Summer . . . ahh, before you know it, it’ll be gone. Some years, it feels like as soon as we unpack the school bags, we’re out shopping for back-to-school clothes. This year, we’re going to make the most of the fleeting season. We consulted with the kids in our lives and came up with a list of 10 things to do this summer in New England. Feel free to duplicate it or simply use it as inspiration to create your own family wish list. Enjoy!
Ride the coasters
New England has a variety of amusement parks, including Lake Compounce in Southington, Conn., the oldest continuously operating amusement park in the country; Canobie Lake Park in Salem, N.H., with 85 rides and attractions; sweet Story Land in Glen, N.H., where you can meet Cinderella and ride in a pumpkin carriage; and Funtown Splashtown USA, an old-fashioned favorite in Saco, Maine. But we have our sights on the biggest and baddest: Six Flags New England in Agawam. This park covers some 200 acres with more than 60 rides, including 11 coasters, plus Looney Tune characters, live shows, and New England’s largest water park. And this summer, they plan to open the Quantum Accelerator, a new dual launch roller coaster. Some of us will be first in line for it.
Take a hut hike
The Appalachian Mountain Club’s network of eight high mountain huts, spread across some 50 miles in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is a New England gem. Staying overnight in the rustic huts offers a one-of-a-kind wilderness experience, amidst the stunning mountain landscape. Some huts are challenging to get to, but we’ll try the family-friendly hike to the Lonesome Lake Hut. It’s a gradual 1.6-mile uphill ascent to the hut, set on the shores of a glacial lake with sweeping views of the Franconia Ridge. We’ll have bunk beds to stay in, and dinner prepared, and the hike back out is downhill. It’s a civilized way to get a taste of off-the-grid wilderness.
See the circus
Aerials, acrobatics, juggling, clowning, costumes — it’s Circus Smirkus! This traveling Big Top show, featuring 30 young circus artists ages 12-18, is the only one like it in the United States. The award-winning circus company, backed by professional coaches, cooks, musicians, and crew — some 80 people in all with 23 support vehicles — performs under its own 750-seat European-style one-ring Big Top tent. The company will perform at sites throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, from June 28 to Aug. 17. This year’s theme is Game On! We say, bring it on! Check out the schedule here.
Brave the rapids
The Kennebec, the Penobscot, the Dead. As any East Coast water rat will tell you, these three dam-controlled rivers in northern Maine offer thrills aplenty. The Dead is big and intense, with the longest stretch of continuous whitewater in the East — 15 miles. It’s a snarling white serpent (for ages 14 and up). The West Branch of the Penobscot offers bursts of Class IV to Class V rapids, interspersed with tamer scenic swirls (ages 14 and up). Kennebec is the calmest of the three and the most family-friendly (ages 10 and up). It’s a Class IV river with a mix of rapids and floats. We’ll book the trip with Northern Outdoors, New England’s oldest whitewater rafting outfitter. They offer daily trips out of two resorts, with campgrounds, inn rooms, and cabins. They also offer floats for younger kids and families, and a half-price rafting special for kids under 18, Monday through Friday.
Crawl through caves
Who doesn’t like a little dirty fun? We’re talking about crawling through the natural boulder caves at Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves in North Woodstock, New Hampshire. It’s a beautiful spot, where the Lost River tumbles through a narrow, rock-clogged gorge. There are waterfalls and cascades, lush forests, boulder fields, and caves. A mile-long boardwalk leads through the forest with outlooks and interpretive nature signs. But the stars of this show are the 11 caves open for exploration, to anyone willing to get on their hands and knees to squeeze through them. The most popular caves include Judgment Hall of Pluto, with a waterfall inside, the Lemon Squeezer, the narrowest cave in the gorge, and the Sun Altar, with an opening to a giant overhead pothole. We’ll stop at the Woodstock Inn Brewery on the way home, for a well-deserved meal and beverage.
Spot sea creatures
Clams and crabs, sea urchins and starfish, shrimp and snails … and is that a baby lobster?!! Tide pooling makes going to the beach even more fun. We’ve got Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, N.H., on our list. The 135-acre park along the state’s abbreviated coastline is one of the top spots in the country for tide pooling. Look for periwinkles, barnacles, tiny lobsters, teeny shrimp, and a variety of crabs. As the tide recedes, you can also see remnants of a “drowned forest,” with roots from trees some 3,500 years old sticking out of the water. There are several trails to hike, a playground, and the Seacoast Science Center, with touch tanks, aquariums, and interactive exhibits.
Visit The Beast
Killington resort in Vermont, nicknamed the Beast of the East, is one giant playground, covering seven mountain areas. It’s well-known for its skiing, but in recent years, the resort has upped its summer game, adding a variety of activities and attractions. There are 30 miles and 35 trails of mountain biking, 15 miles of hiking trails, scenic gondola rides, and an 18-hole golf course. We’ll hike, we’ll bike, and then we’ll head to the Snowshed Adventure Center, where there’s a 4,800-foot-long Beast Mountain Coaster, a dual Zip Line, the Skype Ropes Course, the Soaring Eagle ride that glides through the air at 30 miles per hour, a trampoline, and a maze.
Trap a lobster
Getting out on a boat and chug-chugging along the coastline is always a fun experience, but throw in (literally) lobster traps, and it’s even more exciting, and educational. We’ll head up to Ogunquit, Maine, to hop aboard one of the Finestkind’s lobster trips departing from Perkins Cove. There will be scenic coastal views during the 50-minute cruise, and we’ll learn about lobsters and lobstering in Maine. We’ll haul up traps filled (hopefully) with sea creatures and crustaceans. After the boat ride, we’ll walk around Ogunquit, browse shops, and have lobsters and chowder at Barnacle Billy’s restaurant overlooking the cove.
Travel into the Mystic
Mystic Seaport Museum is the country’s leading maritime museum, and it’s kid-friendly. We’ll board the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whale ship in the world, visit dozens of historic buildings in the re-created 19th-century New England coastal village, where ship smiths, coopers, printers, and ship carvers demonstrate traditional trades, and watch shipwrights restore wooden boats in the working shipyard. If we have time (we’ll make time!), we’ll also visit the Mystic Aquarium, filled with sea creatures such as beluga whales, sharks, seals, and sea lions.
Have a whale of a time
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an underwater plateau located between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, is considered one of the top whale watching destinations in the world. And it’s right off our coast! We’ll book a trip with Cape Ann Whale Watch, aboard the 115-foot Hurricane II, with a sundeck and heated main cabin. The company, which has been around since 1979, boasts a 98 percent success rate, and if you don’t see a whale, you can go again free until you do.
Diane Bair and Pamela Wright can be reached at bairwright@gmail.com