The Seacoast Region is the southeast area of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

that includes the eastern portion of Rockingham County and the southern portion of Strafford County. The region stretches along the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

from New Hampshire's border with

Salisbury, Massachusetts Salisbury is a small coastal beach town and summer tourist destination in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of Boston on the New Hampshire bord ...

, to the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

and New Hampshire's border with

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost tow ...

. The shoreline alternates between rocky and rough headlands and areas with sandy beaches. Some of the beaches are bordered by jetties or groins, particularly in the towns of Rye and

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

. The Seacoast Region includes some inland towns as well, as far west as Epping and as far north as

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. The city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

is the cultural and commercial hub of the region, with numerous historical landmarks and tourist attractions including

Strawbery Banke Strawbery Banke is an outdoor history museum located in the South End historic district of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It is the oldest neighborhood in New Hampshire to be settled by Europeans, and the earliest neighborhood remaining in the pr ...

, the

Moffatt-Ladd House The Moffatt-Ladd House, also known as the William Whipple House, is a historic house museum and National Historic Landmark in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States. The 1763 Georgian house was the home of William Whipple (1730–1785), a Fou ...

, and the

John Paul Jones House The John Paul Jones House is a historic house at 43 Middle Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Now a historic house museum and a National Historic Landmark, it is where American Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones, resided from 1781 ...

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

in Strafford County is the largest city in the region by population and is the oldest permanent settlement in New Hampshire. Dover is home to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire and the renowned Woodman Institute Museum. The Seacoast Region was the first area of the state to be permanently settled by Europeans in the early 17th century. Straddling the maritime border New Hampshire shares with Maine are the Isles of Shoals - White, Seavey, Lunging, and

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

Islands. From Portsmouth, they are a short

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

ride out into the Gulf of Maine.

Towns and cities in the region

Coastal towns and cities (south to north)

* Seabrook *

* North Hampton * Rye * New Castle *

Other towns and cities

* Atkinson * Brentwood * Danville *

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

* East Kingston * Epping *

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

* Fremont *

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

* Hampton Falls *

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

* Kingston *

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

* Madbury * Newfields * Newington * Newmarket * Newton * Plaistow *

* Rollinsford *

Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...

* Somersworth * South Hampton * Stratham

Tourist attractions in the region

* The Children's Museum of New Hampshire in Dover * Great Bay estuary, with several access sites * Hampton Beach * The Music Hall in Portsmouth; the state's oldest theater * Odiorne Point State Park and the associated Seacoast Science Center * Prescott Park, waterfront park with flower gardens, water fountains and summer plays and concerts * Star Island, seasonal conference center and hotel located out to sea * The

outdoor history museum of Portsmouth * The USS ''Albacore'', a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

in Portsmouth * Water Country, New England's largest water park * The

Wentworth by the Sea The Wentworth is a historic grand resort hotel in New Castle, New Hampshire, United States. It is managed by Ocean Properties as "Wentworth by the Sea, A Marriott Hotel & Spa". It is one of a handful of the state's surviving Gilded Age grand h ...

, a grand old hotel previously fallen into disrepair but now completely renovated * The Whittemore Center, a multi-purpose arena in Durham, and home to

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College ...

ice hockey teams, as well as various concerts and events * The Woodman Institute Museum in Dover * Auto racing ** Lee USA Speedway in Lee ** New England Dragway in Epping **

Star Speedway Star Speedway is a short-track oval race track located in Epping, New Hampshire. It hosts a tour-type modified stock car racing division under the management of the Webber family. History Star Speedway opened in 1966, having been primarily bu ...

in Epping

Transportation

New Hampshire Route 1A New Hampshire Route 1A is an long state highway located in southeast New Hampshire. The route runs along the Atlantic coastline from the Massachusetts border north to Rye, then turns toward downtown Portsmouth. The southern terminus is at the Mas ...

runs along the ocean shore, while U.S. Route 1 runs in a parallel direction slightly farther inland. During the high tourist season, these highways are crowded with day tourists and seasonal renters. Slightly farther inland,

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

(the Blue Star Turnpike) carries most of the through traffic between Maine and Massachusetts, while NH Route 101 carries New Hampshire's east–west traffic between the Seacoast Region and the inland portions of the state. The Spaulding Turnpike (NH 16) originates in Portsmouth and travels north through Dover and Rochester, connecting the Seacoast with New Hampshire's Lakes Region and

White Mountains Region The White Mountains Region is a tourism region designated by the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism. It is located in northern New Hampshire in the United States and is named for the White Mountains, which cover most of the region. The ...

. Amtrak's ''Downeaster'' stops in three Seacoast communities -

, Durham–UNH, and

- with service to Boston's

North Station North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak ...

and Portland, and points north. The ''Downeaster'' also stops in nearby Wells, Maine. The Pease International Tradeport includes a

shipping port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

(the Port of New Hampshire) and the

Portsmouth International Airport at Pease Portsmouth International Airport at Pease , formerly known as Pease International Airport, is a joint civil and military use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) west of the central business district of Portsmouth, a city in Rockingham ...

, which provides cargo and passenger service.

References

External links

*
Seacoast region
at NH Division of Travel and Tourism Development {{Coord, 42, 58, 0, N, 70, 49, 0, W, type:adm2nd, display=title Regions of New Hampshire Tourism regions of New Hampshire