Locally made items abound at The Rocks

This weekend marks the annual Granite State-wide New Hampshire Open Doors event, where shops and businesses throughout the state celebrate the bounty of goodies made, grown, and produced in New Hampshire. The Rocks is proud to participate in NH Open Doors, and even prouder to offer an array of locally-made items in our shops EVERY day!

Name our snowpeople... and win one!

There’s no better time to browse through the offerings at The Rocks Marketplace and Farm Store than NOW, when our shelves are brimming with holiday gifts and decorations.

One of our favorite locally-made items this season is our NEW three-tiered wooden snowpeople. They come in various shapes, sizes, and attire… but we need your help to give them a good name! When you visit The Rocks Marketplace between now and December 8, please jot down a clever name and slip it into the box near the checkout counter. We’ll announce the winning name December 8th, and the person who comes up with the best name will win one of these whimsical, handcrafted snowpeople!

Here’s a taste of some of the other NH-made items you’ll find at The Rocks:

* Delicious jams and jellies from White Mountains Canning in Lancaster, NH.

* Serenely sweet chocolate goodies – from caramel cups and s’mores sticks to moose- and bear-shaped pops – from RHD Candy, also of Lancaster.

* The Worlds Greatest Cheddar Cheese from Harman’s Cheese and Country Store, just up the road in Sugar Hill.

* Pancake mixes from the widely famous Polly’s Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill. 

* Intricately lovely glass tree ornaments made by Bouquette Jones, and angel ornaments by Melissa Jones, all made right here in Bethlehem, NH.

* Jewelry from Colorful Creations in Dover, NH. 

* Hand-made, hand-painted pottery – as attractive as it is useful – by former Olympic ski racer Joan Hannah, of Sugar Hill.

* Savory granola from Sharon’s Granola of Derry, NH, in gluten free flavors like caramel pear and maple walnut.

* Our very own Rocks Estate Maple Syrup, made right here at The Rocks!

So c’mon in to The Rocks to get your festive on and cross a few names off your holiday gift list. Our shops are open daily from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., and we open for choose-and-cut Christmas Tree sales November 23.

Mail order holidays ~ Christmas made easy at The Rocks

Golden Angle Wreath

The Rocks Estate is in full holiday swing! Yes, we realize it’s still only October, but our online shop is hopping! 

We know many holiday fanatics – like us – want to get started early. So, our online shop is designed to be super shopper-friendly (complete with FREE shipping on all items) to help make your holidays fun and easy – whenever you’re ready to get started on bringing the holidays home.

If you’ve ordered from The Rocks online shop before, you know you can order a Rocks Estate Christmas tree anytime between now and the holidays and pick the date you’d like your fresh, fragrant, farm-grown tree delivered right to your doorstep.

But it’s not just about the trees… At The Rocks online shop, you’ll find a festive selection of holiday wreaths, from classic to cute, along with garland, gifts, and accessories galore! If you’re in the market for a handmade wreath (or a few), check out our new-this-season Whimsical Wreath and Golden Angel Wreath. Another new treat now available online is our very own Rocks Estate maple syrup, made right here at The Rocks and available by the half-pint, pint, or quart.

Our online shop also offers accessories to make keeping your tree fresh and fragrant through the holidays simple, including a longtime customer favorite tree stand (be sure to ask for your tree to be drilled) and our watering spout (makes filling the reservoir a cinch – no more crawling through limbs and gift boxes!). 

Visit The Rocks online shop today – or whenever you’re ready – and get your holidays started!

Bus Touring at The Rocks Estate

While winter – and finding the perfect Christmas tree – is the most famous season at The Rocks Estate, fall foliage season is quickly catching on, as visitors enjoy the kaleidoscopic colors of autumn at the Estate and on the surrounding hills and mountains. Often, the fall visitors arrive via tour bus, and it used to be that the bus would pull in, the tourists would unload, take a few photos, climb back on board, and head to the next pretty destination.

Now, more buses (nearly 60 this year!) are coming to The Rocks, and the bus tourists are staying longer and experiencing The Rocks more fully – whether through guided tours of the property or expert-led discussions of the wildlife living in and around this historic 1,400-acre property, now the North Country Conservation & Education Center for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Each group chooses a personalized visit to the Estate and is invited to select from a list of natural history programs. The most popular of these is a visit to the New Hampshire Maple Experience and Museum, housed in one of the many history buildings at The Rocks that have been carefully restored for modern use. The Maple Experience includes a virtual tour of the maple sugaring process, which happens in the spring when the sap flows through the sugar maple trees at The Rocks and is collected to make maple syrup. (Visitors are also welcome to visit the gift shop, where they’ll find maple syrup, along with an array of other great gifts!)

A group of visitors from the Midwest at The Rocks.

Other popular group programs at The Rocks include the moose & bear talks led by the Estate’s manager, Nigel Manley, who is an avid outdoorsman, and the Gardens of Yesteryear program, which uses hand-colored slides from 1933 to illustrate the timeless beauty of the formal gardens still maintained at The Rocks.

Whether you’re arriving via tour bus, or coming with your family to enjoy a picnic and tag-your-own tree, we hope you’ll visit The Rocks this fall and enjoy the beauty of autumn in New Hampshire!