When I was a kid, my dad used to take me and my brother fishing and canoeing on Kimball Pond in Dunbarton, NH. I have many great memories of the time we spent there, especially ice fishing with my cousins and uncles. The kids would wear ice skates while the adults drilled the holes in the ice and prepped the lines. Our job was to skate to the holes when a flag went up – which usually meant there was a fish. We would also have a fire on the ice and cook hotdogs.
It was nice to go back this week after more than 30 years. My daughters kayaked while my dad and I canoed around with the dog. The dog eventually migrated to one of the kayaks, where she kept trying to make an escape into the water. Highly recommend the Ruff Wear life jacket if you have a dog who prefers to swim than be a passenger.
Kimball Pond is a small pond (smaller than I remember) off Straw Road in Dunbarton. There is a boat launch and a paved parking area. Unfortunately, a lot of vegetation is growing in the water, so you must be careful to clean off your boat to prevent the spreading of any invasive plants.
There is also a hiking path around the pond. It’s a 2.5-mile loop around the pond that is mostly flat. You can get trail info on AllTrails.