It was finally a weekend without rain, and my little man and I had a few hours to ourselves away from the rest of the family, so we decided to go to Northwood Meadows State Park, directly off of route 4 in Northwood, NH. We had passed it often on the way to grandpa’s, but never had the time to stop before. Cody loves to take pictures and videos right along side me, so this was a great opportunity for him to experiment with his own camera.
The entrance to the park was very inviting, offering plenty of parking and an informative trail map. Most of the trails circled around a brook that leads to a fishing pond.
Northwood Meadows State Park Trail Map
The trails seemed to be great for beginning hikers or for families with younger children like us as they were fairly smooth and did not have a lot of steep inclines or declines or rocky terrain to navigate. They simply offered an enjoyable hike through the woods around the pond. We noticed a lot of dog walkers in the park as well, and were very impressed with the good nature of all we came by, as well as seeing the doggie bags with all the owners! ;o) Cody and I decided we would have to bring our German Shepard pup Kaiser the next time ourselves…
There were several quaint benches placed strategically along the trail side in locations best suited to sit and enjoy the views of the water, or relaxing spots to take a break if needed. They were all hand crafted from trees and were such a nice surprise to find along the trails. Upon researching the park more, I learned that the benches were placed there as symbols of what the park represents. As found on the Northwood Area Land Management Collaborative website, it quotes, “They are all natural, created from local forest products, and will one day bio-degrade returning nutrients back into the soil.”
As a busy mom of three that does not have a lot of extra time to do a lot of individual things with each child, this place was wonderful as it only took us around an hour to complete the inner circle loop, but offered a great learning experience for my son, wonderful memories to carry forward, and we had a lot of fun! It made me feel good to take that hour out for just the two of us and allowed us to bond together without the rest of the family there that day.
There is no entrance fee for this park, so it is very affordable family fun and it received a Cody’s “Ten-Thumbs up” rating…
I learned that this park is always open for recreation so we are planning another trip back in the winter for a nice snow-shoe or cross-country skiing experience as well!
My food for thought question: If you are a parent of multiple children, have you thought about what small things you can do to let your individual children feel special ?
