Over Labor Day weekend my friend and I stayed at the Twin Mountain KOA in Carroll, New Hampshire. I haven’t been to a campground in years. This campground was well kept and the staff was friendly- I’d go back again. The last time was probably in elementary school or middle school. It was a low-key weekend- we relaxed, visited some breweries, and went swimming.

A FEW THINGS TO DO

Schilling Beer Co. brews up a variety of tasty beers, pouring them at their tasting room and their adjacent restaurant. It’s located in a re-frubished mill overlooking the Ammonoosuc River that passes through Littleton, NH. I’ve been to their food truck twice this summer, and their restaurant last summer. Each time I’ve enjoyed the food, so go for more than just the beer!

Reklis Brewing is located in the quaint town of Bethlehem, NH. This place has a lot of potential but they seem to be falling short. My experience, and from reading other reviews, was that they have reaaalllly slow service as a normal thing. From my experience as a server and restaurant management, and asking our waitress some questions, there are also a number of operational issues at hand. Despite this, I would still give them a go because the beer and food we had was good. Just make sure you aren’t in a rush to be anywhere, haha.

The Ammonoosuc River is a must do during the summer! There are places to pull your car over and enjoy the river. The Lower Falls are a popular place to swim and is a short and easy walk in from the road.

Mount Willard is probably my favorite hike in the White Mountains. I think it is partly due to it being small and easy :) , not to mention the view from the top! It is located very close to the Omni Mount Washington Resort and right next to the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch. The trail is a little over 3 miles and can be heavily trafficked. I didn’t go there Labor Day weekend but I hope to get up there soon!

While Mount Willard is my favorite mountain to hike, Bretton Woods is my favorite mountain to snowboard. If you’re in the Caroll/Crawford Notch area during the winter, make sure to ski or snowboard at this mountain. I like it because I am still an amateur snowboarder and the trails on this mountain are wider than others I have been on. This just makes me feel more safe as I have more room to maneuver my board. If you want to be fancy, you can stay at the Omni Mount Washington Resort and get a mountain pass deal with your stay.

Artists Bluff is AMAZING in the fall. I did this last year in October during prime leaf peeping season. It looks out onto Profile Lake, with Cannon Mountain to the side. It is a shorter hike but has some steepness to it. It is located in Franconia Notch, so if you are on your way up to Carroll county from Rt. 93 then this is a great place to stop if you have time.

On our way home, instead of going back down Route 93, we drove over to North Conway. We had breakfast at Peaches which was delicious! Definitely a place I will come back to next time I am in town! It was very crowded on Labor Day morning and we waited 20 minutes for a table. Service was prompt (unlike Reklis, hehe) and the food did not take too long for how busy they were. Some people may have felt rushed but they were in no way rude about it. They certainly have a system in place to turn tables quickly! I got the pulled pork eggs Benedict- highly recommend.

We stopped at the outlets because my friend had to return an item to Under Armor, and we checked out the REI Coop as well. Big mistake? I made a beeline for the backpacking packs as I have been interested in getting a new one. I like the one I had but I never got fitted for it and I knew it wasn’t the best fit. I got an extensive fitting done at REI and happily walked out with a new Osprey Aura 65L. My wallet was not so happy. Because I have a XS It is not the full 65 L but it is still plenty of space.

I’m hoping to get back up to the north country many times this fall, weather it be day trips or a weekend backpacking trip!