Portsmouth

Portsmouth brings together waterfront gardens, nature experiences and unusual insights into history and culture. At Prescott Park, you can explore formal plantings and a variety of garden areas; aboard the historic research submarine USS Albacore, visitors can instead explore the control room, technical areas and sleeping quarters. There is also a special way to enjoy a day out together: since 1974, the summer season at Prescott Park has included at least one full outdoor performance of a Broadway musical for family audiences each year.

Gardens and waterfront landscapes

The public Prescott Park is located on the waterfront in Portsmouth. Its 10-acre grounds include formal plantings, the Liberty Gardens and other individual garden areas. Admission to the park is free, and it is open to everyone. The different garden areas give a visit a variety of focal points: as well as the design of the formal plantings, the grounds explicitly include the Liberty Gardens. If you enjoy spending time outdoors while on holiday, this public space brings together garden landscapes and a waterfront setting.

Four Tree Island offers a different park setting. The public park island is accessible via a causeway from Peirce Island and is open to everyone. Picnic tables are available beneath small pavilions; a large pavilion can also be reserved. On Peirce Island, salt marshes and tidal pools shape the landscape alongside rocky outcrops, wooded trails and scenic viewpoints. A boat landing there provides access to the quieter branch of the Piscataqua River. This means there are different natural settings to choose from during your holiday: garden areas, tidal landscapes, woodland trails or viewpoints.

Explore history

The Strawbery Banke Museum is an almost 10-acre living history museum in Portsmouth’s Puddle Dock neighborhood. It preserves the development of an entire neighborhood over more than 350 years. Its grounds include historic houses at their original sites, gardens, landscaped areas and exhibits; most of the historic houses remain at their original locations. This view of a neighborhood across a long span of time differs from a visit to a single historic building and offers a distinct focus for culture-minded days out.

For a particularly close-up look at the history of technology, visit Albacore Park, a designated National Historic Landmark in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Self-guided tours of the historic research submarine USS Albacore are available there. Visitors can board the submarine, look through the periscope and explore the control room, technical areas and sleeping quarters. The Jones House offers a different cultural focus: its interactive exhibit explores Abenaki culture, arts, foodways and storytelling traditions.

Another place to visit is the Wentworth-Coolidge State Historic Site, less than 2 miles outside downtown Portsmouth. It is a New Hampshire state park. The specific distance can help you plan for this site separately from experiences within Portsmouth.

Explore on foot or by bike

In Portsmouth, the NH Seacoast Greenway follows a former, abandoned rail corridor for 3.6 miles: the section described runs between Barberry Lane and the Greenland town line. The Greenway is intended as a shared-use trail for walking and cycling along the coast. It offers an active way to discover Portsmouth. If you would like to focus your trip especially on cycling and hiking, this trail is a specific option; those more interested in gardens, museums or the submarine will find other experiences to suit them.

Which experiences would you like to shape your stay?

When choosing your vacation rental, you can start by considering which of Portsmouth’s attractions matter most to your trip: gardens and picnic spots, the natural scenery of Peirce Island, museums and historic sites, or a shared-use trail for hiking and cycling. For families, the annual summer program at Prescott Park includes at least one full outdoor performance of a Broadway musical, offering a specific seasonal attraction; other cultural and nature experiences complement the offer with their own distinct focuses. The places and experiences described give you a variety of reasons to discover Portsmouth, without having to limit your stay to just one kind of holiday.

More local pages: Hampton Falls, Northwood, Candia, Greenland, North Hampton, Sandown, Rye and Windham.

See the broader travel overview: Rockingham.