America's Stonehenge — Attraction in Salem

What an interesting place! Mythical, informational, unique, and rocky. When doing some research online, found this place and decided to venture here as a family. I mean, how many people know there's even an American Stonehedge? I wasn't exactly sure what to expect when I arriving, but came with an open mind.

There was ample parking at the center, as when we went on a hot morning there were only probably five other families. You walk up to a visitor center, which has a good size gift shop attached. There is a cost to get in to the facility/trails/viewing area, I believe it was $14 for adults and $8 for kids. The employees were very welcoming. In The Visitor Center there is a short movie/film that visitors can view explaining American's Stonehedge. It'd be a good idea to watch prior to going out on the trails and exploring. The visitor center does also have restrooms, and a smaller information center, all adding to the experience.

When leaving The Visitor Center you're out on the trails, the first thing you encounter is a gemstone dig area for kids which is very nice if you have children. They let you keep three gemstones from your dig. Then you continued traveling up the trail and there is either a map you can use to guide you or they have a free online app you can download where it will read the information on the trail. There's about 25-30 different information areas, that you can read about/learn about. We decided to use the map but the people behind us use the app and it sounded very well done.

Exploring and reading map about the site can take about an hour; more if you take pictures and venture off to additional information on the trail. Lots of neat things to see and invision about the past. Although many of the structures are just partially there due to time and decay, the map does a good job of giving information. At the end of the trail of there's a surprising Alpaca Farm, with really friendly alpacas that just add to the whole experience! They really like getting their picture taken. They were so sweet.

With not having a ton of information prior to coming, this was a really fun experience! Even the kids who sometimes complain about hiking in the heat enjoyed it....

America’s Stonehenge is a unique and mysterious historical site located in Derry, NH. The site will leave with more questions than answers. After seeing the indoor museum, which consists of different artifacts from the historical site, you will take the nature trail outdoors and see the stone chambers, walls, and monoliths. An app is provided for a detailed tour of the site and there are also guided tours available. The walking here is easy to moderate. As you go along the path the sites are labeled and it is easy to find information about the significance of each piece of the site. When you get to walking the outer rock wall, some of the trail is a little hard to follow and could have better signage, but it’s not difficult. The trail ends when you reach Alpacas at the end. So what is so mysterious about this place? Since its discovery there have been all sorts of theories as to who built them. Some thought the Pattee family, who lived on the property in the 18 and 19th century, built them. But upon closer inspection evidence was found that the structures are thousands of years old. All sorts of theories are out there as to who built them including the Native Americans, Irish monks, Phoenicians, or Gaelic peoples. Perhaps, it’s a combination of all of these or others who knows? Some of the more interesting structures include the “Watch House.” It appears as a stone chamber, but on the equinoxes the large quartzite stone in the interior is illuminated. The Oracle Chamber is another structure with interesting features and a pre-colonial background. On the “Astronomical Trail” there are many stones that are solar aligned. Of these the “Summer Solstice Stone” is the most interesting because it not only aligns with the Summer Solstice sunrise, but is also aligned with Stonehenge in England. It’s not often that you can tour a unique archaeological and historical site such as this. Take the tour and see what you think. It's better to buy tickets online because it saves money. It’s an interesting and memorable...

This was a completely unexpected find as I was exploring Southern New Hampshire. I saw the road sign and was intrigued. When I arrived, I did not know what to expect. At the entrance Lodge, the staff is extraordinary really friendly and the admission price is extremely reasonable

Most of the tours are simply self guided, and I highly recommend downloading their new app which contains all of the audio tour recordings and additional information and photos. The walk is about a half-mile, round trip.

I have to admit that I was not expecting much, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of Relic stone work that is still in place and the extensive archeological research which has been done on the site.

I found it strangely impressive that they have discovered that the primary alignment wall of the sight lines up perfectly with the Stonehenge in England. I have no idea whether it is coincidence or somehow an amazing achievement of people's more than 2000 years ago, but it's still kind of cool.

Right as I started out on the path, it began to rain. No worries, though. They have loaner umbrellas which work great. I found the combination of learning, seeing, walking, and enjoying the woods in the rain was both Pleasant and relaxing.

As an addict of good tourist spots, I love to look at gift shops but don't often buy anything. In this case, I found the prices on there Collectibles to be far more reasonable than other places and bought quite a few things. My only disappointment in the whole Adventure was that the gift shop was out of my size of their t-shirts.

All in all, America's Stonehenge was well worth a couple hours of my time and quite the Intriguing find in Southern New Hampshire. I highly recommend this private park and encourage others...