Odiorne Point, Fort Stark and Fort Constitution State Parks

Abandoned Buildings, Lighthouses, and Ghosts! A 52b452 Halloween Adventure

Tucker’s Rating – 1.5 wags for the forts (dogs aren't all that into military buildings and history but there IS lots to sniff) and 2.5 wags for Odiorne Point. Since a lot of the trails run through some interesting woods, and a very nice beach, The Point is nice but still there's no place to lie down, and our guess is when the tide comes in there IS no beach.

The humans give the forts 3 wags each, and Odiorne Point gets 3.5 wags…. A bit better than the forts, and a place we thought we’d like to check out “in season”.

Pet Friendly - No. While we did see dog prints on the beach at Odiorne Point, NH State Parks do not allow dogs on Historic sites or beaches.

Price - Free in the off-season for all. It appears that there is a fee for Odiorne Point, but the other two locations have no booth to collect fees, and since Fort Stark is not staffed, its a safe bet it's free all year round!

Accessibility - None of these are what we'd consider "accessible". Odiorne Point has paved biking trails which would be fine for a wheelchair, walker or stroller, but that's just a path through a treed area next to the road. To get to the beach you'd be pushing or wheeling over rocks, roots, and narrow trails. The beach itself is wide and open when the tide is out. Fort Stark is a dangerous spot for children and the website even includes a warning about open stairways, wet rocks and instructs you to call 911 in the case of an emergency. Fort Constitution has paved walkways for the most part so of the three would be considered the most accessible, but as mentioned in the narrative below, if you wander onto the grass, watch out for sink holes... just the right size to step in and twist an ankle! And the turret houses, etc. are accessible only by climbing stairs.

Special Notes - Odiorne Point has paved biking trails that are very nice. They also have a great boat put-in for motorized and paddle type boats. The tide was out when we were there and the creek that leads out into Little Harbor didn't look deep enough for a regular boat, but if you time it right it seems that is a definite option. Portsmouth Kayak is not too far away and they do rentals although you'd need to check their site for prices, etc. The Seacoast Science Center is also nearby, actually abutting the park based on the maps we saw.

The Adventure (and forgive the length, but remember this is THREE PARKS!!!!
Well, it’s been way too long since we did a park trip. With the very yucky weather we’ve been having lately, we would have been walking in the rain (or even SNOW one day) and with Tucker at our side, all we’d smell is wet dog! Plus, I don’t know about you, but wearing glasses and walking in the rain is just plain not fun! So we’ve had a bit of down time! And now the challenge is to catch up so we decided to visit THREE parks in one day! That’s right, this was to be a whirlwind tour of NH Parks and we knew exactly which three we’d pick. All located on the coast within a few miles of each other, 3 of the 7 forts built to protect Portsmouth Harbor and actually within site of each other.

We set out around 10:30 heading to the Portsmouth area to visit Fort Stark Historic Site, Fort Constitution State Park, and Odiorne Point State Park. All three parks are closed for the season so while the property is accessible to all year-round, there is no admission fee charged at this time of year, no park rangers on hand, and at least for Fort Stark, minimal parking since it seems that the actual parking area is stuck just beyond the chain pulled across the entrance to the site. But since we’re living on a mega-budget these days, free is good, and off we went. As with the last park, dogs are not allowed at these three. In NH dogs are not allowed in any historic sites or beach locations. Check here for a list of pet-friendly parks in NH. Since both forts are historic sites, and Odiorne Point is definitely a beach, Tucker had to stay at home with Daisey for this trip. We did see doggy footprints at Odiorne so obviously off-season people risk it, but you didn’t hear that from us!

