Dog Friendly New England town Portsmouth, New Hampshire

I love quaint New England towns, especially around the holidays.  They always decorate so beautifully, it makes me think of a Charles Dickens story.  Portsmouth, New Hampshire is no exception!  It is a quaint and wonderful New England town, and it's dog friendly!

With Icy and Phoebe on the water-front in Portsmouth, NH along the Piscataqua River

People are often confused as to what "New England" actually is.  New England doesn't refer to any one state in the U.S., it is actually an area of the Northeastern United States that's comprised of 6 different states; Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.  New England is well known for it's historic past, it's quaint old world look and feel, and it's many shipping ports.

The town square, known as Market Square in downtown Portsmouth.  I love all the unique shops and restaurants in this area!

The New England region was one of the first English settlements in America after the Pilgrims arrived in 1620.  These early settlers came first in search of religious freedom, and evolved to have ambitions of independence from the British Crown of England.  

America's Declaration of Independence was eventually signed in 1776 in Pennsylvania, which is not part of New England.  The signers of the Declaration of Independence came from New England states, as well as Pennsylvania and other states.  They all gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the signing.

One of the things I love about New Hampshire is their state motto, celebrating the spirit of freedom:  LIVE FREE OR DIE  You'll see this motto all around New Hampshire on their license plates, on t-shirts, and on merchandise of all kinds.  The full original saying was "Live Free Or Die: Death Is Not The Worst Of Evils" coined by American Revolutionary War General, John Stark.   You can read more about the origin of this motto in a Wikipedia post on Live Free Or Die.

Of course, our favorite part of the trip was finding dog friendly parks and shops to visit!  At first I was getting worried. As we walked through town looking for a park to take the dogs to, we passed a seriously UN-friendly park with No Dogs Allowed signs like every 3 feet!  I thought, Oh great, another town that hates dogs.  I should have had more faith....

Just a little further was a fabulous dog friendly park called Haven Park!  You can even let your dog off leash as long as they remain under "voice control" at all times.  It's a good size park, perfect for a romp with the dog.  It overlooks a lovely lake, too.  There is also a secured dog park on the other side of the road behind a kids playground if you prefer a secure off leash park.

The lake that runs in front of dog friendly Haven Park

Icy standing near a Statue in dog friendly Haven park

How fitting that this park is located on a street called Pleasant Street.  'Cause it's always so pleasant when you come upon a dog friendly park when visiting a new place, isn't it?!

Even Better than Haven Park though, was our walk across the WWI Memorial Bridge into Kittery, Maine!  In downtown Portsmouth the memorial bridge crosses over right into the state of Maine - how cool is that?  Just a walk across a bridge and you're in the next state.  The best part was that we could bring the dogs with us as we walked across the bridge, so we had to take a side trip to Maine!  

The bridge crossing was a great walk with the dogs.  It was great exercise for all of us and the view was terrific.  To our delight, on the other side was John Paul Jones memorial park, which allows dogs.  It's a small park, but we loved walking around in it and taking photos with the dogs.  The park honors American Revolutionary War Naval Hero, John Paul Jones.   The sculpture depicts John Paul Jones and commemorates the site near where the U.S.S. Ranger was build and launched in 1777.

A beautiful monument in John Paul Jones park, located just past the bridge on the Maine side of the bridge in Kittery. 

We stopped at the foot of the bridge, on the Maine side, to have some coffee & hot chocolate at a wonderful little cafe called Kate's Bakery & Cafe.  They had some tables in the back overlooking the Piscataqua river, which was perfect for us and the dogs.  We really enjoyed our little journey into Maine!

Phoebe posing on the flip side of the memorial in John Paul Jones Memorial Park, Kittery, Maine.  This crest depicts Maine's Coat of Arms. The arms shows a Shield, Pine Tree, and a Moose-Deer at the foot of it.

OK, ready for New England quaintness overload?   The streets of Portsmouth have lots of brick and cobblestone walkways that run past unique and wonderful shops and restaurants.  I loved popping in and out of all the wonderful shops - I love to shop for unique items!

I loved exploring all the unique little shops around Portsmouth

Every shop has beautiful holiday decorations both inside and out.  Window boxes, flower pots, and urns are filled with holiday greenery and/or lights.  It's so festive!!

I had to photograph a couple of these store decorations, they were just so pretty.  There are lots of white birch trees in that area and many people incorporated birch tree branches in their decorating.  It looks gorgeous.

There are a lot of great places to eat around downtown Portsmouth.  We loved breakfast at the hip, funky eatery, The Friendly Toast.   It's such a cool place & the food was great.

The Friendly Toast, a hip funky restaurant in downtown Portsmouth, NH

For a more traditional looking restaurant we loved the British Beer Company.  It has a wonderful traditional look and feel and great food!  I had a delicious Beef Wellington, one of my faves.

The British Beer Company restaurant in Portsmouth, NH

In the center of any quaint New England town there must be a church with a beautiful tall steeple!  North Church is a historic church located in Market Square in downtown Portsmouth.

The holiday tree in Market Square, Portsmouth NH.  You can see North Church in the background.

Below is North Church lit up.  It's really beautiful, especially at night.  We were disappointed we couldn't see the inside, the doors were locked at the time.

With or without pets, and in any season, Portsmouth New Hampshire is a great getaway!  We really had fun and will definitely go back again and again.

If you enjoyed this post, you'll probably enjoy this one too: Looking For Pet Friendly Vacation Spots?

Have you ever been to Portsmouth NH?  Tell us about it in the comments, you know how much we LOVE hearing from you!