Westmoreland

The first New Hampshire property donated to The Nature Conservancy, this 104-acre preserve holds secrets worth discovering. A steep 1.5-mile trail leads through towering hemlock and maple to forty-foot rocky outcrops with Connecticut River views, passing a historic spring that Dr. Warwick had cleared for wildlife. The calcium-rich bedrock creates alkaline soils rare in New Hampshire, supporting unique wildflowers and purple trilliums that bloom in spring.

Locals know this 1764 meetinghouse lawn offers the region's finest sunset views, but few visitors discover it. The historic building with its Paul Revere bell sits atop a sloping green where you can spread a picnic and watch the sun sink behind the hills. Summer evenings sometimes feature world-class chamber music concerts on this same lawn, creating magic as twilight falls.

Westmoreland's oldest burial ground sits where the town's first fort once stood, near the spot where settlers canoed up the Connecticut River in 1741. Twenty-seven Revolutionary War soldiers rest here among weathered stones bearing familiar local names like Chickering and Aldrich. The cemetery doubles as an outdoor gallery of early gravestone art, with one poignant marker showing four infant children lost by the same family in consecutive years.

Hidden up a dirt road in a restored 1830s barn, this tiny winery grows cold-hardy grape varieties from Minnesota stock that most people have never heard of. Steve and Mame work their 1,200 vines by hand, creating unique wines that express the Connecticut River hillside terroir. The intimate tasting room feels like visiting friends, and you might catch Steve explaining how Noiret grapes can taste like Syrah with black pepper notes.

This working dairy farm turns into a maple syrup mecca each spring, where you can watch the boiling process through a window while eating pancakes drizzled with syrup made in the next room. The family operation serves hearty breakfast in a no-frills atmosphere where 'laughter and conversation would be the background music,' and summer Thursday nights bring classic car cruise nights to the parking lot.