BY MARK T. RACE
Skinny on the City
Concord, population 42,000, is centrally located in New Hampshire, the Granite State, approximately an hour from the ocean and an hour from the White Mountains and Mount Washington. Between the Capitol Center for the Arts on Main Street and a drive up Mount Washington, there is always something to do. And if you can’t find something to do in the 603 (sole area code for the state), Boston is just over an hour south.

My Take
Concord is an old, historic city that recently went through a metamorphosis via revitalization, in which the city brought the entire Main Street up, literally and figuratively, to the present. The entrances to all the Main Street shops and stores are now level with the street. They are aligned with beautiful granite — “the rock of ages” — with better ramping and curbing. These materials last forever.

The implementation of universal improvement in accessibility will be completed in two phases — and the second phase is already under way. It is a beautiful and much needed enhancement, certainly a step in the move towards universal access for all. Before this transformation, only a few shops were accessible for chair users.

Places to Go
Loudon, just north of Concord, is where I live and is home to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. There are three huge annual events with something going on every weekend. Motorcycle week is in June, with the 93rd Annual Motorcycle Loudon Classic and the Weirs Beach “get together.” For NASCAR followers, in July and September we have two annual NASCAR events. Our sleepy town grows from a population of 6,000 to 250,000, and it’s all wheelchair accessible.

A trip to Crotched Mountain’s accessible trails in Greenfield is an all-time favorite and beautiful to visit. The longest accessible trails in the country can take you up to view a panoramic vista or down near a beaver meadow with erratic glacier boulders strewn around the primitive forest.

“Live Free or Die” — When I relocated to New Hampshire, there weren’t many barrier-free recreational organizations in the state. New England Healing Sports Association was established in 1970 for individuals with disabilities. However, it was limited in services provided, and equipment was medieval compared to today. Now it’s a different recreational scene. Northeast Passage came onto the scene in 1990 and currently travels with staff and equipment not only in N.H., but throughout New England. New England Disabled Sports, Crotched Mountain Adaptive Recreation Sports and Adaptive Sports Partners of the North Country Inc., are a few more barrier-free organizations around the state. Outdoorsagain.org and accessoutdoorsne.org both offer plenty of resources for adaptive hunting and fishing or just getting back in the woods. You can even go skydiving at two places within an hour’s drive.

Getting Around
The city of Concord has an accessible fixed route bus service (CAT) and paratransit for those not near a route. In addition Granite State Independent Living operates a small fleet of vehicles that mainly serves people with disabilities in outlying areas. COAST has its own fleet of accessible buses that serve the coastal areas, as does the most populous city in the state, Manchester.

Health Care and Support
Renowned teaching hospital Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is about as good as it gets.  Other hospitals and rehabs throughout the state are well known for their specialty. Concord Hospital is known for its cardiac expertise.

While in Concord, visit Granite State Independent Living, where New Hampshire National Spinal Cord Injury Association is located. As a nonprofit organization and New Hampshire’s only Center for Independent Living, GSIL stays close to its roots with a focus on its five core services — education, information, advocacy, support and transition — for people with disabilities and seniors. From home care to employment services and more, it provides solutions tailored to meet a person’s needs and lifestyle.

Must See, Must Do
Main Street is where you will find our state’s capitol building, the nation’s oldest in-use state house. From 1819 to the present, the legislature still occupies its original chambers. It is fully accessible, with beautiful architecture, paintings of past dignitaries, and the only capital building that the public can access and actually watch a legislative session or a house bill voting.

Learn about the New Hampshire Chapter of United Spinal Association.