Bus tours rolling into The Rocks Estate

Tour buses rolling along the back roads and state highways are a common sight all around New England this time of year. As the leaves transform the landscape into a breathtaking medley of colors, people come from all over to take in the beautiful fall foliage. And sometimes they come by the tour bus load.

The road to The Rocks is bathed in fall color!

While The Rocks is known most popularly as a Christmas tree farm, we’re also the North Country Conservation & Education Center of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. As part of our education mission, The Rocks offers natural history programs and tours year-round, as well as working with other area businesses and attractions to boost the region’s economy

Yes, there is more to The Rocks than the neat rows of Christmas trees and picturesque views.

When bus tours first started finding their way to The Rocks, the passengers would generally get off the bus, take a quick look around, snap a few photos and reload for the next destination. Oh, how things have changed!

This year The Rocks will welcome a total of 52 bus tours to the Estate, with groups selecting from a variety of natural history programs to enjoy during their visit. These range from the New Hampshire Maple Experience and tours of the Estate’s formal gardens to presentations on some of New Hampshire’s most famous wildlife – moose and bear.

Fifty-two busloads of visitors translates to more than 2,500 people touring The Rocks and neighboring businesses and attractions. From The Rocks, buses often roll on to the Cog Railway at Mt. Washington or Littleton’s celebrated Main Street. Rocks Estate staff members and volunteers also tout other area attractions like the Brick Store in Bath and Harman’s Cheese & Country Store in Sugar Hill. 

Whether you come by bus, car, or motorcycle, we hope you’ll visit The Rocks Estate and the surrounding area this fall. While you’re here, we invite you to jump into the holidays by Tagging-Your-Own Christmas tree in our fields and visiting our fun and festive shops!

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.

Delivering holiday cheer, one Christmas tree at a time

The Rocks Estate will again support Trees for Troops this holiday season. Part of the Christmas Spirit Foundation, Trees for Troops delivers some 17,000 farm fresh Christmas trees to American military personnel and their families each year.

This year, Trees for Troops will deliver its 100,000^th Christmas tree!

The Rocks gives 20 trees to Trees for Troops each year and garners sponsorships from local businesses for an additional 100 Christmas trees. We are one of about 700 Christmas tree farms throughout the country that supports the Trees for Troops mission. Last year Trees for Troops delivered 17,224 trees to 59 military bases, including seven bases overseas.

Beyond donating trees to the program and getting other area businesses involved, The Rocks also sells festive Birch Deer at our shop and at Harman’s Cheese & Country Store in Sugar Hill to raise funds for Trees for Troops.

The fifth grade students at Bethlehem Elementary School help our local efforts each year by writing notes to go on the trees and loading them into the FedEx truck to be shipped to military families.

Trees for Troops is a community effort that extends from our corner of New Hampshire across the country and far beyond. We see it as a way to spread a little holiday cheer – one Christmas tree at a time – and to thank the men and women in our country’s armed services, who often spend the holidays away from home and family.

Merry Christmas to all, whether you’re close to home or far away.