Shelby

Free parking at the trail head. Dogs must be leashed per Concord leash laws. Carry-in/carry-out trash. Pick up dog waste. No porta-potty. Very easy and flat walking trail with minimal roots or rocks. The trail starts out in the woods, then goes alongside the Contoocook river for a while. You pass the dam in one area. Wild flowers, birds, and some beaver activity. Bikes are also permitted on this trail. It's a nice loop trail that doesn't take very long to do. Maybe a mile or two at most. Can be very buggy in spring and summer so wear bug spray!

Be aware that between June - September, dogs are only allowed on the beach after 6pm and they must be leashed at all times. The free parking area is small, but less of an issue in the evening when most of the beach visitors are gone. We arrived around 8:45 on a Saturday night at the end of July and there were plenty of open spots. There's bathrooms with flush toilets and running water as well as porta-potties. We left around 9:45 pm and the bathrooms were still open. There's trash cans to dispose of waste. Stairs leading down the beach with lighting. The beach is mostly very soft sand with some sections that have larger rocks. Very pleasant to walk barefoot. Not a lot of shells to be found. There were lots of other people and dogs when we came, but everyone was following the leash rules and being respectful about asking before they tried to pet other people's dogs. There were also people playing games with light-up toys (i.e., Frisbee, bocce ball, badminton, etc) so be aware if your dog is reactive or likes to chase small fast-moving objects) Bring a flashlight if you want to look for shells or crabs because there's only lights near the beach access stairs and the rest of the beach is fairly dark. Beautiful in the moonlight!!

We came here with our 80 lb coonhound in late July on a day in the high 70s and it was a perfect walk in the woods! I enjoy hiking but I prefer easier trails. This preserve was perfect for my hiking abilities. They have an easily accessible parking lot with a map at the trail head. Parking area is rather small. Maybe 8-10 cars could fit there? They have a dog poop-bag dispenser at the trail head but no trash cans and no porta-potty. So be prepared to carry out all your trash. There are multiple trails to choose from, so you can do a short or a long hike. Some of them intersect so you can decide along the way if you want to keep going further into the area or turn towards the parking lot. There are several places along the trails where the map is posted again to check where you are and where you're going. There's also clear trail markers at each junction where trails intersect. We did a couple of the trails which resulted in about 2 hours and 2.75 miles of walking. There's some board walks in a couple areas where it's often muddy. Mostly trails through the woods on soil (lots of tree roots so watch your step!) and some sections where the trail goes over rocky areas but nothing too challenging or dangerous. One of the trails we took goes over a small hill and there's a bench in the grassy area on the hill to stop and rest. Very quiet and peaceful place to walk with minimal noise pollution. We heard some bird song, saw wild flowers and some butterflies. Our dog had a lot of fun sniffing! It was not very busy even though it was a beautiful sunny Saturday. We passed 2 other dogs and 5 other people during our time here. Bring bug spray!!! And check for ticks when you're done.

We came after we had to check out of our hotel in Maine and wanted something to do that would allow dogs. Found this place and decided to go even though we don't really have any interest in trains or trolleys. WOW! We were blown away! The museum is huge!!! Multiple giant buildings each housing 5 or more trolley cars in different stages of restoration. Lots of informative signs and plaques. They have a giant building which is an active restoration workshop that you can go inside to see what they're working on. There's a field of busses and trolley-busses to meander among. They have a few rail and trolley stations on the property which were relocated to be part of the museum and you can go inside them. They also have a building which houses one of the largest model train displays, which was lovingly made mostly by hand by a Maine-native couple who have now passed on, but their love and creativity for the project is still palpable. There are trolley rides every 45 minutes, on restored track in the original location of Maine's railway and trolley system. You ride for about 30 minutes round trip on one of their four restored trolleys. You can ride the trolley unlimited times in the same day with your admission ticket. The conductors and staff are passionate volunteers and they are very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions. You can bring your dog anywhere that people can go on the property. Be aware that some of the trolley cars have STEEP steps to board them. Our dog got on the trolley to ride it without issue but then was scared and took some encouragement to get down after the ride was over. A couple trolley cars are double-deckers with VERY STEEP stairs so I wouldn't recommend bringing your dog up to the second level. The stairs up to the restoration workshop were not too steep but they are made of a metal grating that our 80 lb hound dog really struggled with going back down. (Because you can see through the grating- he seemed to not trust the stairs were safe, and also his toes went between the gaps - it took a lot of encouragement and some cookies to get him to go back down.) So I'd suggest either carrying small dogs, or taking turns going in while someone stays outside with the dog if it's too big to carry. That was the only place our dog had issues in the entire museum. They have a free water fountain near the bathrooms and several staff offered us use of a water bowl if we didn't have one with us (we did). Lots of the staff even asked if they could pet our dog and were happy that we brought him. We spent over 4 hours here, leisurely wandering around, and we didn't even see everything in that time! The people who run this place clearly CARE a LOT about preserving this history and sharing their love with the guests who visit. I'm now recommending all our friends go check it out!!!

