Hanover is a town that exists around a college, and you feel it the moment you roll in. Dartmouth, founded in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock to educate Native American students and the sons of colonists, owns the centre of the place, a long, broad green surrounded by white clapboard and red brick. The Appalachian Trail runs straight along Main Street here, so it is common to see hikers with muddy boots and heavy packs buying sandwiches next to students in fleece. Theodor Geisel, who became Dr. Seuss, studied here and edited the humour magazine.
The town sits on the New Hampshire bank of the Connecticut River, with Vermont just across the Ledyard Bridge in Norwich. The river valley is wide, quiet and farmed, a green trough between the White Mountains to the east and the Green Mountains to the west. A few kilometres south, Lebanon and West Lebanon hold the bigger stores and gas stations, while Hanover itself has cafes, a food co-op and bookshops that make it a good place to start a morning. Fuel is limited within the tight centre, so fill up in Lebanon if you can.
Riding north on Route 10, the road runs just above the river through farmland and old villages, with long views across to Vermont. The surface is generally good, the corners relaxed, and the speed limits are steady. In autumn, the maples go a violent red and gold, and the road becomes busy with leaf-watchers, so a weekday is kinder. Spring brings mud and frost heaves, while summer is warm and green, with swimming holes on the river.
The area is steeped in New England character, with stone walls, covered bridges and stately town greens. Sugar maple sap boils into syrup in March, and the smell of woodsmoke hangs in the valley. Take time for a walk across the green and a look at the old college buildings. Then head north, because the best of the river road lies ahead.