On to our adventure. As we set out we realized that we hadn’t thought about lunch, and unfortunately we’d already passed the exit to our favorite Alpine Butcher. But this is an adventure after all so we decided to continue on our way and see what we found! Yay for us! As we got off Rt. 95 in Portsmouth and headed south towards Odiorne Point, we spied Me & Ollie’s café and bakery . OMG!!! This place is awesome enough that we decided it was reason enough to get us to move to Portsmouth! (If there weren’t already enough reasons.) The café has four locations, 3 in Portsmouth, and 1 in Exeter. We stopped at the one located inside the Fresh Market on Lafayette Road and Fresh Market is yet ANOTHER reason to love this area. We’d eat healthy all the time if we had these two establishments in the neighborhood! Low lighting, gourmet everything, organic organic organic, and lots of amazing prepared dishes to bring home for a stupendous home cooked meal when you don’t have time to cook. ME & Ollie's was even given an award by TV Diner and won Best Inexpensive Lunch on the Seacoast, and we agree! Our trip was on Halloween and as we walked into the store we saw a member of KISS grabbing a shopping cart in the parking lot. Produce workers included a cow, and a dominatrix, and the workers behind the deli case all wore prison garb. Me & Ollie’s had a hippie, a fairy and a cigarette girl. The food and that light hearted approach to “casual dress” got us in a great mood.


Odiorne Point

With sandwiches and pumpkin poppers in hand, we drove on to Odiorne Point. Plenty of parking, a great boat put-in (paved and sloped to the river) and very clearly marked trails greeted us. There were no brochures or maps since its off-season (but you can print one off here), so we sat in the sunshine and admired the golden colors of the marsh and Witch Creek as we ate. Then we set off towards Little Harbor. The walking trails are NOT flat. There are a lot of roots, narrow sections, rocks, and brush. Very peaceful and remote, and if you follow the bridge along the marsh, the trail takes you to the beach. Not your typical sandy beach, although it is sand, but it appears that when the tide is high there isn’t much beach left. Large rocks, seaweed, and a beautiful view of Wentworth by the Sea and the golf course across the water. The day we were there was changeably cloudy…. First bright sun, then very dark clouds, and occasionally the sun would be shining on the hotel while we sat in dark cloud so it made the hotel appear to glow across the water. Really beautiful. We wandered down to the point, alternating between the beach and the trail that ran through the woods. Lots of bittersweet strung across the bushes, and we came across an old stone fireplace at one point. Not certain if it had originally been in a water front home, or had always been an outdoor spot. We also found a fox hole. Or that’s what we think it was, on the dunes. I can’t imagine a fox at the beach, but the only other explanation is that the clam worms we read about (there’s a sign at the end of the point) that are supposedly 3 feet long and live in burrows in the beach, actually need a rather large opening to their burrow! I tried to get close to peer in but Beth would have NONE of it! I guess she just imagined some rabid fox or mutant clam worm coming out to attack! The point looks out over open ocean all the way to Isles of Shoals and we could see a light house. We knew it was our next stop, Fort Stark. We continued around the point, partly on the paved bike trails and walked past more abandoned buildings that reminded me of the cinder block booths that used to greet us at the local drive-in (now I’m dating AND regionalizing myself!). Memories of dancing popcorn boxes and Father Time counting down the minutes to “showtime” danced in my head. At one point we walked along the trail beside what MIGHT have been an old bunker. There were periodic cement underpasses with doors that look like they’ve been locked a very long time. This is a very strange park to walk through off season. Lots of things to explore and just past the height of foliage season we were struck by how golden and green everything seemed. It would be a great place for kids to run around in. The park itself is flat, but the trails aren’t stroller or walker friendly, and once you’re in the woods, you need a good sense of direction to know which direction to walk in. But we do believe that all paths lead back to the parking lot (unless you find yourself walking UNDER the road, in which case you’re on your own!).

We read the historic marker to discover that Odiorne Point was actually an old settlement and the site of the first baby being born to European settlers in NH. The settlement included fishermen, coopers, farmers and more. Most of the buildings are long gone, but as mentioned, we did come across various remnants, so we considered this an interesting park. I can’t imagine how busy it would be in the summer, but definitely if you’re looking for a rustic beach on protected waters (no real waves to worry about) this would be a good one. But the parking lot isn’t huge, so get there early. At this time of year though, there’s room for all! The Seacoast Science Center is also nearby and is another great place to stop. Probably something we'll do next time we go!

