Canterbury Shaker Village

New Hampshire


A traditional Shaker community from 1792, Canterbury Shaker Village maintains the Shaker heritage as a living-history museum. Interpreters demonstrate the Shakers' daily lives, artisans create Shaker crafts and walking trails invite pond-side strolls. The greening of America has deep roots here – for more than two centuries the Shakers' abundant gardens have been turning out vegetables, medicinal herbs and bountiful flowers the organic way.

The village is 15 miles north of Concord; take I-93 to exit 18 and follow the signs.

If you're ready for a soulful diversion, you could easily spend half a day here on the farm, which covers nearly 700 acres. Take a little wholesomeness home with you – there's a store selling Shaker handicrafts, a farm stand and a superb restaurant serving the kind of food grandma used to make using heirloom veggies fresh picked from the garden.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby New Hampshire attractions

1. McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center

9.57 MILES

This science center is named after two New Hampshire astronauts. Christa McAuliffe was the schoolteacher chosen to be America's first teacher-astronaut –…

2. New Hampshire Historical Society

10.79 MILES

The White Mountains in the Parlor exhibit is our favorite 'indoor space' in the entire Granite State. In this small gallery, vast 19th-century landscape…

3. State House

10.8 MILES

The handsome 1819 New Hampshire state capitol is the oldest such building in the US, and the state legislature still meets in the original chambers. Self…

4. Ellacoya State Park

16.28 MILES

Many lakeshore lodgings have water access, but if your place does not, head for Ellacoya State Park, which has a 600ft-wide beach with lovely views across…

5. Clark House Museum Complex

21.07 MILES

Wolfeboro's eclectic historical museum comprises three historic buildings: the 1778 Clark family farmhouse, an 1805 one-room schoolhouse and a replica of…

6. Libby Museum

21.11 MILES

At the age of 40, Dr Henry Forrest Libby, a local dentist, began collecting things. In 1912 he built a home for his collections, which later became the…

7. Wright Museum

21.38 MILES

For a Rosie-the-riveter and baked-apple-pie look at WWII, visit this museum's interactive exhibitions that feature music, documentary clips, posters and…

8. Butternut Farm

21.42 MILES

Pick your own apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, pumpkins and – of course – blueberries at this lovely farm southeast of Lake Winnipesaukee. Check the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/new-hampshire/merrimack-valley/attractions/canterbury-shaker-village/a/poi-sig/1113280/1335802",
      "destination": "New-Hampshire",
      "continent": "North-America",
      "country": "USA",
      "region": "New-Hampshire",
      "position": "superzone"
    }