We booked last minute for a late July trip after our pet sitters were not available. The prices were ok for peak season in a beach town. The pet fee is $39 per night. Notably, there is NOT a weight limit for the dogs! Most of the hotels that claim to be pet friendly allow only 50 lbs or under. Our dog is an 80-ish lb coonhound. We got their cheapest room with a single queen bed (rather than a cabin). It was quite small but clean and didn't smell like smoke. Our dog crate *barely* fit in the room. The pictures made the rooms seem bigger than they really are.

The fridge and microwave and A/C all worked fine. The curtains were old and busted so they were hard to open and close. The windows were all painted shut. The bathroom was TINY. They do NOT provide hair dryers. The toiletries they provide are kind of weird- a combo shampoo/conditioner in a little packet (similar to takeout ketchup from McDonald's) and it's literally impossible to rip those stinkers open! Luckily I had a pocket knife with me to cut them open before I stepped into the shower. The sheets and towels were all clean. However, they don't do room service during your stay. We had to call and ask for more towels and toilet paper when we needed it, and they didn't tell us where to put the dirty ones. So we ended up with a pile of wet towels next to the toilet during our trip.

They were planting flowers when we arrived but the grass around the cabins didn't look like it had been mowed in weeks. The heated pool is small but clean and well maintained and deep enough to actually swim. Reasonable pool hours of 10 am to 10 pm. The other guests were good about picking up after their dogs and I didn't hear any barking or howling during our stay. If I stayed here again, I would only bring our dog if we could get one of the cabins. If you have a tiny dog, the single rooms might be fine for you. The location is ideal, very close to Wells Public Beach, across the street from a good quality antique store, and not far from Wells essentials such as Congdons donuts or Perkins candy store or Bo-Mar Hall antiques.

The breakfast sandwiches and coffees are super tasty! The sandwiches don't skimp on fillings. The staff is friendly and they work hard to get orders out as quickly as possible. It can get busy. We went more than once during a weekend trip and one day the place was slammed and our order took a while, so be patient. Some indoor seating as well as outdoor seating. They do have a restroom for customers. The gravel parking lot is bigger than it looks when you first arrive. They also have chickens and goats! You can pet the goats and they are friendly. The restaurant puts out water bowls for dogs. We brought our dog and sat outside. We saw a few other people bring their dogs too.

This place is BUSY! So if you have a reactive or food-obsessed dog, do not bring them. If you have a dog that can be well-behaved in a VERY BUSY public place, they are welcome here. There's a rotating variety of food trucks here all summer. Live musicians perform while you eat and hang out. Be prepared the lines can be long. We waited over 30 minutes to get our order from one of the food trucks because the placed was SLAMMED when we came. Lots of tables but if you come as a couple or a small group, be prepared to share your table with another couple or small group. There's 2 porta-potties as well as 2 single-stall bathrooms in the main building. Congdon's sells their famous donuts from a limited selection menu. They also sell ice cream in donut-cones. There's a small arcade on the property as well.

At first I was disappointed by the limited options on the menu. The descriptions didn't do a whole lot to "sell" me either. And the ordering window is outside where you can't really see what they have to offer. But I was very happy with what we got! My husband got a blueberry scone that was HUGE. I got the spinach and feta stuffed croissant and it was so good! Loaded with filling and very satisfying. We also go the raspberry and cream cheese filled croissant to share and that was tasty and well-filled also. He got a hot coffee and I got an iced latte. Both were good. We spent about $36 for 3 pastries and 2 coffees. It felt a little pricey at the time but then I think about the outrageous prices at a chain like Starbucks where you get teeny tiny portions of mass produced food that isn't even good. These pastries were clearly baked fresh ON LOCATION. Staff was running trays of fresh baked goods from the kitchen to the building with the ordering window. There are no seating or public bathrooms here. We ate in the car. They do have a dog bowl with water near the ordering window.