One of the great walks when we go to New Hampshire is the route around Jackson. Every Thanksgiving week (for you Canadians out there) and every Columbus Day week (for you Americans out there), Jackson and the surrounding areas participate in the Pumpkin People festival. The local merchants and citizens decorate pumpkins in creative ways (some of them building tableaus of Pumpkin People families), and there are groups engaged in all sorts of activities. The walk around the whole town takes about 30 minutes, taking you past the Wentworth Golf Club with its beautiful covered bridge, past colourful river banks, and past long tree-lined streets (or should I say street?).
All in all, it is a great way to spend a few hours on a quiet end of an August/start of September day. If you go, there will be one tableau you must see, which is just past the Wentworth Golf Club on the south side of the street. There is usually a sign by a stand of condominiums pointing to Pumpkin People "that way." Follow the sign, and at the end of the condos, you will find an excellent presentation and a basket of McIntosh apples that are yours for the taking. Make sure to leave some for the next wanderers.
I suggest you park in front of the Wentworth Inn by the river and walk towards the town, following the route down to the old covered bridge, where you probably came into Jackson. Turn right and walk along by the Wentworth Golf Club, with golf club on your right, until you come to a parking lot on the right where you can head down a small hill and walk across to the main street that takes you back by the Wentworth Golf Club clubhouse. Keep going and you will see your car on the left.
We will be going back next year to make sure the apples are as good as they were this year.