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Spark a love of nature!

Handcrafted for caregivers that want to spark a love of nature, 50 Hikes with Kids: New England highlights the most kid-friendly hikes in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These hikes are perfect for little legs—they are all under five miles and have an elevation gain of 900 feet of less. Every entry includes the essential details: easy-to-read, trustworthy directions; a detailed map; hike length and elevation gain; bathroom access; and where to grab a bite to eat nearby. Full-color photographs and scavenger hunts highlight the fun things to see along the trail.

A young adventurer hikes through fall leaves

CHOOSING
YOUR
ADVENTURE

This guide is designed to help children become co-adventurers with you across the diverse New England landscape, so build excitement by involving them in the planning process from the beginning. Let them flip through and mark the pages they’d like to tackle in the future. Ask them what features they love when they’re outside. How hard do they feel like working today for their adventure? How long do they want to hike? The following tables can help you choose. For maximum success with younger kids, no hike is over 5 miles long or gains much more than 1,000 feet—perfectly attainable for most little legs. This means that there can be plenty of time for exploration, rest stops, snacks, and just taking in the sights and sounds around you.

ADVENTURES IN CONNECTICUT

ADVENTURE	NEAREST CITY	LENGTH (MILES)	DIFFICULTY & ELEVATION (FEET)	HIGHLIGHTS
1 Great Ledge	Danbury	1.5	Moderate 116′	Footbridges, views, toads, geology
2 Leatherman Cave	Hartford	1.6	Challenging 312′	History, cave
3 Burr Pond	Hartford	2.6	Moderate 99′	Pond, beach, boulders, history
4 Mt. Tom Tower	Litchfield	1.3	Moderate 336′	Tower, view, history, geology
5 Campbell Falls	Norfolk	1	Moderate 169′	Waterfall, geology, footbridges
6 Meigs Point	New Haven	1.1	Easy 7′	Bird-watching, seals, geology, beach
7 Devil's Hopyard State Park	Norwich	1	Moderate 67′	Cave, river, covered bridge, history
8 Indian Chair at Mashamoquet Brook State Park	Pomfret	2.8	Challenging 315′	Geology, cave, history

ADVENTURES IN RHODE ISLAND

ADVENTURE	NEAREST CITY	LENGTH (MILES)	DIFFICULTY & ELEVATION (FEET)	HIGHLIGHTS
9 Napatree Point Conservation Area	Westerly	3	Moderate 32′	Beach, ruins, history, bird-watching
10 Trustom Pond	Charlestown	2.5	Easy 33′	Bird-watching, boardwalk, ponds
11 Block Island National Wildlife Refuge	New Shoreham	1.2	Easy 32′	Bird-watching, beach, lighthouse, history
12 Fisherville Brook	Exeter	1.6	Easy 87′	History, bird-watching, pond, geology, footbridges
13 Stepstone Falls	Hopkinton	3.6	Moderate 123′	Waterfall, river, rock scrambling
14 Powder Mill Ledges	Greenville	1.2	Easy 76′	Bird-watching, pond, cool forest, boardwalks
15 Sachuest Point	Newport	2.6	Easy 29′	Beach, bird-watching, seals

ADVENTURES IN MASSACHUSETTS

ADVENTURE	NEAREST CITY	LENGTH (MILES)	DIFFICULTY & ELEVATION (FEET)	HIGHLIGHTS
16 Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary	Vineyard Haven	1.4	Moderate 141′	Beach, pond, footbridges, boardwalks
17 Fort Hill	Eastham	1.6	Easy 51′	Beach, bird-watching, history, boardwalk
18 World's End	Hingham	3.1	Easy 92′	Geology, history, cool trees, boardwalk
19 Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary	Topsfield	1.5	Easy 79′	Bridges, bird-watching, rock grotto, pond
20 Walden Pond	Concord	1.7	Easy 49′	History, pond, beach
21 Purgatory Chasm	Worcester	0.7	Moderate 94′	Geology, deep canyon, rock scrambling
22 Mt. Watatic	Ashburnham	2.7	Challenging 588′	Summit, views, hawks, beaver pond, blueberries
23 Doane's Falls	Athol	1	Moderate 176′	Waterfalls, geology, bridge, history
24 Goat Peak Tower at Mt. Tom	Holyoke	1.2	Moderate 300′	Hawks, tower, views
25 Peeskawso Peak	Great Barrington	2.8	Challenging 664′	History, summit, views, cave
26 Rounds Rock	Lanesborough	0.7	Easy 110′	Views, airplane wreck, blueberries

ADVENTURES IN VERMONT

ADVENTURE	NEAREST CITY	LENGTH (MILES)	DIFFICULTY & ELEVATION (FEET)	HIGHLIGHTS
27 Mt. Olga	Wilmington	2	Moderate 521′	Tower, viewpoint, history
28 Lye Brook Falls	Manchester	4.6	Challenging 853′	Waterfall, geology, spring wildflowers, historic railroad
29 Quechee Gorge	Hartford	2	Easy 181′	Geology, bridge, waterfall, rock scrambling
30 Wright's Mountain	Bradford	1.8	Easy 453′	Cool cabin, viewpoint, geology, trail log
31 Sunset Ledge	Bristol	1.5	Moderate 343′	Rocky summit, views, the Long Trail
32 Moss Glen Falls	Stowe	0.5	Easy 100′	Waterfall, geology, footbridges

