Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown and nearby towns is one of New Hampshire’s largest state parks, a ten-thousand-acre preserve in the Northeastern coastal forests named for the stream that runs through it. Opened to the public in 1943, it developed into a major multi-use recreation area with campsites, picnic areas, more than forty miles of trails, ponds for swimming and fishing, and numerous outdoor facilities. Civilian Conservation Corps buildings within the park now house several museums and historic sites. The park is also linked to a notorious criminal case after the remains of four females were found there in 1985 and 2000, with victim identifications completed by September 2025.