Outdoor Recreation
Adam’s Playground
With 3 softball-baseball fields, a skate park, an outdoor basketball court, soccer field, tennis courts, and a swimming pool, Adam’s Playground offers ample space for outdoor activities.
Fishing and Swimming
Franklin Pierce Lake
Franklin Pierce Lake is approximately 519 acres in size. The southern third of the lake is in Antrim, while the main body and the Harriman Electric Power Dam are in the town of Hillsborough. Recreational uses of this warm water fishery include fishing, water skiing, boating, sailing, swimming, and bird watching.
Gregg Lake
Gregg Lake is approximately 195 acres in size. It is a moderate warm water fishery. Recreational uses include fishing, picnicking, water skiing, boating, sailing, and bird watching. Public access is adjacent to the Antrim town beach, three miles from downtown Antrim.
Willard Pond
Willard Pond is approximately 96 acres in size. It is an excellent cold water fishery. It is part of the DePierrefeu-Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuary. Fly fishing, hiking, and bird watching are the main recreational uses of the sanctuary. Public access is provided for boats, however, petroleum powered motors are prohibited. Access to Willard Pond is off of Route 123 in Hancock.
Campbell Pond
Campbell Pond is approximately 17 acres in size. It is the former water supply and present backup water supply for Antrim. There is no road access to Campbell Pond.
Lilly Pond
Lilly Pond is under 10 acres in size. Hiking and bird/wildlife watching are the main recreational uses of the pond. Public access is by foot trail through a series of formal and informal easements.
Rye Pond
Rye Pond is approximately 13 acres in size with portions of the pond in the towns of Antrim, Nelson, and Stoddard. It is a warm water fishery with limited public access.
Steele’s Pond
Steele’s Pond is approximately 36 acres in size. It provides the water source for a small hydro power plant, whose generated electricity is sold to Public Service of New Hampshire. There is no recreational activity at this pond, other than some limited fishing off of the bridge, a short distance from Route 9.
Hiking Trails and Protected Land
Lily Pond, Ziegler/Hurlin Trail is a trail system that starts at the Meetinghouse Hill cemetery and winds its way down the southern flank of the Meetinghouse Hill. From the trailhead on Route 31, it continues across the highway and out the rear of the old Center cemetery. From the Center Cemetery, the trail travels along a deeded trail easement along the stone wall. The trail formally terminates at the Lily Pond. Land around the pond as well as at the rear of the Meetinghouse Cemetery are privately owned and the land should be treated with the utmost of respect and care. The overall trail length is approximately 4,500 feet, with Route 31 transecting the trail at the halfway point.
McCabe Forest Trail is a trail system maintained by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF). It is a two-mile trail loop that leaves the parking lot off Route 202 and loops through the 192-acre McCabe Forest to the Contoocook River and back.
DePierrefue-Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuary (Bald Mountain) Trail System is a sanctuary and trail system maintained by the New Hampshire Audubon Society. The 1,000+-acre sanctuary is the largest New Hampshire Audubon property, and along with additional easements, gifts and protected lands brings the protected lands around Willard Pond to more than 2,000 acres. Willard Pond is about 100 acres in size and is surrounded by Bald Mountain and Goodhue Hill. There are four substantial trails in the system, two of which go to the summits of Bald Mountain and Goodhue Hill.
Loverns Mill Cedar Swamp Preserve is a 613 acre conservation project cooperatively developed and maintained by the Nature Conservancy and SPNHF. The preserve is located along Route 9 in an undeveloped section of North Branch. It contains several trails which transect portions of the property and leads to the nearly 50 acre boreal, cedar swamp. Nature conservation partners have connected the preserve to a larger conservation project. This larger project is to include the 5,000 acre SPNHF owned Peirce Reservation (in Stoddard and Windsor) and the Nature Conservancy’s 1693 acre Otter Brook Preserve.
Meadow Marsh is a short trail (approximately 0.5 miles) on Town property along the wetland areas at the north end of Gregg Lake on either side of Craig Road at the intersection of the former Hattie Brown Road.
Miller State Park in Temple, NH is the oldest state-run park in New Hampshire. The park is located in the towns of Peterborough and Temple. The park is centered on Pack Monadnock, a 2,290-foot mountain.
