Frog Rock, New Boston NH

Although it's happened before, it is a rare occasion when we can entice our youngest daughter to spend an afternoon hiking with us. When you're responsible for answering hundreds of Snapchats on any given day, there just aren't enough hours left over for nuisances such as exercise and fresh air. We'd have to be going somewhere pretty exciting for her to join in, and to invite her on an adventure where our goal is to see a rock? That's the king of suggestion that'll have her pulling out the birth certificate and questioning her family lineage.

This is Frog Rock, and it doesn't take much imagination to understand where it got its name.

But what does take imagination is understanding how a hundred years ago this was a popular destination. Woods now surround the entire area, and the grassy plain visitors once picnicked on is a thing of the past. So, in large part, is the memory of Frog Rock. Although trails will lead you within a couple dozen feet of it, there isn't a single sign or marker indicating the rocks existence. Without knowing what you're looking for, you'd likely walk right past it.

To see the rock requires just a 10 minute hike, beginning at a trailhead along the 2nd NH Turnpike in New Boston. Frog Rock is not the only interesting thing you will see along the way, either. This former road was home to houses and at least one barn, the foundations of which still remain.

Some of the walls were so tall, my wife was able to wander amongst them like a corn maze.

I have come across several Lincoln Log cabins in the woods of New Hampshire, and the majority were abandoned after just a couple of layers. Such is the case below. My conclusion is that most people go into this thinking they can build one with not much more effort than it took as a kid.

Eventually, if you make a right hand turn where you see just the hint of a trail, you will arrive at Frog Rock. Much like our former Old Man of the Mountain, from most directions this will look like just a big old pile of nothing. But get it from the right angle and it suddenly takes the form you are looking for.

Although it only takes a moment to admire and photograph it, we'd already devoted an afternoon to finding it and weren't going to leave without a little fun. One of our group even wondered if giving it a kiss might magically produce for her a dashing young prince. I can't speak for the results any of you might have, but I can confirm that this young lady was quite smitten with who accompanied her out of the woods that afternoon.

To see Frog Rock for yourself, follow the directions given on the New Boston Historical Society's website below. And be sure to look for WeRmudfun's video clip at the bottom of the page for a special guest appearance.

http://www.newbostonhistoricalsociety.com/frogrock.html