Bear Brook State Park

My wife and I are MTB riders and love advanced trails and loops. This park has all types of trails for MTB riders.
If you are an advanced MTB rider, you should definitely try the Hemlock trail, Big Bear trail (starting from the Little Bear coming off Podunk Rd.) and then try doing the Catamount shortcut going up and coming down the regular Catamount trail if you have the guts to do that downhill ride which is not easy. Stay off the Bobcat, one mile, and Pitch Pine trails, they are flat and easy double tracks, no fun there.
The top of the Catamount hill is beautiful, it has the best views of NH.

I’m not really a fan of this park as a general rule. It pales in comparison to it’s close neighbor Pawtuckaway. It’s easy to get lost, so bring your GPS. There are hiking trails throughout the 10,000 acres that double up for snow mobiles in the winter. There are also 40 miles of trails, but they basically run along bug infested swamps and bogs, so bring your bug repellent. Unlike Pawtuckaway, with it’s mountains and beachfronts, this is a lot of trees, trees, and nothing but trees. I love the outdoors, but this just doesn’t cut it for me as an enthusiast of nature. I seldom see animals here as well and the visitors tend to be rowdy drunks, potheads looking to smoke, or loud families with screaming kids. It’s far from peaceful.
Also there’s this creepy story about a murdered family who were killed and stuck in barrels in the park. So if the other stuff didn’t do it for me, unsolved park murders certainly cross it off my must do list.

This is a 3.5 star rating, but I’m rounding up to 4 stars on this one.
Bear Brook State Park is about a little over an hour away from Boston, depending on traffic, but offers a nice escape from city living! I’ve camped here twice and enjoyed both visits. I’ll probably look elsewhere next year, as our group may have exhausted many of the more challenging hikes in these two trips.
The campground can get crowded on the weekend and does attract a lot of families (when school is out of session). One one occasion, we camped before school was out of session and it was a little less crowded (we’re all singles in our 30’s). The campground store has a variety of items available for sale, firewood is $ 6 and will get you through dinner and the evening hours. Quiet time starts at 10:00 PM, and the campground host does drive through on occasion to make sure it’s being adhered to.
The campsites themselves can be a bit of mixed bag. While some are quite spacious and offer a fair amount of privacy, others do not afford that same quality. It’s definitely worth noting the numbers of campsites you prefer if you intend to return, as the online booking system does not provide pictures of the campsites.
For me hiking was definitely the highlight in terms of activities. There is a rather extensive trail system, with a fair amount of easy to moderate trails. The lake and its beach area are rather small and can get crowded on a warm weekend day. You also have the ability to rent canoes or one of the two kayaks by the hour.
Once you get up here, turn off your cell phone and enjoy all that the park has to offer… plus cell phone service is close to non-​existent.
If you haven’t been here and are looking for a weekend trip from the Boston area, this is a worthwhile spot to check out.

Excellent venue for winter sports. Tricky and technically difficult cross country ski tracks but amazing scenery.

Wow, no other reviews?!
Anyways… awesome park, with clearly defined trails, a nice beach, and a really nice running brook running through the whole thing. One of the nicest parks I’ve ever been to. It’d be especially amazing for bicyclists, and judging by all the signs is a snowmobiler’s playground during the winter months.
Highly recommended.