Dartmouth-Sunapee (Summer)

Ivy league Dartmouth College and Mount Sunapee, one of New England's best ski mountains, give their names to this region bordering the Connecticut River in western New Hampshire. Dartmouth, in the town of Hanover, is the cultural and intellectual center of the area, with a regular schedule of music and performing arts at its Hopkins Center. Next door, the Hood Museum of Art houses outstanding collections from antiquity to contemporary works. Lake Sunapee, at the foot of the mountain, was the site of a Victorian summer cottage community, and its shores are still wooded and unmarred by rampant development. Dinner and daytime cruises circle the ...

Ivy league Dartmouth College and Mount Sunapee, one of New England's best ski mountains, give their names to this region bordering the Connecticut River in western New Hampshire. Dartmouth, in the town of Hanover, is the cultural and intellectual center of the area, with a regular schedule of music and performing arts at its Hopkins Center. Next door, the Hood Museum of Art houses outstanding collections from antiquity to contemporary works. Lake Sunapee, at the foot of the mountain, was the site of a Victorian summer cottage community, and its shores are still wooded and unmarred by rampant development. Dinner and daytime cruises circle the lake, showing mountain views and new England's only lake lighthouses. In Cornish and Plainfield, along the Connecticut River, are the summer home, gardens and studio of the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of a number of prominent artists, including Maxfield Parrish, who formed the Cornish Colony. America's longest covered bridge crosses the river here.

About the Expert

Lura Seavey is the author of Fun with the Family in Vermont and New Hampshire and she has contributed to several Thomas Cook guidebooks, including Drive Around Catalonia, Travellers Mallorca, and Travellers Barcelona.