November 23, 2024

A trip along the seacoast

Hot Summer's dayTraveling  along the New Hampshire seacoast can be a treat especially if you only live about a half hour away. You can take a nice day trip and see a lot of beautiful sites if you like to stop and smell the roses.

One of the things we like to do on a nice sunny day whether it’s Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter is we’ll start off in Seabrook NH just over the Massachusetts border and work our way up the coast to Portsmouth.

In Seabrook you can stop at Brown’s Seafood Restaurant and have fresh lobster, steamers or fried food. Remember to bring cash as they don’t take credit cards but they do have an ATM machine.

Next head north on Route 1A and cross over the Hampton bridge and you will be in Hampton Beach, a place I visited a lot as a child back in the sixties. On a nice hot summer day you will need to get there early in order to secure a nice parking space. It’s very tough to find free parking at Hampton beach. Just remember the ocean can be very cold even on a hot summer’s day.  There are plenty of shop’s to browse in and places to grab a quick lunch if you are hungry.

Then keep heading north and you will enter North Hampton. North Hampton Beach isn’t usually as crowded as Hampton beach but again A ride along the coastthere is limited free parking. The drive along the coast is breathtaking.

We travel up this way at least once or twice a month and then even more times depending on the weather. Even though our coastline is only 19 miles long there are plenty of spots to pull over and snap a few shots. The windy roads lead to majestic views.

From North Hampton you will cross over to a town called Rye. If you like to surf  stop at Jenness State Beach or just watch the surfers navigate the swells. Best to surf at mid to high tide. The views along this stretch of highway are wonderful.

You can stop and have a picnic at Rye Beach State Park. Just remember there usually is a fee to park during the summer months.

One thing Monika and I love to do is stop here and watch the full moon rise from the horizon.  Full moon risingFor us there is nothing prettier than the full moon rising from out of the ocean’s horizon.

What’s also pretty cool is when the sun sets in the west and the full moon rises in the east, as it gets darker you can see the moon beam splash across the Ocean.

This past year we have watched the full moon rise during the winter months. This does become a challenge with the bitter cold and sometimes the heavy snow cover.

That still doesn’t stop us from heading out along the coast during the dead of winter to see the beautiful sites the New Hampshire coastline offers.

 

A little further north you can stop at Odiorne Point State Park and onsite is the seacoast science center. This park is where the first setttler’s of New Hampshire resided in the 1660’s.

As you come across a small rotary in Portsmouth turn right and follow it to route 1B. This road will take you through the quaint little town of New Castle.  If you have the time and the money a must stop is a weekend get away at the Wentworth by the Sea Inn. Wentworth by the Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have a great state park called Great Island Common where you get spectacular views of the mouth of the Piscataqua Great Island Common.River and Whaleback Lighthouse in Maine. Plenty of picnic areas as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of the videos we shot along the coast.

 

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty

603-944-9172 direct

603-893-7999 office

E-mail Jay and Monika

NH Oceanfront Homes Market Report January and February 2013

SeacoastOceanfront market report January and February 2013

This market report is for Oceanfront homes that have direct access to the ocean or are across the street.

We used the towns of Portsmouth, Rye, New Castle, North Hampton, Hampton, Seabrook and one from Greenland for our report. You will fine the report at the end of this blog post.

The drive along the coast

We just love driving along the New Hampshire Seacoast on any given day or week or any season for that matter.  During the winter months we’ll bundle up and pack a lunch and snacks and leave our home as early in the day as possible since it gets dark early during the winter months. We usually start in Seabrook NH off of route 286 and 1A and travel past Browns Lobster Pond, which is a great place to eat seafood.   You can bring your own alcohol in and sit on picnic style type tables. You can eat indoors or outdoors weather permitting. This time of year they are open Friday’s Saturday’s and Sunday. The place was packed when we drove by yesterday.

Along the beach

As you get to the junction of route 1A and 286 you can turn right and head to Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts but we tend to turn left and head to Hampton Beach. As we head north on 1A off to our left is Seabrook Harbor and then about a mile up the road is the Hampton Bridge. Traffic can be heavy at the bridge during the summer months due  to the raising of the bridge for commercial fishing boats to enter Hampton Harbor. Other times it is due to the thousands of beach goers that flock to Hampton Beach to soak in the sun.

Heading to North Beach

Once you meander around all the pedestrians and check out all the T shirt shops, gift shops and arcades you wind around and go past Boars Head Full MoonBoars Head which has breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and Hampton Beach. Just up the road is North Beach which at high tide can be treacherous as there is only rocks available to walk on. At low tide you can kick off your sandals and walk barefoot for a few miles along North Beach.

Plaice Cove, Hampton

This little hideaway is my wife’s favorite spot to walk out onto the boardwalk and take pictures of the tall beach grass and the tide crashing against the rocky beach. North Side Park is for residents only but during the off season it is not that crowded and we stay just long enough to take pictures and videos and soak in the scenery.

Portsmouth NH

After our time at North Side Park, we tend to keep heading north towards Portsmouth making stops along the way.   We  often make a stop at North Hampton State Beach where the beach is a little flatter than other parts along the coast. The nice thing about stopping here is that across the street is the Beach Plum a great place to stop for lunch and ice cream on a hot sunny summer day. There food is delicious and a little pricy but worth it.

Rye State Park

Next we usually follow the coast up into Rye and and stop at Rye State Park. We love this stretch of road and often gaze at the homes for sale and we usually try and stop at all the little scenic turnoffs along the highway along route 1A.  Some of the views are just breathtaking and even though we come up here often we often see something new all time. From Swans, to full moons, to the gorgeous ocean front, our small NH coastline is a delight and never gets old.

New Castle and Great Island Common

Whaleback LighthouseNext up is the town of New Castle and Great Island Common. The park is beautiful no matter what time of year, with picnic areas and a playground and swimming and views of Portsmouth lighthouse and Whaleback Lighthouse. We love this special spot!

NH Seacoast Video Playlist


Below you will find the chart for the real estate market report for oceanfront homes along the New Hampshire coastline.

Price$/Sq. Ft.DOM
TotalAverageMedianAverageMedianAverageMedian
Active
Sold
Pending
18
4
1
$1,904,717
$ 604,975
$1,150,000

$1,547,500
$ 510,000
$1,150,000



$528
$645
$694


$461
$374
$684
161
172
98
134
189.5
98
Overall 23$1,645,861$1,250,000 $556.00$461.00160157

If you would like to see what is for sale for sale for oceanfront homes just look below.

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty

603-944-9172 direct

603-893-7999 office

E-mail Jay and Monika