ADVENTURES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

ADVENTURE	NEAREST CITY	LENGTH (MILES)	DIFFICULTY & ELEVATION (FEET)	HIGHLIGHTS
33 Flume Gorge	Lincoln	1.9	Easy 469′	Waterfalls, geology, cave, boardwalks, bridge
34 Arethusa Falls	Hart's Location	2.8	Challenging 849′	Waterfalls, bridges, rock and root scrambling, river
35 Black Cap Mountain	Conway	2.3	Moderate 634′	Rocky summit, views, geology
36 White Lake	Tamworth	2	Easy 26′	Lake, beach, cool trees, bird-watching
37 West Rattlesnake Mountain	Holderness	1.9	Moderate 434′	Viewpoint, geology, bird-watching, lake
38 Mt. Major	Alton	2.8	Challenging 1,121′	Rocky summit, history, ruins
39 Blue Job Mountain	Farmington	2.2	Moderate 365′	Viewpoint, tower, rocky summit, blueberries, hawks
40 Pulpit Rock	Manchester	1.8	Moderate 102′	Footbridges, ravine, geology
41 Odiorne Point State Park	Portsmouth	2.1	Easy 16′	Jetty, history, ruins, marsh, beach

ADVENTURES IN MAINE

ADVENTURE	NEAREST CITY	LENGTH (MILES)	DIFFICULTY & ELEVATION (FEET)	HIGHLIGHTS
42 Bradbury Mountain	Freeport	1.2	Moderate 248′	Rocky summit, views, geology
43 Rattlesnake Pool	Fryeburg	2.1	Moderate 216′	Waterfalls, swimming, bridges, geology
44 Table Rock	Bethel	2.4	Challenging 939′	Rocky summit, iron ladders, viewpoint, Appalachian Trail
45 Moxie Falls	The Forks	2	Easy 226′	Waterfalls, boardwalks, geology
46 Debsconeag Ice Caves	Millinocket	2.4	Moderate 180′	Caves, ladder, rock scrambling, viewpoint
47 Little and Big Niagara Falls	Millinocket	2.4	Moderate 173′	Waterfalls, swimming, moose
48 Quoddy Head	Bangor	2.8	Easy 114′	Bog, historic lighthouse, whales, seashore, geology
49 Great Head	Bangor	1.4	Moderate 132′	Views, rock scrambling, beach, geology, ruins
50 Fernald’s Neck Preserve	Camden	2.6	Moderate 115′	Bog, lake, geology, footbridges

A young adventurer casts a line

ADVENTURES BY FEATURE

Can you remember the first cave you explored? The first waterfall that misted your face? Each of these adventures includes a destination or item of particular interest to motivate young legs and reward hard work. Encourage kids, as co-adventurers, to talk about which types of natural features tickle them the most and why.

FEATURE	ADVENTURE
Lakes	3 Burr Pond
	10 Trustom Pond
	12 Upper Pond at Fisherville Brook
	14 Powder Mill Ledges
	16 Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary
	19 Ponds at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
	20 Walden Pond
	36 White Lake State Park
	37 West Rattlesnake Mountain
	20 Megunticook Lake at Fernald’s Neck Preserve
Waterfalls	5 Campbell Falls
	13 Stepstone Falls
	23 Doane’s Falls
	28 Lye Brook Falls
	32 Moss Glen Falls
	33 Flume Gorge
	34 Arethusa Falls
	43 Rattlesnake Flume and Pool
	45 Moxie Falls
	47 Little and Big Niagara Falls
History	2 Leatherman Cave
	3 Dam at Burr Pond
	4 Mt. Tom Tower
	7 Covered bridge at Devil’s Hopyard
	8 The wolf den at Indian Chair
	9 Fort Mansfield at Napatree Point
	11 Settlers’ Rock and Cow Cove on Block Island
	12 Cemetery at Fisherville Brook
	17 Penniman House and Indian Rock at Fort Hill
	18 Carriage roads at World’s End
	20 Thoreau’s house site at Walden Pond
	25 Melville and Hawthorne’s cave at Peeskawso Peak
	26 Plane wreck at Rounds Rock
	27 Fire tower at Mt. Olga
	28 Old railroad at Lye Brook Falls
	38 Hut at Mt. Major
	41 WWII remnants at Odiorne Point State Park
	48 Lighthouse at Quoddy Head
Flora and fauna	6 Birds and seals at Meigs Point
	9 Bird-watching at Napatree Point
	10 Bird-watching and animal tracking at Trustom Pond
	12 Bird-watching at Fisherville Brook
	14 Bird-watching at Powder Mill Ledges
	17 Bird-watching at Fort Hill
	18 Bird-watching at World’s End
	22 Blueberries, bird-watching, and beavers at Mt. Watatic
	26 Blueberries at Rounds Rock
	45 Spring wildflowers at Moxie Falls
	48 Bog and pitcher plants at Quoddy Head
Geology	1 Granite at Great Ledge
	4 Glacial polish at Mt. Tom Tower
	5 Gneiss at Campbell Falls
	6 Glacial moraine at Meigs Point
	8 Indian Chair and Table Rock at Mashamoquet Brook State Park
	12 Glacial erratics at Fisherville Brook
	18 Drumlins at World’s End
	21

Genre:

On Sale: Aug 31, 2021
Page Count: 284 pages
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN-13: 9781643260013

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Wendy Gorton

About the Author

Wendy holds a master’s degree in learning technologies and is a former classroom teacher. As part of her quest to bring science education alive, she worked as a National Geographic Fellow in Australia researching Tasmanian devils, a PolarTREC teacher researcher in archaeology in Alaska, an Earthwatch teacher fellow in the Bahamas and New Orleans, and a GoNorth! teacher explorer studying climate change via dogsled in Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Today, she is a global education consultant who has traveled to more than fifty countries to design programs, build communities, and train other educators to do the same.

Learn more about this author