Our new favorite State Park, Pillsbury was a wonderful surprise. On a recent warm day, we explored this beautiful and remote park and finished with a picnic by the water.
100 Pillsbury State Park Road
Washington, NH 03280
Like Rollins State Park, Pillsbury's entry road was closed for the season, which meant we parked at the entry and walked in to explore. Although we didn't make it to any of the actual hiking trails, this road offered lots of beautiful views and great adventures for our family. We especially enjoyed all the water - ponds, streams, puddles, and culverts - the park had to offer.
As soon as we entered the park, we noticed the massive windmills visible in the distance. My husband is a physics teacher, so the kids and I learned about how windmills create energy and I
was able to see how windmills can easily fit into a New Hampshire landscape. Honestly, I don't see what the NIMBY fuss is about! They looked beautiful on the hillside against the blue sky. You can see them in this photo.
Our goal when we arrived was to make it across the obvious "land bridge" between two points we saw in the distance. Although the "bridge" turned out to be several large island-sized boulders too far apart to traverse, we had lots of adventures getting there. We followed a rushing waterfall up a hillside, climbed several boulders, and played Pooh Sticks in every. single. culvert.
We made it as far as the first set of campsites, which were located on a beautiful point and accompanied by a very nice set of outhouses with compostable toilets (after a lifetime of camping, you grow to appreciate a good outhouse!) and a nature trail leading to many views of the pond and nearby hills.
My daughters spent a lot of time climbing boulders and "freeing" leaves from the ice on the road, while my son often disappeared along the trail battling unseen enemies with a variety of sticks, staffs, and slingshots.
Everyone agreed Pillsbury would be a definite repeat park and we are looking forward to camping there this summer. We've already picked out our campsite and my son has his eye on a very nice fishing spot. We'll bring our canoe so we can explore the ponds and finally make it across the "land bridge".
Happy trails!
Hannah
