Archive for the ‘Area attractions’ Category
For Plymouth, NH or Holderness School lodging check out our Squam Lake Bed and Breakfast.
August 25th, 2010 by Bill Webb
The start of the school year is right around the corner. Our bed and breakfast accommodations offer a great lodging choice for those seeking a Plymouth, NH hotel or an inn near Holderness School. Parents who are dropping off their sons or daughters should check out our quality lodging. Each room is uniquely decorated in traditional country style with our highest priority being your comfort. We blend a comfortable, home-like atmosphere with great professional service. It's just the right balance.
Of course, drop off day is not the only reason Holderness School parents may want to visit campus. There are athletic events, musical and theater performances and much more throughout the school year. So if you're looking for Holderness School lodging give us a call. We're only ten minutes from campus located in Holderness by Squam Lake.
Great summer entertainment and lodging near Plymouth and Meredith, NH
August 12th, 2010 by Bill Webb
The weekend of August 20 - 22 will feature the White Mountain Boogie N' Blues Festival which takes place just to the north of us in Thornton in the Pemigewasset River Valley. The three day event is the largest outdoors Blues festival in New Hampshire and is now celebrating its 14th year. If you're a Blues fan this is the place to be. The lineup of performers includes 4 of this year's Blues Music Award winners.
This festival is just one example of the wonderful entertainment opportunities near our Squam Lake bed and breakfast. We offer quality lodging near Plymouth, NH which is where the New Hampshire Music Festival performs throughout the summer months. During the school year the Silver Center for the Arts at Plymouth State University has a full schedule of music and theater and that venue is only 10 minutes from our Holderness inn.
We have some great summer theater in Meredith which is just to our south at the tip of Lake Winnipesaukee. So if you need accommodations and are looking for a Meredith, NH inn or bed and breakfast you should give us a call.
No matter what your taste in music you'll find something to your liking here in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. But hurry - summer's almost over!
A great day at the White Mountain Boogie N' Blues Festival
Enjoy great theater in Meredith, NH and great lodging at our Holderness Inn
July 22nd, 2010 by Bill Webb
Last night we enjoyed an evening out taking in a wonderful performance of "Chicago" at the Summer Theater in Meredith Village. What a great job these young performers do! We are very fortunate to have such professional theater here in New Hampshire's Lakes Region. This particular troupe performs throughout the summer at the Interlakes High School in Meredith. "Chicago" will run for two weeks followed by two weeks of long time favorite "Camelot" and then the season ends with a two week stretch of the Broadway hit "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Performers are primarily college students and recent graduates who come for the summer from all over the country. We envy their energy and are in awe of their acting, singing and dancing talents.
The theater is an easy 15 minute drive from our Squam Lake B&B. With performances beginning at 8:00 pm it's convenient to have a leisurely dinner beforehand at one of the area's many excellent restaurants. And after an evening of great entertainment you get to retreat to your comfortable room here at the Inn On Golden Pond for a great night's sleep. How can you resist?
Close by entertainment like this is just one more reason to choose our Holderness Inn when you're looking for Lake Winnipesaukee or Squam Lake area lodging.
Roxy and her lawyer preparing for trial in a scene from "Chicago"
Ashland, Center Harbor, Meredith fireworks all close to our Holderness bed and breakfast
July 5th, 2010 by Bill Webb
Happy 4th of July! What a great stretch of weather we've had and the forecasters say we're in for several more days of sunny, hot conditions. Well have no fear the Inn On Golden Pond offers air conditioning in all our guest rooms so you can expect to have a cool time during your visit with us.
This weekend featured several fireworks displays in central NH. On Saturday both Sandwich and Ashland set them off and on the 4th itself Center Harbor and Meredith held their displays. We've always enjoyed the fireworks in Center Harbor, sitting on the lawn by the town library and viewing the spectacular show as they burst out over the bay on Lake Winnipesaukee. Of course, there's a concert at the town gazebo preceding the fireworks and the local scouts are selling food and drink. Kind of takes you back in time.
Squam Lake has been very active this weekend as boaters officially kicked off the summer season. This is truly a great time to be in the lakes region of New Hampshire. Although it's not all about the lakes. Several of our guests decided to take a journey north yesterday driving up to the top of Mt. Washington - two of them on motorcycles. The peak of the mountain is certainly one place to beat the summer heat, in fact last Thursday they had snow at the top!
