Merrimack Valley

The Merrimack Valley covers the densely populated central-southern corridor of New Hampshire along the Merrimack River, the urban-and-suburban country running from the Massachusetts line north through Nashua, Manchester, and Concord. The terrain is gently rolling — Pawtuckaway and Uncanoonuc mountains breaking the southern hills, the Merrimack River cutting through the middle of the corridor, and the rest opening into the agricultural country of central Merrimack County. Hillsborough and Merrimack counties cover the region. Hillsborough holds Manchester (the largest city in New Hampshire) and Nashua; Merrimack holds Concord (the state capital), Loudon (with the New Hampshire Motor Speedway), and Hopkinton. Anchor attractions include the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, the Millyard Museum (in the restored Amoskeag textile mills), and the New Hampshire State House and Christa McAuliffe Discovery Center in Concord. Most trips here split between Manchester and Concord. Manchester runs the urban-and-art itinerary — the Currier, the Palace Theatre, the redeveloped Millyard food scene; Concord handles the State Capitol, the McAuliffe Discovery Center, and the historic main street; Loudon’s Motor Speedway pulls NASCAR weekends in July and September.