We’ve had some pretty nice weather down here in Southern New Hampshire over the last couple weeks. I thought it would be a good opportunity to checkout a place to hike that is close by but doesn’t have the best reviews. Believe it or not, it’s in the largest city in the State, Manchester. It resides on the west side of the city and goes by the name Rock Rimmon. From what I’ve read, it’s a great location to get some views of the city, but the garbage and graffiti make it an unpleasant place to hang out or spend time.
Rock Rimmon from the Parking Area. Notice the Basket Ball Hoop for Perspective.
I recruited my buddy, Keith, and we both headed over there at lunch. Rock Rimmon is located in Rock Rimmon Park and the ledges are easily visible from the road. Right away, I noticed they were very wide and certainly had the potential for good views. The trailhead is to the left of the parking area, just up the street. There are no trailhead signs.
Kiosk at Parking Area
As soon as you enter the trail, you head uphill to the left. Quickly, you come to a junction with a few paths. I’m assuming the other trails head through the park grounds, but I couldn’t tell you if that is a fact or not. We stayed to the right, keeping the ledges to the right of us as well. The trail continued up hill, over some slab terrain, and continued clockwise. It was not long, maybe ten minutes or so, before Keith and I came out to some great, open ledges.
Rock Rimmon from the trail, keeping it to the right of us.
The ledge was much larger than I had originally thought. We had great views southwest, toward the city. Over to the northwest, we could also see the Uncanoonucs in the distance. It was a great place to spend lunch time and one that I plan on visiting more often.
Views of Manchester from the Ledges
The Uncanoonucs in the distance
The reviews were correct, that the grounds were littered with a lot of trash and broken glass. Due to the fact that it’s an inner city location and I’m sure it gets a lot of traffic, so this may be hard to avoid. Also, the ledges were painted with graffiti which did take some of the natural beauty of the location away from it. Regardless, it is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area.
Karl,
ReplyDeleteGreat posts! I just found your blog and it is taking me back to my days of living in Exeter and Manchvegas. Rock Rimmon was less than a mile from where I lived and I used to take morning runs up there.
Your other posts are really great and love the photos! I served an LDS Mission in New England and never had the opportunity to do any hiking/backpacking in the area. Thanks for giving a glimps of what New Hampshire has to offer.
Check out my blog about backpacking and climbing in Utah! http://www.backcountryexposure.blogspot.com
Thanks!
This is a great post. It's exciting to see all of this very unique terrain right here in the Manchester New Hampshire area. I'm new to the area and recently began providing assisted living in Manchester through my company, Home Instead Senior Care. Since I'm new to the area I'll definitely have to plan some weekend hiking trips!
ReplyDelete- Susan