So make your plans now to visit our Squam Lake bed and breakfast. A few days of relaxation and an opportunity to enjoy Squam Lake, Lake Winnipesaukee or the White Mountains sure is an attractive combination.
The Inn On Golden Pond – a New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast close to it all.
June 26th, 2010 by Bill Webb
Franconia Notch was a busy place last Thursday as ground was broken for the Old Man of the Mountain Memorial. The Old Man was a New Hampshire icon, a natural formation on the side of Cannon Mountain which when viewed at a certain angle looked like the profile of an old man. After hanging on for thousands of years the Old Man fell in May of 2003. Since that time a group has been busy raising funds to design and build a memorial.
When the memorial is finished it will feature several slabs of sculpted granite lined up and when viewed from the right angle will give viewers a similar profile to that of the original Old Man.
Our Holderness bed and breakfast is just about 30 minutes from the site. Franconia Notch has always been one of our favorite spots. In our opinion it offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the state. The Notch is also home of the Flume which is a great hike into a rocky gorge with beautiful waterfalls.
The Inn On Golden Pond is one New Hampshire B&B close to just about everything. Whether you're looking to spend a day in our beautiful lakes region or want to experience the White Mountains we're centrally located for both. We have some suggested day trips on our website which will help you in your planning.
We hope you enjoy the attached video which shows some of the beautiful highlights of Franconia Notch including several images of the Old Man.
Motorcycle Week at our New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast
June 17th, 2010 by Bill Webb
We are entering what is commonly called Motorcycle Weekend. Although many participants don't know it this event dates back 87 years and celebrates the oldest motorcycle race in the country. What started as a few motorcyclists racing around a dirt track has grown into a social event which draws more than 200,000 bikers to the New Hampshire lakes region each June. Our Squam Lake bed and breakfast has been the New Hampshire lodging choice for many attendees over the years. Many bikers really appreciate our comfortable rooms at the end of a long day of touring New Hampshire's back roads. And no matter how late they've stayed out socializing they never miss one of our hearty country breakfasts which get them going in the morning.
The headquarters for this rally is Weirs Beach which is twenty minutes south of us. There you'll find bikes of all kinds, people of all sorts and vendors of all varieties. It's a real happening and lots of fun. Of course, if you don't own a motorcycle that doesn't mean you can't join in. You can drive from our Holderness inn/bed and breakfast to Meredith just to our south and then hop on a shuttle train or boat which will take you directly to Weirs Beach. No traffic, no hassles.
The towns around us - Ashland, Center Harbor, Meredith, Plymouth and Sandwich all play host to the thousands of bikers who show up for this event. But we're just far enough away from the center of action to make it a desirable spot for those who want to be close, but not in the middle of things. In another three days all the motorcycles will disappear and we'll be back to listening to the loon calls on the lake rather than the rumbles of the Harleys.
A great New Hampshire Lakes Region walk near our Squam Lake B&B
May 26th, 2010 by Bill Webb
This week we had a free afternoon so we decided to take a hike in Sandwich Notch. The Notch is about a 25 minute drive from our Squam Lake inn, down Route 113 meandering beside Squam lake and out to the quintessential New England town of Sandwich, NH. Here we picked up the Sandwich Notch road which is about 14 miles long, open only in the good weather, and best traveled with an SUV. There are numerous trails which can be accessed along the road.
We chose the Guinea Pond trail for a special reason. Last year we hiked this trail and discovered two things. First the trail doesn't actually take you to Guinea Pond - close, but not to the shoreline. The maintained trail stops short of the pond and the vegetation is too thick after that to find your own way. The second thing we discovered which made the hike really worthwhile were dozens of Lady Slippers. I'm not sure where else in the New Hampshire lakes region you can walk to see so many of these rare wildflowers. We have 50 acres surrounding our bed and breakfast and I've never come across one on our property.
We picked a great time for this walk. The Lady Slippers were abundant and there were lots of other wildflowers to enjoy as well. So we've made a mental note to do this every year around the 1st of June.
