October 21, 2015

Mystery Hill – a.k.a. “America’s Stonehenge” (Salem, NH)

By New England Nomad

From the moment you drive into the parking lot of Mystery Hill, (a.k.a “America’s Stonehenge”) in Salem, New Hampshire,(the other Salem in the New England region) you know it’s a special place.

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There are strange rock formations and….

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…a bridge in the front entrance welcomes you from the past.

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and brings you to the future

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But, the front entrance of America’s Stonehenge is only a tease.  Once you exit the gift shop (it costs $12 for adults and $7.50 for kids), you are greeted by some Alpacas on the right.  They are fenced but they are very friendly.

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There are also a variety of time keeping devices which, to this day, still keep correct time.

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But, some of the things I liked best were not the structures or rock formations but the statues, flowers, decor and the hollowed out canoe.

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But, the main attraction are the rocks and rock formations.  The name “America’s Stonehenge” is somewhat misleading. There are no structures that bear any real resemblance to the actual Stonehenge.

Even though Mystery Hill bears no resemblance to Stonehenge, there are some interesting facts about the site.  Some of the rocks used in the structures at Mystery Hill were quarried using primitive stone-on-stone techniques and have been carbon dated as far back as 2,000 B.C.

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Mystery Hill is a children’s play land.  Forget about all of the rock climbing.  They are also able to walk in some of the structures, such as, the Oracle Chamber and they wouldn’t have to duck to be able to walk in the smaller spaces.

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There is a sinister legend that overshadows the light atmosphere of the attraction.  According to legend, the area here was a spot for sacrifices.  Stories of ghostly apparitions and huantings have been reported.  I decided to go and see for myself.

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I didn’t see or hear anything unusual, at least not of the other worldly variety.  But, the legends still persist.

The area is pretty expansive.  It claims to be 30 acres but feels much longer.  The best parts of the area were the random rock structures and the views.  And, of course, the foliage.

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There is also an area where it is believed the Nov. 1st sunrise was watched from.  It is amazing when you consider they could identifty the best place to view the sunrise, way before we had scientific devices to use.

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Although the rocks and rock formations were impressive, my favorite part of the attraction was the alpacas.

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About New England Nomad

Hi I'm Wayne. Welcome to my blog. I am a true New Englander through and through. I love everything about New England. I especially love discovering new places in New England and sharing my experiences with everyone. I tend to focus on the more unique and lesser known places and things in New England on my blog. Oh yeah, and I love dogs. I always try to include at least one dog in each of my blog posts. I discovered my love of photography a couple of years ago. I know, I got a late start. Now, I photograph anything that seems out of the ordinary, interesting, beautiful and/or unique. And I have noticed how every person, place or thing I photograph has a story behind it or him or her. I don't just photograph things or people or animals. I try to get their background, history or as much information as possible to give the subject more context and meaning. It's interesting how one simple photograph can evoke so much. I am currently using a Nikon D3200 "beginner's camera." Even though there are better cameras on the market, and I will upgrade some time, I love how it functions (usually) and it has served me well. The great thing about my blog is you don't have to be from New England, or even like New England to like my blog (although I've never met anyone who doesn't). All you have to like is to see and read about new or interesting places and things. Hopefully, you'll join me on my many adventures in New England! View all posts by New England Nomad
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2015 at 9:45 pm and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , and posted in alpacas, foliage, New England, new hampshire, photography, photos, rocks, stones, trees, views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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