible parking area (no turn around) near the visitor center where short RVs will fit. Park     43.5, -72.3691

Hood Museum of Art

The art collection of Dartmouth College was started in 1772 and includes Native American, European and American, Asian, Indigenous Australian, African, and Melanesian art. Most of the galleries have temporary exhibits created by students to display and interpret some of the 65,000 plus objects in the collection. A permanent exhibit features six Assyrian stone reliefs from the palace of Ashurnasirpal II with a detailed explanation of how the museum acquired them.

The museum is accessible.

We parked in the on street parking on Wheelock Street, taking up two spaces, and feeding two meters.   Museum  43.70212, -72.28763

Enfield Shaker Museum

Shakers, who practiced a communal and celibate life, were a Christian religious group that formed in England in the 1740s. Many emigrated to the United States in the 1770s to escape persecution and established communities in New England. Enfield was the 9th community formed. It grew to three connected groups, with 100 people in each group, who together owned 3000 acres of land and over 100 buildings.

Since no children were born in the communities, the Shakers depended on the attraction of a simple life - one that included hard work but also plenty of food and comfortable living quarters - to grow their numbers. Children were adopted or indentured to learn a trade which added young members. Even so by the late 1800s the population in Shaker communities were in decline and many were closing and consolidating. The last Enfield Shakers left in 1923.

In 1927 Mary Keane, a wealthy heiress, bought the Enfield property for the La Salette Catholic priests who wished to establish a French speaking seminary. She had a pretty little house (privately owned) built on the property but died before it was completed. The priests built a chapel and used the Shaker buildings for a seminary, a high school, and a summer camp.

In 1986 the church sold the property. The Enfield Shaker Museum, a nonprofit organization, has been slowly buying the Enfield buildings but some are privately owned or leased out. The main building, called the Great Stone Dwelling, is where tours start. Visitors may to tour the grounds on their own. There are several buildings with exhibits and the chapel may be entered.

The first floor of the Great Stone Dwelling is accessible but the pathway is rough gravel and the ramp is steep and does not meet flush with the ground. The upper floors are accessed by stairs only. The chapel does not have a ramp. The pathway to the East Brethren Shop is uphill over grassy uneven ground. The ramp is okay but there's a high threshold at the door. The cow barn has a very steep, rough grass ramp to the second story. There are minimal displays inside.

Most RVs will fit in the parking lot.  Museum 

43.61976, -72.14596 

 

Sugarloaf 1 Campground

I really like this campground and specifically site 18 where we camped for three days. Site 18 is large and level with a combination of sun and shade, plenty space between the sites, and lots of trees for privacy. The ground is hard packed dirt and gravel. The campground is on the small side with 29 sites. It has flush toilets and drinking water but no dump station.

I was a little concerned about getting a campsite because Sugarloaf is in a popular area but there are a lot of options nearby so I decided to take a chance and not make a reservation. That was a good decision. Something is wrong on the Recreation.gov site because the majority of the sites are listed as "moved" and can't be reserved. The ones that can be reserved are not nearly as nice. Many of them are small and sloped with two level and steps to the tables.

Site 18 is not designated as accessible but the level, hard packed ground and the slight overhang on the picnic table make for good accessibility as long as you don't need to use the campground toilets. Campground  44.26061, -71.50454

Debanville's General Store & Cafe

Debanville's is a fairly new Harvest Hosts location and has limited hours but Harvest Hosts guests are welcome to stay any day of the week. We made sure to arrive on a day that they were open and in time to buy dinner because we like to support the businesses where we stay. Their menu includes pizza, sandwiches, breakfast items, and craft beer. We had a very good 12" pizza that feed both us us with a couple of slices leftover for lunch the next day. The store is stocked with general merchandise and gift items.

There are two places to park - under the trees with picnic tables on the side of the parking lot or a bit south on Route 102 in a long grassy pull through. We chose the pull through and recommend it. It's fairly level at the crest with a few trees for shade and privacy and a view of a meadow. To get there from the store you must drive south on 102 and under the railroad tracks. The tunnel has a height limit of 12' 6" so if your RV is higher than that plan on crossing the tracks and Connecticut River at Northumberland, New Hampshire and driving north on Route 102.

The store is accessible.

Any size RV will fit in either parking spot. Both have signs designating the parking area which are a big help because we are often left guessing about where we should be parking at Harvest Hosts sites. Store  44.75271, -71.63288

Poore Family Homestead Historic Farm Museum

Three generations of Poores lived on the farm starting in 1832. John Calvin Kenneth Poore, the last of the family line, died in 1983 at 98 years old without leaving any offspring to inherit the property. He donated the land, buildings, and all of the contents to create the museum which is managed by the Poore Family Foundation established by him established in1979.

This place is amazing!The Poore Family saved everything. Many of the items were stored in trunks in the attic. Even though the roof leaked the trunks protected everything from water, sun, and insect damage so they are in pristine condition. The house has been shored up a bit (the floors are still wonky) and has a new roof but other than that everything is original. Beside the house there are two barns to explore.

 

Three volunteers were on duty the day that we visited and, as a teenager, one of them spent time with John Calvin Kenneth so we had an very informative guide. I think that the house is usually off limits and most of the rooms can only be seen by peeking into the windows but since we were the only visitors we were permitted to go inside.

Nothing is accessible. The ground is uneven with hills and thick grass. The porch has a step. The windows are too high to peek in. The barn ramps are steep.

The parking lot at the house is very small. There is a larger parking area .15 mile south where events are held. The only sign at the entrance is a No Trespassing notice so contact the foundation ahead of time for permission. The farm is opened Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - June through September. Museum  44.97365, -71.43777