Come to Island Pond for Lively Birds, Turtles and Lush Green Hills

This was our second time kayaking Island Pond in Stoddard, out in the Monadnock Region and we were excited to see and hear our first loon of the season! Our first trip here (exactly one year ago) ended after about 20 minutes on the water because of stormy weather. This time around, we enjoyed a full two hours on the pond, reveling in the many beautiful shades of green and all the birds and turtles. If you haven't visited, you may want to add this place to your list.

What I loved best about Island Pond was the great variety of the waterscape and the wildlife. There were several islands, grassy marshes and small coves to explore, as well as some lush hills in the distance. First off, it's a very easy sandy put-in right off Route 123 north. That means you'll hear some road noise while you are out on the water, but it's really not a heavily travelled road and shouldn't impact your peaceful time on the water too much.

There's also more development on the pond than we usually like to see -- but again it wasn't anything that detracted from our enjoyment. In my view, there are more plusses than minuses here.

Some of the many shades of green on Island Pond.

Aside from being treated to the haunting call of the loons, we enjoyed many other smaller birds serenading us while we were on the water. Doug spotted a snapping turtle and we saw a few Eastern Painted turtles sunning themselves. At least, I think that was the species -- don't hold me to it!

Tall marshy areas with channels are fun to explore

Two small caveats: Island Pond is a rocky place, with some very shallow areas. So you need to be on the lookout when you are paddling here. Power boats are also allowed and there's a water-skiing channel. We were lucky that we only encountered one power boat that quickly cut it's engine. So that wasn't a factor, but it might be a different story on a busy summer weekend.

Overall, I loved our time here and think you will probably agree that Island Pond is a very serene spot to spend a few hours enjoying some of the best that southwest New Hampshire has to offer. Get out and enjoy and stop back in to let us know about your experience!

Directions: From Rte. 202 in Peterborough, take Rte. 123 North to Hancock. Look for the pond on your right shortly after the intersection of Rtes. 9 and 123. There's plenty of off-road parking and a porta-potty here.

Beautiful Day in Pillsbury State Park

This was our first time at Pillsbury State Park in Washington, located in the Monadnock Region -- it's definitely worth the trip! There are four connected ponds here, but we only explored two of them today: Butterfield and May Ponds. This place has been on my list ever since guest poster Matt Hoffman wrote about it in 2009. You can read his write-up and see some awesome pictures here. Hard to believe it's taken us five years to get there!

Beautiful summer day. We want to return in the fall.

Pillsbury State Park has a ranger's station right off Route 31. From there, it's an easy put-in to Butterfield Pond, which connects via a small channel to May Pond. There are a number of rolling hills/small mountains -- all of them at least 1900-feet tall. Don't you love the reflections in the water? We saw two loons here, but they kept their distance. It's that time of year when there may have been loon chicks around.

Just relax already! There's only one grassy area like this.

Butterfield Pond is pretty shallow and rocky, but still navigable. Sometimes we get so enthralled with the scenery that we forget to watch for rocks right below the surface. Of the two ponds, May Pond has more water and more areas to explore. Doug caught two small pickerel; And a camper we talked to said he'd caught a five-pounder earlier in the day. If you want to continue beyond May Pond to Mill Pond, you'll need to portage your boat about 1/4 mile. We didn't explore that one today, but Matt wrote about in his earlier post.

An interesting feature in the Park is the wind turbines (barely visible on the hill at right in photo left). They are part of the Lempster Wind Power Project. There are 12 turbines capable of powering up to 10,000 homes. Public Service Company of New Hampshire purchases and resells all the energy produced here.

I could write so much more about Pillsbury State Park, but I want you to get out there and explore it for yourself! Aside from four ponds, there are also walking/hiking trails, little bits of history and campsites (some only accessible by canoe). A section of the 43-mile long Monadnock Sunapee Greenway Trail also passes through the park.

Things to Know Before You Go: The entrance fee to the park is $4 per adult and $2 for children ages 6-11. You can rent canoes/kayaks from the ranger's station here.  Plan to bring your own food or stop at the Taste of Texas rib shack in Hillsborough; there's not much else in the area in terms of places to eat.
Nearby Historic Site:  The President Franklin Pierce Homestead in Hillsborough looks like a great historical stop. New Hampshire's only President lived here for the first 30 years of his life. We stopped in briefly to the gallery/barn/mini-museum and there was an art exhibit going on. Guides give 45-minute tours of the main house in season from Memorial Day through October. There's also a short self-guided walking tour of the Pierce neighborhood, including a family cemetery.

Gearing Up for Kayaking

Blog Note: I'm working (with help) on a new design. Still in progress, so hope you'll be patient as I try to get all the features where I'd like them to be!

On to some Kayaking Info:

We went to the Contoocook River Canoe Company Kayak and Canoe Demo in Concord yesterday. There were lots of manufacturers, hundreds of kayaks, paddles and other gear, and some very helpful salespeople. So helpful, in fact, that we parted with some serious money for Werner paddles.

Can't say which "model" we bought, but they're made of carbon and light as air. You can read more about Werner paddles and take a quiz that will help you choose the right paddle on their website. I also discovered that if you register your new paddle on the site, Werner will donate a percentage to an outdoor non-profit organization you select from a list of options. Pretty cool (even though it's an obvious marketing ploy to get your e-mail address).

Is anyone looking for kayak (or water) shoes? After months of searching, Doug found some last week at Alec's Shoe Store in downtown Nashua. They had a big selection. I love my L.L. Bean shoes bought a few years back at a kayak show. They give me good footing at those rocky put-ins and they dry so quickly.

And now it's confession time: we're usually out on the water by this time of year. What's the hold-up and why all the chatter about gear? The truth is I'm having back problems and I'm delaying getting out on the water until my back can "mend" a little. I feel like one of those high-priced ball players. You know -- when they put them on the disabled list so they won't risk a more serious injury and be out all season? Um, yeah, that's me.

Doug didn't wait. He took his kayak and headed out for a short paddle on Round Pond yesterday on Route 101A near our house. Road and airport noise were an issue, but he did see some ducks and geese. And he said the new paddle was awesome! They are calibrated so you can feather them with more precision. (A year ago, we had no idea what this was all about, but we're learning.)

Feathering is when you offset the blades on your paddle -- so if you held out your paddle in front of you, one blade would be level and the other would be at a 30-degree angle, for example. I'll write more on that later. For now, I'm off to ice my back and work more on the blog design.

Try Canoes and Kayaks Before You Buy

With paddling season fast approaching, I've had a couple of people ask me how to choose their first kayak. I'm not an expert when it comes to that, but I'm happy to point you in the direction of people who are experts, starting with the folks at Contoocook River Canoe Company. (Just so you know...I have no financial interest in any of these companies.)

Contoocook River Canoe Company is offering a full day of on-water demos. They'll have over 200 boats to try out from at least 15 different manufacturers. Mark your calendar now and plan to check it all out at 9 Horse Hill Road in Concord on Sunday, May 17th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. I've never attended this event, but it's billed as the largest on-water demo in New Hampshire. Hope to see you there! Learn more at Contoocook River Canoe Company .