Things to Do in New England

1. Cape Cod National Seashore

The Cape Cod National Seashore is a pristine marine environment that consists of 40 miles of beautiful white sandy beaches, tranquil ponds, swampy marshes, wild cranberry bogs, and hiking and biking trails.

Established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, the Cape Cod National Seashore offers a variety of activities, including hiking, mountain biking, fishing, hunting, and ranger-guided activities such as lighthouse tours, snorkeling, and yoga classes.

Other activities include four-wheel driving on the beach, camping, and corridor fishing, and there are two visitors centers, namely the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham and the Province Lands Visitor Center in Provincetown, both of which are open year round.

2. Acadia National Park

Located on Maine's Mount Desert Island, Acadia National Park is a vast recreation area on the Atlantic Coast made up of 47,000 acres of rocky beaches, dense woodlands, and ice-topped peaks like majestic Cadillac Mountain, which is the highest point on the East Coast of the United States.

Established in 1916 as the Sieur de Monts National Monument and later renamed as Lafayette National Park and then Acadia National Park in 1929, the National Park is the oldest designated park in the country east of the Mississippi.

The park is home to the bayside town of Bar Harbor, which has several restaurants, cafés, shops, and bars and a plethora of wildlife such as bears, moose, whales, and a diverse variety of seabirds.

3. Block Island North Light

The Block Island North Light is a historic lighthouse on Block Island, Rhode Island, also known as New Shoreham. The tower was built in 1829 to highlight the entrances to the Block Island and Long Island Sounds, as well as to warn sea-farers away from dangerous Sandy Point, which extended a mile out from the island.

The Block Island North Light lighthouse has since been replaced four times due to various factors and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a popular tourist attraction.

Today, the Block Island North Light lighthouse stands 55 feet height and is built from granite in an octagonal shape. The tower features a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which has a range of 11 nautical miles, and does not have a foghorn.

Block Island, RI 02807, Phone: 401-466-3213

4. Conway Scenic Railroad

The Conway Scenic Railroad is a heritage railway that offers fun for the whole family.

The Conway Scenic Railroad features a variety of beautifully restored vintage locomotives and train cars, which provide an authentic, old-fashioned railroading experience on two historic valley routes.

Train rides depart from the 1874 train station in North Conway and travel through some of the most dramatic natural scenery, including cascading brooks and streams, steep ravines, sheer bluffs, and panoramic mountain vistas, through the spectacular Crawford Notch to Crawford Station, where the trip ends.

Guest can relive the golden age of railroading with a first-class dining experience on one of the elegant dining cars during the trip.

38 Norcross Cir, North Conway, NH 03860, Phone: 603-356-5251

5. Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum

The Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum is a state-owned natural history preserve in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, that protects one of the most significant dinosaur track sites in North America.

The park spans 80 acres and features a geodesic dome that showcases an exceptional display of early Jurassic fossil tracks dating back to 200 million years ago.

The park boasts over 2 miles of nature and hiking trails and has an award-winning arboretum, which is home to over 250 species of conifers as well as ginkgoes, katsuras, and magnolias and other plant families that existed during the age of the dinosaurs.

The Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum has a museum that offers a unique view of the dioramas of Triassic and Jurassic environments, a preserved Mesozoic floodplain covered with tracks, collections of fossils, and interactive exhibits.

400 West St, Rocky Hill, CT 06067, Phone: 860-529-8423

6. deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum

Located about 20 miles from Boston, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is at 30 acres the largest park of its kind in New England. It was established in 1950 in order to renew interest in sculptures and to become a major sculpture park.

There are about 30 large-scale sculptures in the park, most on loan from various owners and artists.

The exhibited sculptures are constantly changing, representing high quality contemporary artworks and site-specific installations.

DeCordova holds a range of year-round activities that include snowshoe tours, nature tours, yoga in the park, curator and artist conversations, special talks, events, and screenings.

DeCordova is home to Lincoln Nursery School, probably the only American preschool located within a contemporary art museum.

51 Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln, MA 01773, Phone: 781-259-8355

7. Squam Lake Nature Science Center

Squam Lake Nature Science Center, commonly referred to as the SLNSC, is the premiere environmental education center of Holderness, originally opened to the public in 1969.

The science center, which is northern New England's only Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited institution, strives to advance ecological understanding throughout New Hampshire and use the outdoors as a classroom for continuing education for visitors of all ages.

Center visitors can explore the facility's natural areas and stroll along its animal exhibit trail, which showcases animals such as black bears, mountain lions, river otters, bobcats, and raptors.

Educational Squam Lake cruises are also offered, along with gorgeous landscaped gardens at the facility's Kirkwood Gardens.

23 Science Center Rd, Holderness, NH 03245, Phone: 603-968-7194

8. Farnsworth Art Museum

Located in Rockland on the mid-coast of Maine, the Farnsworth Art Museum is an art museum that specializes in American art.

Built in 1948, the institution was established to celebrate the role of American art in Maine and features a nationally recognized collection of American art in elegantly appointed galleries.

The museum collections include works by Thomas Sully, Fitz Henry Lane, Childe Hassam, Thomas Eakins, Eastman Johnson, and Maurice Prendergast along with a permanent collection entitled Maine in America with works by Frank Benson and Gilbert Stuart.

Four of the galleries are dedicated to contemporary art, and there is a significant collection of works by the 20th century sculptor Louise Nevelson.

The Farnsworth Art Museum also offers a range of educational programs, workshops, and classes for visitors of all ages.

16 Museum St, Rockland, ME 04841, Phone: 207-596-6457

9. ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center

Located on the Burlington waterfront in northern Vermont at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain Activities, the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center is home to a variety of animals, including more than 70 species of amphibians, invertebrates, fish, and reptiles.

Established to inspire and educate the public about the ecology, culture, and history of the Lake Champlain Basin, the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center also features a range of significant traveling exhibitions as well as the state-of-the-art multimedia Awesome Forces Theatre.

The marine-focused children's museum offers over 100 award-winning hands-on exhibits, like the ever-popular FrogWorld and the saltwater petting tank, along with a variety of educational and interactive family-friendly activities and daily animal encounters.

The museum also has an ecology-themed café that serves light meals and drinks, an eclectic gift shop that sells aquarium-related gifts, souvenirs, and items, the Lake Champlain Navy Memorial, and the University of Vermont research vessel Melosira, which offers exhibits and cruises.

1 College St, Burlington, VT 05401, Phone: 802-864-1848

10. Green Mountain National Forest

Located in central and southwestern Vermont, the Green Mountain National Forest is a pristine ecoregion of Acadian and New England forests that offers a four-season recreation experience.

The near 400,000-acre Green Mountain National Forest features more than 2,000 archeological and historic sites that highlight the history and heritage of Vermont, including remains of colonial-era farmsteads, ancient Native American sites, industrial-period technologies, and facilities built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The forest is also an area of spectacular natural beauty, with rugged mountainscapes and verdant woodlands, offering an array of recreational activities such as hiking, mountain biking, fall foliage tours, and bird and wildlife watching year round.

231 N Main St, Rutland, VT 05701, Phone: 802-747-6700