Rhododendron State Park Brochure

No Pets Permitted ○○○○○○○Leashed Pets Permitted We endeavor to provide a safe and attractive environment within the limits of our mission to preserve and protect New Hampshire Division park resources. The necessary knowledge, skill, and equipment for a safe visit are your responsibility. of Parks and Recreation Please enjoy your visit to New Hampshire’s State Parks and come back often! Rhododendron State Park... named after the 16-acre grove of Rhododendron Levi Fuller owned the Patch homestead Several other members of the heath Maximum, is the focal point of the park located in 1901 and planned to “lumber family, including mountain laurel, in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. off ” the property. Miss Mary blueberries, trailing arbutuss, Lee Ware of Boston and and wintergreen can be A 0.6 mile-long universally accessible trail Rindge, NH heard of the found growing along the encircles the grove, allowing visitors to observe impending threat to the trails in the park. close-up the fragrant clusters of pink blossoms as rhododendrons and they burst into bloom in mid-July. A wildflower purchased the trail, maintained by the Fitzwilliam Garden Club, property. In 1903, The Little winds through the forest adjacent to the grove. she gave it to the Monadnock From early spring to the first frost, wildflowers Appalachian Mountain bloom throughout the 2,723 acre park. The last Club (AMC) with the Mountain Trail... blooms in the fall are complemented by the stipulation that the branches from the forest’s brilliant foliage. Visitors exploring the rhododendron and pine rhododendron grove loop trails are often serenaded by song birds which forest “... be held as a and climbs for one mile where live in the grove. reservation property protected and it joins the Metacomet-Monadnock open to the public...forever.” (MM) Trail. There is a vista of Mt. Monadnock, The rhododendron grove, which is the largest in Pack Monadnock, and North Pack Monadnock northern New England, was damaged by heavy The AMC transferred the property to the New Mt. at the junction of the two trails. Turning snows and ice during the winter Hampshire Division of Parks south on the MM leads to the summit of Little of 1977. The Fitzwilliam and Recreation, which has Monadnock about a half mile away. The 117 mile- Garden Club rehabilitated operated the site since long MM connects the Metacomet Trail in the grove. In 1982, the area 1946 as the park system’s Meridan, CT with the summit of Mt. Monadnock. was designated a National only botanical park. Natural Landmark. The family cottage, affectionately known as the Rhododendron State Park is operated by the “Old Patch Place,” was New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation, Department of Resources and Economic Development. Captain Samuel Patch... placed on the National Register established his homestead in Fitzwilliam on the of Historic Places in 1980. land surrounding the rhododendron stand. For more information, contact: Monadnock State Park P.O. Box 181, Jaffrey NH 03452 Entrepreneur Stephen Follansbee purchased the Rhododendron Maximum... telephone: 603-532-8862 property in 1885. He sold bottled mineral a member of the heath family, is a shade-tolerant or water, potted rhododendrons and silica. His species. They prefer the acid soils favored by New Hampshire State Parks business enterprises brought public attention to hemlock and red maple. The plant’s large leaves help 172 Pembroke Road the site for the first time. it absorb light. During the winter, its leaves curl to Concord, NH 03301 preserve moisture and to droop to shed snow. telephone: 603-271-3556.

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