Horse-drawn wagon rides at The Rocks: A conversation with guide Nancy Czarny

One of the most-loved Christmastime activities at The Rocks Estate is the horse-drawn wagon rides through the farm. Teams of huge draft horses pull the wagons, visitors nestle under warm blankets, and a Rocks guide shares stories about the Estate's history, the Forest Society’s mission, and the work that goes into growing those neat rows of perfect Christmas trees.

Nancy Czarny has been volunteering as a Rocks guide for 19 years. Here’s her take on what makes The Rocks a magical place, and why she keeps coming back year after year…

How did you get started volunteering at The Rocks?

I had moved up from Connecticut and was looking for an outreach program of some sort. I saw an ad in the paper looking for people who wanted to go through volunteer training. I signed up, and it was great. I met a lot of new people. And working at The Rocks, with its conservation mission and education work, was a cause that I could really put my heart behind.

Nancy leads a tour with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen aboard.

Have you always been a wagon guide, or have you done other volunteer work, too?

When I started, we were doing lots of educational programs about Christmas trees with the local school kids, and I was involved in that. The children were so responsive, and I just loved the programs we were teaching. I’ve also done the educational piece of the Maple Experience program we do in the spring.

But my favorite thing to do at The Rocks is to be on the wagons during the holiday season. At first, I was a little shy about doing the tours, but once I got started, it was just really fun.

Do you have a script to follow, or does each guide have his or her own routine?

I think we all go off on our own little tangents. I have my own routine I’ve developed over the years.

I have people who have been on my wagon every Christmas season for years and years. So sometimes I ask them questions to see if they can remember the spiel. Or I ask if they’d rather sing Christmas carols, since they’ve heard it all before. But they always want to hear the wagon dialogue again.

One of the things I tell people, beyond the history of the Estate and how Christmas trees are grown, is how The Rocks ships mail order Christmas trees. Each tree is shipped in a seemingly ordinary cardboard box, but it’s lined to keep the tree fresh, and then you open the box and – spring! – there’s your Christmas tree. I send my sister in Florida a Rocks tree each year, and it’s like a little bit of Christmas magic.

What is the question you get asked most often by wagon riders?

Mostly, it’s the children who want to ask the teamsters questions about the horses. The teamsters are fabulous, and the horses are amazing!

Any wagon rides that stand out after 19 years of guiding?

Once I had a very small group, just two or three couples. We usually don’t let people off the wagon during the ride, but I’d been clued in ahead of time that something special was in the works. One couple asked if they could get down at the Sawmill/Pigpen building, which now houses the Maple Experience. They got down, and the man asked his girlfriend to marry him. She said yes. The other couples were their family and friends, so they popped out the champagne. And on the way back, the script went out the window!

I found out later the couple ended up getting married at The Rocks.

What keeps you coming back each year as a guide at The Rocks?

I think it’s just the happiness on the wagons. It gets me in the Christmas spirit. People are there to get the tree. It’s a happy family experience. It’s a time that they just enjoy. Along the way, they learn something about the Forest Society, about how Christmas trees are grown, what life was like back at the turn of the last century.

People are just happy on those wagons!

To find out more about what's happening at The Rocks this season, please visit us online, and stay tuned to our Blog... Our shops are now open daily, and the farm opens for cut-your-own and retail Christmas tree sales THIS weekend, Nov. 22!

A day at The Rocks: Christmas trees, wagon rides, good cheer, and a touch of holiday magic

Meghan McCarthy McPhaul Blogs for The Rocks Estate and the New Hampshire Maple Experience. This is her account of her family's recent visit to The Rocks to select a Christmas tree.

My family makes the quick drive to The Rocks Estate each year to find our Christmas tree. While the experience varies from year to year, it’s always festively fun – and a bit magical.

Last year, the kids tromped happily through the fields to find our perfect tree. I lost track of how many gleeful cries of, “This one is perfect!” we heard before finally settling on the tree we would cut and bring home to trim. There’s a common idiom about “a kid in a candy store”… well, a kid in a field of Christmas trees is just as happy!

On tree seeking day this year it was a bit chilly and windy, even for my hardy North Country kids, so we opted for the easy route and headed to the retail tree lot. There, we found a fantastic selection of already-cut Christmas trees. We hemmed and hawed between the Fraser firs and the Balsam firs and ultimately selected the latter. (We had measured the space our tree holds at home before heading out. These tree selection tips are helpful!)

Each holiday weekend at The Rocks, there is a local group whose members are standing by to help tree seekers (and who happily accept tips to help fund their organizations). Our Christmas tree elves were from Littleton’s Daisy Bronson Middle School Student Council. We showed them which tree we wanted, and they carted it off to be processed for pick-up out front. Other groups helping this year are the sophomore and 8^th grade classes from Littleton High School. Inside the Rocks Marketplace, the Profile Booster Club sells beverages and treats for hungry holiday shoppers.  

A visit to The Rocks really feels like a community event!

Before picking a tree, my kids wanted to say hello to the huge horses who pull the wagons carrying visitors around the historic Estate. While time didn’t allow us to take the tour this visit, we’ve enjoyed it in the past, and each time we learn something new about The Rocks from the friendly guides on board. This trip we said hello to the 1,900-pound Sampson and his wagon mate Giovanna. Their handler cheerfully answered our questions about the huge and beautiful horses and their special shoes, which allow them to gain traction in the snow and dirt they work in, both at The Rocks and in their other job – logging the woods of Vermont.

