The Insider’s Scoop: Best Family Fun Treks

They say there’s fun and adventure in every direction in New Hampshire. Sean McDonald of WMUR’s nightly magazine program “New Hampshire Chronicle” may even be the person who said it. Here are his favorite places — in all four directions:

“One of the best parts of the working on ‘Chronicle’ is getting to experience different parts of the state and then sharing them with my own family.

Go West: One of my favorite activities is similar to so many. I love tackling the White Dot Trail on Mount Monadnock. Fun fact: I followed up a hiker who held a record for the hiking Monadnock. With his speed. Keeping up left me sore for days.

Travel East: One of my favorite things to do is enjoying the sandbars at Hampton Beach State Park. I’ve spent several days charging my way through the channels of water brought in by high tide. This one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever visited. Of course, we always go for a fried clams or ice cream too.

Head North: There are so many natural playgrounds in the mountains of N.H. I love. I’ve only tackled a couple 4,000-footers, but stay tuned — they are all on my bucket list. We’ve taken many trips to Santa’s Village and Story Land over the years. As a way to cool off, my kids always love checking out the waterfalls in Jackson and at Diana’s Baths.

Go South: There is nothing better than getting outside on a warm summer afternoon to unwind. We love grabbing a pizza from a local shop and having a picnic by Lake Massabesic. There are countless walking and biking trails we can tackle afterwards to burn off our meal. Not mention the birding at the nearby Massabesic Audubon is fantastic.”