Welcome to the Monadnock region! Moving and relocating is hard and we wanted to make it a little easier for you to find information about what this region has to offer. Whatever your reason for finding yourself here, we want you to know that you are welcome here and offer ourselves as a resource to make your transition smooth, efficient, and hopefully, fun!
What is the Monadnock region?
Let's start with some basic info. The Monadnock region is located in Cheshire county, New Hampshire. The word Monadnock is derived from the language of the original inhabitants of this region, the Abenaki tribe. Monadnock roughly means "mountain that stands alone" which refers to Mount Monadnock, a beautiful 3,165 foot mountain in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is sometimes also referred to as Grand Monadnock (there are other mountains in new Hampshire and Vermont that also use the work monadnock in their title). Mount Monadnock is also a state park, open for hiking and all sorts of outdoor activities. You can find more information about Mount Monadnock State Park by visiting the official website, here.
There are other terms people use to describe this area. A common one you might come across is the "Connecticut River Valley." The Connecticut River is the longest river in New England, running through four states, including Vermont and New Hampshire, which is divides. The way the Connecticut River bisects this area explains another term for some towns in the area, "Vermont and southern New Hampshire borderlands", which refers to the area on both sides of the Connecticut River Valley, such as Walpole in New Hampshire and Bellows Falls in Vermont.
The Essentials
Drivers license: If you need to transfer an out of state drivers license, make an appointment at the Keene DMV, located at 149 Emerald Street in Keene, in the Center at Colony Mill complex. More information can be found here.
Register to vote: Whatever town or city you settle in will have a town hall or city clerk's office and this is where you can register to vote. You can find more information here.
Things to do
The biggest city in this region is Keene and it is also the center of a lot of activity. From restaurants to festivals, Keene has a lot to offer newcomers. Visit ExploreKeene.org for more details on the best places to eat, drink, and play.
But there is a lot of fun to be had elsewhere, especially if you enjoy the outdoors. The Monadnock Conservancy owns and protects many properties throughout the Monadnock region that are open to the public. Here is a full list of our trails. Each is special in its own way, but we recommend Tippin' Rock in Swanzey, or Porcupine Falls in Gilsum. If you are the adventurous type, this region offers many amazing opportunities to climb, swim, ski (both cross country and downhill), bike, paddle, boat, or kayak, and more.
If hunting and fishing are more your speed, that's also something you can do on most of the properties owned by the Conservancy. You will need a hunting and/or fishing license, which can easily be obtained online, or from local municipalities. There are also excellent trails for snowmobiling, which you can find here.