(Reservations are recommended for the wagon rides, although walk-ons are allowed if there is space. To make a reservation, email info@TheRocks.org or check in when you arrive at the farm.)

After selecting our tree, we popped into the Farm Store to peruse the ornaments, wreaths, Rocks Estate maple syrup and other holiday goodies. Next, we headed up to The Rocks Marketplace and all the fantastic holiday fun it holds. From locally made chocolates and pottery to fun home décor and beautiful scarves, the Marketplace is bursting with festive holiday and gift items – and friendly Rocks workers, too! For more about the shops, check out this post. 

On our way to the Marketplace, we ran into The Rocks’ very own Green Father Christmas, all decked out in his evergreen-hued robe. He approached us and handed each child a small fir tree seedling. We’ll follow the instructions on the attached tag (which also indicated the trees are sponsored by the Bank of New Hampshire) to pot our seedlings through the winter and plant them outside when the ground thaws.

Throughout this year’s outing to The Rocks, we could smell sugar in the air, as the friendly folks from Kingdom Kernel Kettle Corn cooked up fresh batches of their kettle corn. Tradition dictates that we bring a bag of the salty-sweet goodness home along with our Christmas tree, so we stopped in on the way to the car. We sampled their yummy Snickerdoodle flavor, but ultimately stuck with our favorite Maple Kettle Corn.

There are as many ways to enjoy the holiday season at The Rocks as there are visitors to the farm. Some families visit the nearly life-size wooden snowpeople (made locally and available in many sizes for purchase at the Marketplace). Others make a weekend out of their Rocks visit with the Christmas Memories vacation package, offered in conjunction with area inns and hotels. And many folks who have moved away order a Rocks tree or farm-made wreaths for friends and family every year from the online shop.

If you’re lucky enough to visit The Rocks during the holidays and find your perfect Christmas tree, you’re guaranteed a grand time and plenty of holiday cheer!

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!

The NH Maple Experience returns in March!

The New Hampshire Maple Experience will return to The Rocks Estate this spring, bringing with it all the tradition, sweetness, and fun of maple sugaring season! Dates for this year's Maple Experience are March 16, 23-24, 30- 31, and April 6.

The Experience includes an interactive step-by-step demonstration of crafting maple syrup – complete with a visit to the onsite sugar house – as well as a horse-drawn carriage ride through the historic Rocks Estate and a syrup tasting with the traditional pairing of sour pickle and homemade donut.

“Parents looking for kid-friendly events often bring their children to the Maple Experience, and inevitably the whole family ends up learning a lot about maple sugaring – and everyone has a great time,” said Nigel Manley, longtime Rocks Estate manager. “We keep the Maple Experience fresh by adding new features each season.”

Other highlights of the Maple Experience include a visit to the interactive maple museum and education center; the "Taste of New Hampshire Maple," featuring local chefs demonstrating how to make their favorite maple recipes; a relay race where participants are timed on how long it takes to fill a 10-gallon container (enough sugar maple sap to make one quart of syrup); and tasty treats from Kingdom Kernels Kettle Corn.

Reservations for the Maple Experience tours are highly recommended, but walk-ins are welcome on a space available basis. For more details, please visit our online calendar. To learn how to turn your Maple Experience into a weekend-long adventure, complete with a stay at one of our partnering inns or hotels, check out our Maple Experience Vacation Package.

See you this spring at The Rocks!

The Rocks Estate ~ A fun & unique place for group tours and parties

Looking for a great place to host a party, or a fun and unique group outing? Well, The Rocks Estate can help you entertain in style!

The Rocks is a beautiful, versatile venue for events and parties large and small. Whether you’re looking for a fun place to bring your youth group for hands-on learning about the local environment and agriculture or a picture-perfect setting for your wedding, we aim to please!

We welcome groups to The Rocks year-round and offer a variety of experiential tours and natural history programs customized to your party’s interests. This year we’ve already played host to a Maple Experience birthday party, a Girl Scout Troop visiting the area from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and a group touring the North Country in their antique cars.

The Rocks is also a popular venue for weddings. With unbeatable mountain scenery, beautiful formal gardens, and a versatile space to host large and small parties, we cater to brides and grooms to help make their wedding day one-of-a-kind special.

We invite you to call us (603-444-6228) or email to find out how we can help you create a wonderful party or group visit. Or just stop by The Rocks – the grounds and trails of the Estate are open year-round, dawn to dusk, and exploration is encouraged!

Self-guided Maple Experience returns June 1

Thanks to all who joined our New Hampshire Maple Experience this spring! We had nearly 700 visitors during the seven days of Maple tours, and it seems a good time was had by all.

If you missed the fun during sugaring season, no worries – the Maple Experience at The Rocks Estate returns June 1, when we’ll open the interactive and informative Maple museum to self-guided tours.

As always, the extensive trails system at The Rocks is open daily, year-round. Maps are available at the information kiosk adjacent to the parking lot, and visitors (humans and leashed canines) are welcome to walk the trails from dawn to dusk.

Consider bringing your smart phone along as you explore the historic Rocks Estate. That way, you can take advantage of our new Mobile Tour. With more than a dozen Quick Response (QR) codes, the Mobile Tour enables smart phone users to pull up information about the history, wildlife habitat, and forest management efforts at The Rocks.

And, yes, there’s information about the Maple Experience on the Mobile Tour, too!