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WITHIN THRIVING DISTANCE

Just a day trip from major metropolitan areas, New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region offers you arts, culture, main street sophistication, and a spectacular outdoor playground—for an unforgettable getaway, or a lifetime. Here, you can be your best self and live your best life. Oh, by the way— it's pronounced muh-nad-nok.

Come explore…and thrive.

start exploring

 Here, we’ve gathered resources and suggestions to help you pick your own path.

VIDEO

TESTIMONIALS

MAP

recommendations

EVENTS

While the Monadnock Region is home to dozens of communities, all with their own distinct charms, Keene and Peterborough stand out for their arts, commerce, and culture. Check out these pages to take a deeper dive.

MONADNOCK IN MOTION

See the people and places that make the Monadnock Region so special.

up close and personal

OPPORTUNITIES ALL OVER THE MAP

Explore every corner of the Monadnock Region to find what matters most to you.

New England states map with Monadnock Region highlighted

Our Beautiful Corner of NH

Just two hours northwest of Boston, the Monadnock Region is within thriving distance from major cities and airports, including Hartford, Albany, and New York City.

Click on the icons for special interests in the region

Icon of a mountain in a circle with a compass needle

Mt Monadnock

Icon of snowflake for winter sports

Winter Sports

Icon of campsite for parks

Hikes/Parks

Icon of a mountain biker for bike parks

Mountain Bike

Icon of trail through trees for rail trails

Rail Trails

Icon of a teed up golf ball for golf courses

Golf

Icon of Waterways

Rivers/Lakes

Icon of comedy-drama masks for entertainment

Arts/Culture

Icon of graduation cap for higher education

Colleges

Icon of a parent and a child holding hands

Family Fun

recommendations

Plan your perfect visit. Whether you’re here for an event, an outdoor adventure, a romantic getaway, or to explore a themed trail—breweries, local art, sugar shacks, etc.—we have suggestions just for you.
Choose an option from one of the boxes below.

events

In every corner of the Monadnock Region, there’s something to see, and there are experiences to enjoy. These are just a few examples—click to see more events.

MONIFF

OCT

4-6

2024

Keene

Award-winning films on the festival circuit, along with regionally produced films.

Stelth Ulvang

Oct

4

2024

Keene

Stelth Ulvang pianist for the anthemic folk band, The Lumineers, performs music from his upcoming record.

Keene Pumpkin Fest

October

12

2024

Keene

Family friendly pumpkin festival starting at 2pm

Peak into Peterborough

October

19

2024

Peterborough

A beloved family friendly fall festival in downtown Peterborough

NEWS: LOCAL BUZZ

BLOG: THRIVE ON

View from kayak in a Fitzwilliam new Kayak/Canoe rental company

Splish Splash

Water defines New Hampshire’s Monadnock Region—literally! The Connecticut River runs along our western border, as it winds its way into Massachusetts and beyond. (You may

Read More »
Colorful t-shirts with the Greater Monadnock logo on them

wear it well

Visit our NH Monadnock Region webstore. This store is always open and offers lots of fun merch!

Ritu

ritu budakoti

educator

Ritu: By profession I am an educator, I teach 8th grade Science at the Keene Middle School. By passion I am a community builder. I tirelessly work towards building our community into a welcoming and inclusive place. I am a founder and President of regions first Keene India Association, Chair of Keene International Festival, Member of Keene Human Rights committee, Advisor at The daily Good and Trustee Member of The Keene Public Library. 

For newcomers to the Monadnock region, I would suggest taking the time to explore the area’s natural beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities, including hiking trails, lakes, and parks. Engaging with the local community through events, farmers’ markets, and multicultural festivals such as Keene International festival can help newcomers connect with their new surroundings and meet fellow residents. 

Molly Ola Pinney and Aja Davis Founder, Becoming Exponential; White People. DOING Something.

Molly Ola Pinney
and Aja Davis

Founder, Becoming Exponential; White People. DOING Something

AJA: Molly and I met in Brooklyn, where both of us had been living for quite some time. When Covid hit, we decided to come hang out in New Hampshire for a bit, maybe six months. And now it’s been three years! We bought a house here; we’re having a baby here. You could say we’ve become New Hampshirites. As a newcomer I find this region to be surprisingly open, especially when it comes to having these conversations about diversity and inclusion. It’s not instinctual, and we could bring more awareness to it, but generally people are open to it. I do think having initiatives to entice small business owners [from diverse backgrounds] to the region would be wonderful.

MOLLY: Aja is from North Carolina, but I’m from Dublin, and in hindsight it was pretty special to grow up here. It was lovely to know people; it was lovely to be known and felt cared for by an entire community. More generally, I find there’s a peacefulness in this area not only in the natural surroundings, but also in the way people interact with each other.

Meghan Gould Ultra-Running Coach; Founder/Host: She Run Ultras podcast

Meghan Gould

Ultra-Running Coach; Founder/Host: She Run Ultras podcast

MEGHAN:  I was born in Nashua and raised in Peterborough, but I’ve moved all over: Connecticut, Boston, Burlington, Arizona. And I spent a number of years traveling the country for my former job [in marketing for Pepsi], seeing different cities and suburbs and rural communities, yet none of them truly felt like someplace where I would want to come back and live. There’s an intangible quality to being here and living in the Monadnock Region, something I can’t necessarily put my finger on. I think that’s part of what makes it so great: Each person loves it for their own reason

Jan

Jan Zeigler

Owner of wunderkind

Jan: My partner grew up in the Monadnock region and I relocated here, it wasn’t on my radar before that and has become dear to me for all it has to offer. 

As a marketing agency focused on supporting businesses, our goal is pretty ambitious. We aim to help local businesses have access to the tools typically available solely to larger enterprises and franchises. New Englanders want to support local businesses and we help to get businesses out in front of the competition both online and in person.

I’m an avid cyclist and I love all the small windy roads between Walpole and Surry; an abundance of climbs and descents with very little car traffic and it leads through some really beautiful farmland. I also really enjoy the rail trails, especially in the spring when everything begins to get green.

Joshua Velasquez and Adam Hamilton Founders, Shires Naturals

Joshua Velasquez and Adam Hamilton

Founders, Shires Naturals

JOSH:  Adam and I met working together at a summer job in Rhode Island, and we were both on the same page for starting a business that was health- and wellness-focused. I believe New Hampshire was the best place to do that—this region is full of entrepreneurs, and we hope what we are building in Peterborough is encouraging everyone else to see the potential in what can be done in beautiful southwest New Hampshire.

ADAM: In Peterborough, what we discovered was, in my eyes, the true sense of community. Which was: If you’re trying to do something, the response is, How can I help? What can I do? How can I lift you up? A lot of that help and advice came from the business talent that lives in the Monadnock Region, and a lot of that comes from older or retired people with decades of experience in their given fields. What we’ve learned from them, we probably wouldn’t have gotten in a city like Boston. They had the time and the knowledge to help us, and they had the desire to give back.

SafetyMade, Paul Dubois

Paul Dubois

Founder/Owner of Safety Made

Paul: Keene was a great place to grow up. I had friends all over town and was able to bike-ride anywhere I needed to go. The schools had great athletics programs with wonderful coaches and support, and Keene features great outdoor spaces and trails where I could spend the days exploring freely

As a business owner, I greatly appreciate the tightness of the business community. There are a lot of events and the fellow business owners tend to put a lot of effort into staying connected and offering resources and ideas. The business I started does not have local customers, but the network in Keene proved invaluable during my startup process. The people in the Monadnock region are very willing to share ideas and expertise and truly want to see others succeed.
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