There are wonderful walks and hikes throughout the Lake's Region, around Squam Lake and in the Squam Range. I think that's why many people who are searching for New Hampshire lodging decide to stay with us. The area is perfect for those who want to get out and enjoy the wonders of Mother Nature. For those who might not be so ambitious there's always the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center right here in Holderness within walking distance of our bed and breakfast. The Kirkwood Gardens are stunning, filled with perennials and well maintained by a crew of volunteers.
[caption id="attachment_638" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Lady slippers we found on the Guinea Pond Trail in Sandwich Notch"][/caption]
Geocaching around Squam Lake
May 8th, 2010 by Bill Webb
This past week I attended a Board retreat for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. I've been on the Board for about three years. The retreat was held at the Minary Center just down the street right here in Holderness, NH on Squam Lake. At one point in our meeting someone mentioned geocaching, and I must admit that while I had heard the term I really didn't know much about it. When I got home I did a little reading about it. It's a pretty amazing new (relatively speaking) sport which gets people of all ages outdoors on what one could describe as an electronic scavenger hunt.
Simply put you use a handheld GPS unit to find hidden caches (items.) Cache locations are listed on geocaching.com. Once you get the coordinates for cache sites from the website you enter them into your GPS unit and off you go. It's a great way to get outdoors and enjoy an afternoon of walking or hiking. According to the website there are about 1,000 hidden cache locations within 25 miles of our Squam Lake bed and breakfast!
Of course, like all web based and electronic things this phenomenon is BIG. There are over 1 million geocaches around the world with who knows how many geocachers looking for them. Many states have geocaching organizations. Since we like to hike maybe we'll use this game as a different twist to get out and enjoy New Hampshire's lakes region and the White Mountains. My guess is that with Plymouth State University next door to us there are probably geocaches in downtown Plymouth, NH since locations are often in urban settings as well as rural areas.
Maybe we'll set up a cache site here at the Inn. In addition to folks who are looking for quality lodging in Holderness and the Squam Lake area we'll get visits from all sorts of geocachers out on an afternoon search! Here's a little intro to geocaching if you're new to this world.
First loons of the season on Squam Lake
April 29th, 2010 by Bill Webb
Well you know that summer can't be far away when you see your first loons of the season. The ice on Squam Lake disappeared early this year and as usual loons found the open water almost immediately. These wonderful birds live in open water year round and it seems like those that spend the winter off the coast of New England must make daily scouting trips during the Spring to Holderness and the NH Lakes Region (see our day trip map) until they spot enough open water to allow them to return to their summer home. There's a special feeling we have about loons. While they're not an endangered species they're not plentiful. On Squam Lake there are only about 50 loons altogether and their population has been declining over the past several years. The Loon Preservation Society and others are working hard to understand this trend.
Many of us were first introduced to the Loon through the classic film On Golden Pond which, of course, was filmed here on Squam Lake. It's hard to believe the movie was made over 25 years ago! It's no surprise that when we arrived in Holderness and decided to purchase this property that we named our New Hampshire bed and breakfast after the movie. We have always felt that the peace and serenity that prevailed in the movie was the tone we wanted in our NH inn. The popularity of the movie continues to this day and every year we have hundreds of visitors who take one of the tours on Squam Lake not only to see places where On Golden Pond was filmed, but to get closeup views of our loon population. It's certainly likely that New Hampshire travel and tourism has benefited from our loon population. If you haven't seen a loon closeup (or even if you have) enjoy the attached video of a mother loon and her chicks.
Squam Lakes Natural Science Center Opening May 1
April 15th, 2010 by Bill Webb
The Squam Lakes Natural Science Center right here in Holderness NH will be opening its trails on May 1. This is one of the most interesting attractions around Squam Lake filled with exhibits on native NH wildlife and plant life.
During the summer season guests often ask us what they can do in the NH Lakes Region that combines a little exercise with a learning experience. The Science Center is definitely the spot. The exhibit trail is about a half mile long with natural enclosures featuring live deer, bear, otters, mountain lions and more. There are side trails which offer longer walks or hikes including one up Mt. Fayal which is on the Center's property. The Center's staff conducts excellent programs several times a day throughout the season.
So if you're planning a visit with us here On Golden Pond be sure to carve out enough time to visit the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center.
Hiking from our New Hampshire Bed and Breakfast
P.O. Box 680 | Route 3