Celebrating Wildflowers at The Rocks Estate

With maple sugaring season a sweet, distant memory, we’re diving into summer this weekend with the celebration of the 32^nd Annual Wildflower Festival at The Rocks Estate June 2. The event also kicks off the annual Fields of Lupine Festival, celebrated throughout the region.

Pink Lady's Slipper at The Rocks Estate

If you’d love to learn more about botany, are wondering which wild flowers and plants are edible, or just enjoy roaming the woods to explore nature’s beauty, the Wildflower Festival has something you’ll love!

The Maple Museum will also be open, of course, on Saturday and throughout the summer to self-guided tours of the New Hampshire MapleExperience. Self-guided maple tours are open June 1-Columbus Day weekend.

The Rocks boasts a diverse trails system meandering the Estate, and visitors are free to explore. Our Mobile Tour of the property provides information about the history and current conservation efforts at The Rocks – just use your smart phone to scan QR Codes at more than a dozen places and you’ll have additional information at your fingertips!

Several workshops and tours are planned for Saturday’s Wildflower Festival to entertain and educate visitors throughout the day, including birding walks through the historic Rocks Estate, a discussion on identifying various wildflowers, and the Floral Edibles workshop, where participants will learn which local native plants are edible – from fiddleheads and rhubarb to wild leeks and Johnnie Jump-Ups – and how to incorporate them into delicious meals at home.

Walks along the Mile Path, which is open only to guided tours, will also be offered during the Festival. The Mile Path meanders through the Estate, where the Glessner family, original owners of The Rocks, collected and planted an array of flowers. Guides will highlight the rich history of the Glessner family, who summered here beginning in the late 1880s, and the natural world they loved so much. The Mile Path walks are limited to 15 people per tour and fill quickly, so reservations are strongly advised. 

The Wildflower Festival runs this Saturday, June 2, from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. The cost for the day-long Wildflower Festival is $15 and includes lunch and all programs. A $5 discount is given with each lupine festival book presented. For more information or to make reservations, please email us at info@therocks.org or give us a call at (603) 444-6228.

Enjoy the N.H. Maple Experience this summer!

This year’s crop of maple syrup is bottled up and stashed away for the year, but the New Hampshire Maple Experience returns to The Rocks Estate June 1.

Visitors are welcome to take a self-guided maple tour anytime from June 1 through Columbus Day. The Maple Museum will be open for interactive learning (check out our panoramic view of the museum on our website), and the scenery along the path to the museum is unbeatable – the mountains of the Presidential range, carefully restored historic buildings, and summer wildflowers thriving right through until fall foliage season.

While you’re visiting The Rocks, we invite you to explore our extensive trails system (open daily, year ’round, dawn to dusk) and bring along your smart phone to explore our Mobile Tour of QR Codes that detail the estate’s history and modern conservation work. Dogs are welcome, too, but please keep them leashed!

Oh, and if you missed our fabulous chef demos during sugaring season this spring, you’ll find deliciousmaple recipes from area chefs on our website!