But it wasn’t until I moved to Boston and became a New Hampshire day-tripper myself that I realized I’d left a critical spot off my list: the Hooksett rest stop, just north of the tolls on Interstate 93.

HOOKSETT, N.H. – When I lived in New Hampshire, I had a long list of favorite recommendations for visiting tourists: the Kancamagus Highway in autumn and the grand front porch at the Mount Washington Hotel; Carter Hill Orchard in Concord and the Orozco murals at Dartmouth; the easy trail up Mount Kearsarge and the boat trip to Star Island; brunch at Burdick’s in Walpole, dinner at the Crystal Quail in Barnstead.


Stay with me, readers. This isn’t sarcasm. If you’re on your way to a camping trip in the White Mountains or a day on Winnipesaukee, the Tilton outlet mall or a grand North Country hotel, you, too, need to know about the Hooksett rest area. It will change your routine, improve your mood, and start your vacation off right.

Hooksett is 30 miles north of the Massachusetts state line and about 75 miles south of Franconia Notch, just about the spot a harried driver in either direction might be on the lookout for gas or a quick bathroom stop. Hooksett’s got ’em — but that’s not the half of it.

On both the north and southbound sides of the highway, you’ll find an easily navigated exit taking you directly to gas pumps galore and, inside, perhaps the cleanest bathrooms alongside an interstate in America. But set aside a few more minutes — or, heck, half an hour or so – to poke around at the visitors’ centers and you won’t be sorry.

Anushka Talukdar, 6, from Swampscott enjoyed some ice cream at the Hooksett Tolls Rest Area. Jim Davis/Globe Staff/Globe Staff

For starters, there are the enormous New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets (two, for drivers headed both north and south), veritable supermarkets of booze at good prices. Is it crazy to sell alcohol on the side of the highway? Yes. Is it legal to stuff your Massachusetts-bound car with New Hampshire liquor? Technically no. Nonetheless, there it is.


At the rest stops on both sides of the road are souvenirs galore — knickknacks to remember your trip, perhaps, or a present for the friends you’re on your way to visit: “Live Free or Die” T-shirts, “N.H.” mugs, stuffed moose and loons, ball caps, fleece pullovers, postcards, coffee table books, balsam pine-scented pillows and more.

Not in the market for vacation tchotchkes? There’s also an outpost of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen — right there on the highway! — selling lovely pieces from serious New Hampshire artists. Those cool silver earrings I’ve been wearing all summer? Bought ’em at the Hooksett rest stop, and I’m not embarrassed to say so.

There are practical amenities: camping supplies, brochures and maps, a local bank branch. And there are curiosities: Inside the northbound visitors center, you’ll find a small shrine to Raymond Burton, a longtime North Country politician who died a few years back. Headed south, you’ll find an ancient water wheel rescued from a mill and a shiny grand piano.

Not to mention this: If you stop for gas on the northbound side of the road, you may hear a recorded welcome-to-New Hampshire message from Governor Maggie Hassan herself.

But all of this is just prelude to the main attraction: good food! If you’re hankering for Sbarro pizza or vending machine candy, this isn’t your place. But if you’d like fresh cider donuts or deli sandwiches or old favorites from the Common Man — a New Hampshire chain known for comfort food done well — have a seat. On the menu: pulled-pork mac-and-cheese; roast-turkey-and-brie on a baguette; veggie burgers; frappes; coffee, both fancy and plain-old. It’s fresh and, generally, fast. (Even faster: the drive-thru window, but what fun is that?)


I realize it’s a little ridiculous to compose an ode to a highway rest stop in a state blessed with abundant lakes and mountains, and a short but nearly perfect coastline. But longtime tourists and residents can assure you, it wasn’t always thus. Parsimony and neglect had, for many years, made some of the state’s roadside pullovers not worth the effort. Some were shut down altogether.

By contrast, the Hooksett stop, reimagined a few years back, is a terrific public-private showcase that’s worth a few minutes of your time.

Here’s what I purchased one recent Saturday evening: $16 worth of Irving gas, fancy wine on sale, a mug I didn’t really need, and a chicken-avocado-bacon sandwich I really did.

Back on I-93, the traffic toward Massachusetts was slow-going. But somehow I was taking it all in good humor, a cup of Hooksett iced-coffee in my cup holder, my trunk full of wine the cops would never notice.

Visitors are greeted by a wide variety of options, including restaurants and a general store. Jim Davis/Globe staff/Globe Staff

Felice Belman can be reached at felice.belman@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @FeliceBelman.