The Monadnock Region is a region in southwestern
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. It is named after
Mount Monadnock
Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, Cheshire County. It lies sou ...
, a 3,165 foot isolated mountain, which is the dominant geographic landmark in the region. Although it has no specific borders, the Monadnock Region is generally thought of comprising all of
Cheshire County and the western portion of
Hillsborough County.
In addition to the frequently hiked Mount Monadnock, the region offers abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation, including four New Hampshire state parks.
Pisgah State Park consists of of forest, seven protected ponds popular for fishing, and six trails that may be used for hiking, mountain biking, ATVs, and snowmobiles. The Monadnock Region also has four recreational
rail trail
A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...
s,
lakes with public swimming beaches, and three ski areas.
The largest municipality, and only city, in the region is
Keene with 23,409 residents. The nearby town of
Peterborough
Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
is famous for the
MacDowell Colony and for being the setting of the
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...
play ''
Our Town''. Other notable landmarks in the region include
Cathedral of the Pines and
Franklin Pierce College, both located in
Rindge.
References
External links
Monadnock Region visitor's guideMonadnockRegion.net
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Regions of New Hampshire
Tourism regions of New Hampshire