Around New England

Join us as we discuss all of our favorite hiking gear and where we shop as well as where you guys have recommended.  We discuss all clothing choices from shoes, socks, pants, tops, and outerwear.  This isn't the same as our blog about the 10 essentials, but a list of our own essentials that we try not to hike without. We talk a lot about our favorite items of clothing and where we got them from.   

A few of our most frequented stor...

This week we head towards Boston for our new Puppy's first hike at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Medford, MA.  Known as "The Fells", this park is surprisingly large at over 2,000 acres! There is access from other surrounding towns, but we went to the Medford parking lot.  

There are so many trails, it truly is a choose-your-own-adventure type of hike.  We did the skyline trail which had white blazes on it.  We hiked to Wright'...

Join us this week as we head to Gillette Castle in East Haddam, CT.  This beautiful castle was built in the early 1900's for William Gillette, best known for being the first person to be Sherlock Holmes in theater.  His home is amazing and is free to walk around.  Tours are available from daily during the summer, and weekends throughout the fall.  There is even a cool holiday showing.  We went when they were closed for decorating f...

This week we head to Bridgton, Maine to check out Pate Mountain Reserve.  Be sure to listen to hear how to pronounce it!  ;) This area is maintained by Loon Echo Land Trust (LELT)and they do an incredible job!  It's a great hike to get a variety of trail experiences. 

Bald Pate reminded us a lot of Mount Agamenticus in York, Maine.  Listen to our podcast about it here.   

The Bridgton Maine area is a very cool.  It's home to a ski ...

Join us as we hike out 8th New Hampshire 4,000 footer, Mount Hale.  Located off 302 near Bretton Woods, Zealand Road is a seasonal road that accesses several great hiking trails including this hike. 

The road is closed in the winter, so check conditions prior to arriving.  The road closure would practically double the mileage on this one!  When we did this one, it was November.  The road was still open but there was plenty of snow ...

Thanks for joining us in our Season 2 opening episode where we talk all about our 2026 hiking goals and of course, Mike wants to talk skiing. 

This year Mike is taking G skiing on the Indy Pass.  This is the first in many seasons that G has tried skiing again.  Listen to her adventures while taking her first of her three lessons, including if she made it out unscathed or not. We both have the Indy Pass and she has 3 lessons to use ...

For our Season 1 finally, We hiked a hike that has been on our bucket list for a long time.  We hiked the Lincoln - Lafayette Loop in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  This hike was outstanding! 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Lincoln with hopes to hike on one of the 2 morning we were there.  We paid close attention to the Higher Summits Forecast from the Mount Washington Ob...

This week we venture off to some cool family friendly spots in the Portland, Maine area.  We head to Mackworth Island State Park for some quiet views of Casco Bay.  

Next we headed to Fort Williams Park to see the famous Portland Head Light lighthouse and walk the cliff walk.

We finally had to check out Crescent Beach State Park where you can rent paddle boards! 

another spot we recommend is Fore River Sanctuary.  This is a beautif...

Join us as we explore Block Island which is a small but beautiful island just 13 miles off the coast of Rhode Island.  It is accessible by The Block Island Ferry.  Book your trip early, as this place gets very busy in the summer!  

When you arrive, you will see some of the bluffs that are visible from the mainland.  As you enter the Old Harbor to dock, Ballard's Resort which is a really cool place to grab a drink, a meal, or even t...

*They recently changed the path to a one way for the busy holiday weekend. Please feel free to follow Cannon Mt Instagram where they post updates. 

We hiked the famous Flume Gorge and Artist Bluffs on an incredible fall day.  The foliage was popping, and the people were out at some of New England's most popular spots.  Some of these people could benefit from reading our blog on trail etiquette!  Both of these activities are also on...

Join us as we embark on an adventurous hike up Mount Tom in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

In this episode, we explore the challenges and rewards of this steep trail, share insights on the best gear for the journey (spoiler alert, we love LL Bean!) , and delve into the rich history of the Metacomet Ridge. Whether you're a seasoned hiker or just starting out, this episode offers a blend of practical tips and stories.

Don't miss our post-hi...

Join us on our first adventure in Connecticut as Around New England!  We went to Ragged Mountain Memorial Preserve in Berlin.  This hike had a little more grade than we thought we signed up for, but it is still a family and dog friendly hike and is only about a 30 minute drive from Hartford.  We even saw cool wildlife on the trail!

This hike is also part of the New England Trail, which is a hiking trail from Long Island Sound in CT...

Join us on our 5th 4,000 footer, Mount Moosilauke, but first we talk about some equipment failures like we had during the Mount Pemi episode!  Our day was perfect thanks to planning using New England Trail Conditions.  We hiked Mount Moosilauke and added the loop to hit South Peak.  The views on both peaks were phenomenal and the hike between peaks was an exposed trail that offered stunning 360 degree views!  This section is also a...

Today we chat about our last two days in Vermont. To begin the episode we chat about the Indy Pass waitlist experience & if I got my own Indy Pass to ski this winter. We also correct ourselves from last week’s episode, Burke Mountain is an Indy Pass this year! A couple other Indy Pass resorts we mention that are in northern Vermont: Jay Peak, Von Trapp Family Lodge, Catamount Outdoor Family Center. 

Episodes we mention you can ...

This week we discuss our last day in the Burlington area, and we head to check int our Airbnb in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom for the remainder of our trip.  

We start the dat renting E-bikes from Local Motion (thanks to another great recommendation from Hello Burlington!).  These E-bikes were great.  We rode them all the way out to the bike ferry station at the end of the causeway across Lake Champlain.  The ferry take you and your...

Join us this week as we talk about our second day on our Vermont family vacation. Thanks to Hello Burlington for the great recommendations on family friendly hikes, we decided to hike Mount Philo in the morning.  This place was really cool.  There is an auto road to the summit, but we decided to hike it.  Fun fact, that road was originally build as a bridal path by the owners of the Mount Philo Inn.  They would take guests up to th...

This week we travel to Vermont to start our family trip!  We are so excited to share all the fun things we did in the Green Mountain State!  Our first stop was to the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences (VINS) Center in Quechee.    

After exploring the VINS, we were hungry!  We stopped by a restaurant we've been meaning to try out on the way.  Worthy Burger in South Royalton did not disappoint!  It was fantastic and we can't wait...

Join us this week as we explore Bear Brook State Park.  No, we didn't find any bodies in barrels.  If you don't understand that joke, listen to Bear Brook Podcast narrated by Jason Moon (right after you listen to ours).  This 10,000+ acre state park is a fantastic way to get out in the woods without going too far.  They are even one of the only parks around to have a new Track Chair that allows handicap people to explore more of th...

This week we go Glamping at Suncook River Campground!  That's right, glamping, like glamorous camping!  We are very excited to share all about our weekend with you all.  Even as inexperienced campers, we had a blast here.  The owners of this campground revived it a few years ago and are still making many improvements to make it even better!  Our dome style tent had A/C and a king size bed!  That's our style of camping!

Hopefully yo...