Area 533 acres (2.16 km) Website Miller State Park | Created 1891 Phone +1 603-924-3672 | |
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Location Peterborough and Temple,
Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Operated by New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation Address 13 Miller Park Rd, Peterborough, NH 03458, USA Similar Pack Monadnock, Wapack Trail, North Pack Monadnock, Rhododendron State Park, Wapack National Wildlife R | ||
Fall hiking on pack monadnock miller state park
Miller State Park is the oldest state-run park in New Hampshire, a state in the New England region of the United States. The park is located in the towns of Peterborough and Temple.
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The park is centered on Pack Monadnock, the 2,290-foot (700 m) mountain. Pack comes from an Indian word meaning "little" and is used in comparison to nearby Mount Monadnock. Unusual for mountains in this region, Pack Monadnock has a paved auto road to the top.
The mountain is the former site of two hotels. It also has a renovated fire tower at the summit which is staffed seasonally.
The 533-acre (216 ha) park was established in 1891 when 3 acres (1.2 ha) atop Pack Monadnock were donated to New Hampshire. It has expanded over the years with land donations and purchases. Until 1901, cattle were driven by foot from Massachusetts farms for summer grazing on open pasture extending nearly to the summit. Virtually all the pastures are now overgrown with forest, as little farming is done in the region.
The park is named for James Miller, a Peterborough native who was a brigadier general in the United States Army during the War of 1812 and became the first Governor of Arkansas Territory.
The park is popular with hikers. The Wapack Trail runs through it, crossing Pack Monadnock.
In 2007, the state bought an adjacent 325 acres (1.32 km2) around the closed Temple Mountain Ski Area, across NH Route 101 from the Miller State Park entrance.