The old Benson's animal park they did a good thing made it a nice park to enjoy walking picnics…read morewalking around and playing they have trails you can walk on they have old nostalgia left over from the zoo days cages the old shoe house and much more they also have a dedication to September 11 very cool so take your kids and have fun

Love trekking Benson's Park in Winter, Spring Summer or Fall! Great place for family, friends and…read morepets.

Great for all ages. Clean, versatile and pet friendly on trails. Portable toilets…read moreSet up off season. A couple picnic tables near playground make it nice for a quick lunch or snack.

Had a really good time with the family. Park is clean and the playground is large and and lots of…read morespace for the kids to run without bumping into each other. If you take the trails, there a slow moving creek where there appears to be a small dam built by previous visitors and then added on by kids as they visit. Good fun for everyone.

I really enjoy enjoy this playground for my daughter. First off, they have ample parking every time…read morewe come here and we really enjoy how big the place is. It's build with wood which is really cool compared to all the other playgrounds. The grounds are really clean and no trash is left on the ground from people. If you're in the Salem area looking for a place for your kids to run around and play then try this playground. Your family will enjoy it.

Beautiful area, grandkids love it however it does need a lil TLC. There was some wood rot and a few…read moresafety issues! Other than that the area is nice, wooded !

Yes there is a 1/2 mile walk to the trail and then 1/2 mile walk back to your parked car no biggie…read moredon't let that deter you from doing this hike. Agree there are better views in other parts of NH but this is ok. Bugs are vicious on certain parts of the trail and better off brining a bug net because someone else posted they don't care if you have bug spray I mean I even walked with can, I would still hike it though I prefer paid for parking on the website it's 5.00$ a person and you can use the whole state park for all day It was full of camps for swimming so if your not a fan of a lot of people maybe this lake is not for you Hope everyone enjoys there time there

Our walk/hike on the Shaw & Fundy Trails were perfect because they are well-trodden, pine-needle…read morecarpeted trails that were good for our sister who has a bad knee & can't handle trails with vertical climb, tree roots &/or rocky faces. The trails passed by marshes, over creeks &, at times, we had to navigate through areas that had some minimal flooding. Signage is practically non-existent, with arrows primarily @ intersections & also kind of confusing where the parking lots are for the trailheads. There is very little blazing on the trees but again, the trail directions are obvious. Not too much indication of wildlife, although, of course, we were in the thick of the trees. The folks at the Visitor Center are super friendly, knowledgeable & helpful.

though this park is not very large, it's so beautiful by the water and i'd recommend checking it…read moreout! would be an awesome spot to picnic too

Odiorne Point State Park is a public recreation area that opened in Rye, New Hampshire in July…read more1972. It is administered by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation. The park is located along the Atlantic seacoast in Rye, not far from Portsmouth. The area is the site of the Pannaway Plantation: the first European settlement in New Hampshire. Settled in 1622, the plantation was completely abandoned by the 1630s when the settlers moved to nearby Strawberry Banke. The land was settled in the mid-1660s by the Odiorne Family, whom the park is now named after. From 1942 to 1947, the park was the home of Fort Dearborn. The ruins of the deactivated World War II-era fort can still be seen today. Today the park is home to hiking trails, bike paths, a playground, picnic areas, pavilions, and a Seacoast Science Center which opened in 1992. My family and I visited Odiorne Point State Park this summer while we were heading to Maine for a summer getaway. We had some time to kill before we could check in to our AirBnb, so we decided to stop at the park. We had fun exploring the grounds and my two sons especially enjoyed playing on the nautical-themed playground. The highlight of the park is the Seacoast Science Center. There are all sorts of exhibits devoted to the conservation of marine and coastal environments. My two sons loved learning about whales, local shellfish populations, the local fishing industry, the fight against ocean pollution, and underwater exploration. There was even a cool gift shop where we picked up a few things. Whether you live in the area or you're just passing through like us, Odiorne Point State Park is a fun place for the whole family!

I feel the need to preface all of my nature reviews with this: being 90% forested and having around…read more3500 miles of coastline, Maine (and NH) has a tremendous amount of spaces, walkways, paths, and trails of all kinds and of all levels. There's something for everyone. What I'm reviewing is how a spot compares to similar outdoor spots in my personal opinion. Being in nature - and remembering to carry in, carry out - is always five stars! :) Parking? Yes. Loop trail? Yes. Well marked signs? Yes. Element of surprise? Yes. I was looking for state parks in New Hampshire and this one caught my eye because of the name, if we're being honest. It sounded magical! So was the way it was advertised: "picnickers can enjoy sweeping views of the ocean and rocky shore, and explorers can uncover evidence of past military occupation. An extensive network of trails wind through the dense vegetation and traverse the park. [t]he property is also renowned for its... seven distinct habitats that can be visited within an hour's walk. Although the spectacular rocky shore is the one of the most notable, the woodlands, uplands, salt marsh, freshwater and salt ponds, and sandy beach (non-swimming) combine to create one of the region's most diverse nature walks." I like a little bit of everything, and this sounded like it had just that! The first time I came I bought a pass online; when we arrived it was a freak snowstorm and we were the only ones there. So we had a literal winter wonderland to play around it. The views from the coast were lovely and offer plenty of picnic tables to sit and enjoy yourself at, but exploring the woods that day was even more amazing - we spent a lot of time with a big buck who kept finding himself lazily meandering on the same trail as us. Thank goodness for binoculars! And the element of surprise! There was also some tremendously graffitied old batteries, a breakwater (that becomes nearly inaccessible when the tide is high; reversely when the tide is low that same area exposes a Sandy beach), there's an area called Pirate's Cove, an old cemetery, and Dolphin Fountain (which looks like it belongs in France, not NH). This became an immediate favorite! I can't wait to come back and see it in Spring and Summer! (SIDE NOTE: There's also the Seacoast Science Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, that provides educational exhibits related to the seacoast area for a separate fee; but, I haven't been able to check that out yet!)

What a nice park, and have been visiting every fall to see "Maudslay is Haunted", a "theater in the…read moreopen" fundraiser. This may be our last year however as the parking rate increased. While parking is $5 for Mass residents, I've always been more than happy to pay the $10 fee for out of state visitors, but this year we were surprised to see that rate increase to $20 for out of state plates. I suspect that means that they have enough residents visiting and want to discourage those from out of state. For this reason, I'm only awarding 3 stars. The "Theater in the Open" event is lots of fun, a "spooky trail" geared toward children, but adults will enjoy it as well. Additional fee is $10 per person. If you want to visit, I suggest hitching a ride with an in state Mass resident to enjoy this hidden gem of a park in Newburyport.

I want to give this fabulous place to stretch your legs a 5 star, however there is not one trash…read morecan around. Not one!!! If your dog poops, it rides home with you. If your baby needs changing, it rides home with you. Uggggghhh... you pay to park and can't get a trash can??? The trails are fun because they are not well marked, so it's quite an adventure. If you love a nature hike with make your own experiences this is a great stop. Just remember, there are no trash cans.

Great park off the beaten path in Rye! They have a sports field out behind the playground,…read morebaseball, and basketball. It appears that dogs are okay as a few were there while we were. They have bathrooms but they were locked when we were there- might be a seasonal thing or only when a sports activity is going on. Plenty of parking! If you live in the area or are driving through and need an area to let the kids (and dogs) run around, then this is a great stop!