Fort Stark

At the end of Wild Rose Lane off off Wentworth Road, we almost drove right past without knowing! There’s no signage on the road, but the park really IS at the end of Wild Rose Lane. Parking for maybe 4 cars was all we found, since the entrance to the park itself is chained off. We assume this is open in the summer since it looks like there is a large grass/sand parking area just inside the chains. Fort Stark is an abandoned military property that includes buildings from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s and a very interesting building overlooking the ocean, which was built in the 1940’s.

Again, since we arrived off-season, there were no brochures or maps, and none available on the website. This park is NOT one I’d recommend for people with small children. There are a number of buildings to explore, but no railings on most stairways, and some of the abandoned buildings are open to wander, but dark, and access to second floor open balconies, crumbling concrete and openings to floors below would make this very dangerous. While we were there we came across a few photographers, and on the second floor of one of the barracks it appeared some film students were taking horror or edgy fashion photos complete with draped camera, lights, and costumes. They worked silently, in a fog of smoke that was not coming from cigarettes. We left them alone to their work, and the crumbling floor they were standing on and continued to explore. The views beyond the fort were beautiful, and as we expected, we saw the lighthouse just offshore. The most interesting building we thought was the more modern building. Looking very much like the top of a ship, with a star shaped roof, and curved windows (mostly broken) looking out to sea. The entire building, unlike the others on the property, is gated off with barbed wire along the top. Stairs on the building are exterior with no railings and its difficult to determine whether that’s their original state, but the building definitely intrigued us. The older buildings are open for the most part. With what look like jail cells on the bottom floors (although one cell included a fireplace, and one looked more like an outdoor café, the rest of the buildings are also crumbling. Walking past the modern building, you’ll come upon a building with two levels. An open door on the first floor leads into a dark hallway behind the cells. It didn’t look safe enough to explore without a flashlight and a promise the whole thing wouldn’t collapse, so we continued on, but its obvious this is the way the aforementioned photography group accessed the second floor balcony. Walking around the building and up the hill behind you can look down on the building and see the strange patios, tiered wells (or maybe pools?), and turret rooms. And out to sea we could see waves crashing around the nearest lighthouse. But it was getting late and time to head to our final destination, Fort Constitution, located at the Coast Guard base.

Fort Constitution

A historic site located inside an active military site. There’s a big sign about the property being closed to the public, however on closer inspection there’s a sign telling visitors to Fort Constitution to follow the blue line to the park. So that’s what we did. Following the painted blue line through the parking lot, past the coast guard bell and buildings and on through the portcullis to the older site. It reminded me of walking through Mass General hospital when I was younger, following the different colored lines on the floor to get to the different departments. Coincidentally, we saw a tv show early Saturday morning commenting on this park and how it was haunted. We could believe this! Perfect spot to end our adventure on Halloween! One area, originally known as Fort William and Mary, was built in 1632. Most of the buildings were around during both the Spanish American War and the War of 1812. Most are only viewable through iron bars, but there are a few rooms you can go into. And we found the second lighthouse of the day. Viewable through broken glass windows in one of the turret rooms on the property. As with the other properties we saw no brochures or maps of the grounds. And scattered sink holes in the grass on the property, as well as access to rooms with broken glass windows again make this a somewhat dangerous place for younger children or those prone to twisting an ankle. But its definitely a bit safer and much more active than Fort Stark. there are many educational markers explaining the buildings and history of the site. This is an educational park, and history buffs, or children studying history of these eras would definitely find this park interesting. But care needs to be taken with younger children or people who find it difficult to handle stairs since railings are missing in some areas, and the grounds are well kept but not entirely flat. When it looked like rain was threatening we decided it was time to head home. We may return to Odiorne Point next summer, but probably not again in the off-season.