Best Places for Dog Swimming around Conway NH
I am here in downtown North Conway at Schouler park on a beautiful June evening, shooting my video of this post, and I want to reach out to let you guys know about a few great places to take your dogs for a swim in The Mount Washington Valley of NH and Maine.
Parks and places that you can take your dog for a walk are pretty easy to find. Maybe I’ll touch upon other subjects like that in future videos, but right now I am addressing a question I hear; “What’s a great place to take the dog for a swim?” First of all, many of the places I’m going to mention are River spots. This because there is much more River in the North Conway/Conway/Mount Washington Valley area than any type of lake. Having said that, I’m going to list off a couple…
Where to Swim in Fryeburg Maine
Just down off Rt 302 in Fryeburg, take River St (heading back toward East Conway) to Weston’s Beach. Once I give you these general locations you can google them. You will easily find them. That was Weston’s Beach in Fryeburg Maine. There is a big sandy spot on the Saco River. It’s very dog-friendly are there are woods for shade.
Please keep in mind any place that you take your dog, please clean up after your pet. It’s very important. Our valley has a high impact from people with dogs, like ourselves and like you guys, so just please pick up dog poop!
Swimming at The Conway end of Town
Let’s move on to Conway… A great spot in Conway is to the side of the canoe launch at Meeting House Hill Rd, behind the police station, off of East Conway Rd. Just downstream of the canoe launch is a great sandbar. It’s an excellent place to take the dog and the family! There’s a good deep swimming hole that’s good fun and there are some sandy areas where the dogs that don’t want that type of depth have fun too!
From that same parking area, you can head upriver, over the footbridge, that will take you on a trail that runs along the Saco River. At about a quarter mile you get to a sandy spot near the US Route 302 bridge. If you keep walking upriver from there you will actually come to a couple of fun ledgy spots with easy access into the water. You might even want to bring your own bathing suit for those ledgy spots. That covers my Fryeburg and East Conway – Center Conway area river spots!
The Swift River, along the Kancamagus Highway (Scenic Byway), has dozens and dozens of spots that you can stop and get the dog out, and in the water, without swimmers around and without bothering other people. There’s typically a sense of being able to do both at the same time but it is up to dog owners to know if their pets will coexist with people and other pets. A two-mile drive out of Conway NH, from Route 16, and you can easily pull in to any number of spots that are great for taking the dog(s) out for a swim! I will even back up a little bit because there is also the Saco River District Ranger Station (of the White Mountain National Forest). There is some limited parking but if you follow the dirt road that goes out of the back of the parking circle it will take you to the fields near the railroad bridge over the Swift River. There are some great spots along therefrom tree-shaded trailside spots to sand bars and sandy shoreline.
Dog-Friendly Swimming in North Conway NH
When you get up to the north end of the valley, in North Conway and Bartlett, the choices get a little tighter (in the inhabited areas). In North Conway “First Bridge” on River Road, which is between West Side Road and Route 16 /302 as they come through town. At the Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway, River Road brings you to First Bridge, going over the Saco River. On the North Conway village side of the bridge, you have a lot of swimming. If you go to the left side of the bridge (coming in from North Conway) there is a great trail. That trail runs in along the river toward the golf course. From the bridge onward you can find a spot where you can play with your dog in the river. However, if you don’t want to get that far from the car you can just drive over “First Bridge” and on the right and left there’s parking for the canoe launch and the canoe services. You can park there and just follow the trail right back down next to the bridge. This is the far side from where all the people swim. The field at that location is “Hussey’s Field” and there is a wonderful trail along the river and around the perimeter.
Remember, please clean up after your pets!
Where to Swim with Your Dog in Bartlett NH
If you just keep heading out on River Road you actually join up with West Side Road as it heads into Bartlett NH. When you actually cross into Bartlett you’re on Upper West Side Road. In about a mile, on the left you will come to Diana’s Baths. Diana’s Baths in Bartlett NH is super popular summertime spot. There are a lot of people so really be cautious about taking your dog(s). However. if you head out a little bit further along that road you’ll actually see some parking spots on the sandy shoulder to the left of the road. That’s an excellent spot! Be very careful when you cross over the road. There’s a lot of open sandy beach and you can actually cross the river to a more sandy beach.
While I’m talking about sandy beach thing, when I was mentioning the Kancamagus Highway I should have mentioned that if you go all the way up to Bear Notch Road you will cross a bridge over the Swift River. There are a couple of trails there that will take you down to sandy beach access. You can also walk in through Jigger Johnson Campground (WMNF) for that same sort of sandy access. So back to Diana’s Baths… it is a dog-friendly area but it’s almost too over occupied by people and you want to be cautious. If you go out just a little further on Upper West Side Rd road you’re going to find (another mile or two out) parking that takes you down to the river. You can see the river off the right side of the road. That is a great spot! To wrap up the Bartlett loop I’ll also tell you about the little parking spot across from Attitash Mountain (actually across from the entrance to Bear Peak) you will see a little parking area and a sign for the park and for the trail around the pond. Just past the pond, the trail takes you to some of the upper reaches of the Saco River and that’s another great spot to take the dog or dogs swimming in The Mount Washington Valley.
I think in total I’ve covered five or six wonderful spots to take your dog or dogs for a swim when you’re in the North Conway NH area. I hope you find this helpful! If I can help you or your friends or family in the future with any of their property needs up here in the North Conway – White Mountains of New Hampshire and Maine area Please give me a call, Bill Barbin, 603-986-0385 or email me at bill@ilovenorthconway.com and I’m with Keller Williams Lakes and Mountains real estate. Thank you!
