Lake Umbagog & Beyond

Pronounced "Um-bay-gog", this lake, wetland system, state park, and National Wildlife Sanctuary is a treasure. It is located in the upper right side of NH and crosses the border into Maine as well. My nephew, brother, and I camped at Umbagog State Park for a few days in late May while exploring the northern region of the state. We got up early each morning to take a 20 minute ride on route 16 N through the National Wildlife Refuge. We saw multiple moose every morning between 5 -7am.

The forests in the refuge were mostly tamarack (larch) forests with wet, boggy areas. There were clear moose paths meandering through the forest that reminded us of the alligator paths in Florida where we grew up. Birds were singing up a storm and a swarm of mosquitos followed us everywhere. 

One day we traveled up to the border of Canada and hiked a trail that had many spring blooming wildflowers. I saw bunchberry, red, white and painted trillums, serviceberry, bluebead lily, viburnam, violets, and a couple others that I didn't know the names of. My nephew had a great time standing in the US and Canada at the same time. 

As we moved down the CT Lakes, we hiked a trail through a dense spruce forest to a flume. My 16 year old nephew told me he loved the forest walk and would have taken the trail even if it didn't end at a flume. It was a very peaceful forest - cool, mossy, with the sound of flowing water and birdsong in the background. On our way back, we stopped at a wayside with a large waterfall and at 2 other state parks that had nice ponds.

On our last day, we explored Dixville Notch State Park. We hiked to some waterfalls, a small flume, and up a very steep mountain to table rock. As its name implies, table rock is level on top and juts out to a point allowing brave souls to see a great view of the jagged, rocky ledges all around. It was a highlight and a triumph to hike it and get to the top. 

I visited 11 state parks and waysides over Memorial Day weekend. Each had it's own charm. We saw 16 moose over those 3 mornings. It was a great place for adventure and all of us had a wonderful time.