Little Harbor Loop, Portsmouth NH

• 3-star hikes
• 2 mile loop
• Easy | Gain 140 feet
• Portsmouth, NH | Seacoast Region
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An enormous cast iron anchor, complete with a wooden bar and large chains, sits on stone plinths in a grassy area. Behind is a large yellow building. A body of water is visible to the right.

5-ton anchor in front of the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion.

Just a mile-and-a-half South of Portsmouth, this Sagamore Creek-side promontory is the former home of Benning Wentworth, a shipping merchant who became New Hampshire's first governor back in pre-Revolutionary War times. In fact, without Wentworth's close ties to the lawmakers of the day, the lands of New Hampshire might have just been another part of Massachusetts. That's enough to boil the blood of some Granite Staters.

The Little Harbor Loop Trail combines a shoreline route along the creek across NH Forest Society Creek Farm lands with a narrow forest trail that neighbors the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion. In this sheltered coastal inlet where the Piscataqua River meets the Atlantic Ocean you'll find freshwater wetlands, tidal pools and at low tide, access to the tiny Goose Island.
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3★ Little Harbor Loop Trail 1.9 mi loop, easy, gain 140 ft
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions

After scoping out the headlands around the mansion, the trail ducks into the forest on the North side of Little Harbor Road where you'll find tall white pine trees that would make perfect masts for new sailing ships, if Portland was still a shipbuilding town. A short out-and-back spur within the forest leads to a secluded harbor viewpoint. After leaving the forest, continue following the yellow blazed route along the paved Creek Farm Road for a third of a mile, which leads back to the farm and completes the circuit.

We found this to be a pleasant and varied walk with opportunities for bird-watching or visiting the museum, and its proximity to Portsmouth can make this a good destination or starting point for those looking for a longer walking route. The Forest Society also welcomes paddlers to put in or take out their boats here, so long as boats are carried manually across the lawns of Creek Farm.

A panoramic scene of a water course, ripples washing ashore next to a small rocky beach area behind which grass and trees can be found. A rock protrudes from the water on the right. In the distance is a causeway with a squat steel truss bridge spanning its two halves. Skies are blue with wispy clouds.

Piscataqua River panorama from the northern viewpoint.

A man walking in a forest. Pine needles are on the floor, and bright green leaves surround him. The closest tree trunk has a yellow painted mark on it, just above head height.

Hiking through the forested section of the harbor loop.

A yellow building comprised of several juxtaposing parts, each with a red roof. A grassy lawn with several bald patches is in the foreground. A large body of water with an island in the middle is in the middle distance. Two people walk from left to right across the panoramic frame.

Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion is open May to October for guided tours.

Tangents:
• External Link: Wentworth-Coolidge Museum
• The Forest Society: Creek Farm
• Public Map at AllTrails: Little Harbor Loop
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article

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