Peirce Island
Peirce Island
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Duration: 1-2 hours
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles41 reviews
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DannyDuck1974
Boston, MA19 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2019 • Couples
Many years ago Peirce Island was our favorite Portsmouth, New Hampshire destination to enjoy a quiet picnic with our old dog Buster. We loved taking him for a long walk on-leash and we always picked up after him and after us leaving no waste, trash or debris. Buster loved Peirce Island always perking up as we approached the area. Prescott Park was always off limits so we walked Buster over the bridge to Peirce Island. Buster died of old age and since we adopted two well mannered younger rescue dogs. Our two dogs are members of our family.

We immediately got the message we were no longer welcome in Portsmouth, NH. There were No you can't do this, No you can't do that signs posted everywhere. Portsmouth, NH has become too negative a tourist destination if you travel with your companion dogs. Besides Peirce Island is now covered with seagull droppings from their over population. Your four legged family is not invited so it is better to find another destination which is pet friendly. One benefit by not being allowed to walk your dog you'll save on vet bills from your dog getting sick from lots of bird droppings. Our car was covered with seagull droppings just driving in and out of the parking lot in order to read all of the negative signage.

So what once was a beautiful destination where we vacationed in nice pet friendly accommodations in Portsmouth, NH, dined at many great restaurants, and enjoyed Strawberry Banke Candlelight Christmas Stroll has ended. They have all lost our business. We will never visit Portsmouth ever again. There are just too many other better destinations to visit that are very pet friendly that want our and our dogs tourist business.
Written 13 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maurene_K
Dover, NH12,460 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2015 • Solo
Peirce Island is a 27-acre island in the Piscataqua River that is owned by the city of Portsmouth. It is connected to mainland Portsmouth by a bridge on Peirce Island Road which is off Marcy Street adjacent to Prescott Park near Hancock Street.

The City of Portsmouth calls Peirce Island “The Crown Jewel of Portsmouth.”

There are two stops on the Portsmouth Harbour Trail on Peirce Island.

Peirce Island has a varied landscape with the city’s outdoor swimming pool, salt marsh, several light hiking or walking paths that have five scenic overlooks, tidal pools, rocky cliff, a playground, open space, a small dog park, boat launch, and the Portsmouth Commercial Fishing Pier. The pier is open to public only during special events, such SAIL Portsmouth when a tall ship is docked there.

The far end of Peirce Island is great place from which to watch the tall ships come in because they pass very close to the island. It can be very congested there, but the close-up view of the ship(s) is worth the challenge for a parking space and the traffic snarl afterwards for many people.

My most-recent visit was for the 2015 SAIL Portsmouth event organized by the Portsmouth Maritime Commission. The featured ship was the square-rigged, multi-decked, 170-foot, 495 ton El Galeón Andalucía, a replica of a Spanish galleon ~ an armed merchant ship ~ from circa 1623 when Portsmouth was settled. It was equipped with 10 cannon. It is the only galeón class vessel sailing the seas today. Her home port is St. Augustine, FL.

The ship was docked across the narrow channel across from Prescott Park at the Portsmouth Commercial Fishing Pier on Peirce Island which is connected to Prescott Park by a bridge.
Prescott Park is always the ideal place from which to photograph the visiting tall ship(s) because of the positioning at the dock. One gets a full side view of the ship(s). For this year’s event, Privateer Lynx was docked at the UNH Marine Pier near Fort Constitution and the USCG Station Portsmouth Harbor at New Castle because she was giving public sails.

After photographing El Galeón Andalucía from Prescott Park, I strolled the gardens and photographed a few flowers before walking back to Peirce Island to visit the concession tent and the ship.

The Northeast Buccaneers were on hand to provide plenty of pirates on the pier and in the tent.

Several local ecological, marine safety, and tourism groups were present.

New to the event this year was a food truck by Hebert’s Restaurant, a very popular, well-rated family restaurant on Route 1 in Portsmouth that I’ve patronized a number of times. The order window woman told me that Hebert’s takes this truck to special events and that they had a spot at Hampton Beach Seafood Festival in September. At this event, lobster rolls were $8.00 for the small and $16.00 for the large. I took the $8.00 size. It had a good 3 oz of fresh lobster meat. It was great. There were a lot of seafood items on the menu. A clam roll was $5.00. One person I met had fish and chips. The large chunks of haddock looked really good.

Many parts of Peirce Island are wheelchair accessible.

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Written 26 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David H
Bentonville, AR471 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2017 • Couples
This island is a short walk across a bridge from Prescott Park and worth checking out. It’s a nice little island, but the best part is the adjoining Four Tree Island. This little isolated island is all park. There are gazebos, multiple covered picnic tables and plenty of open green space for fun during a picnic. Best of all, there is a long, narrow path just a few feet above water that leads to a stature and two park benches that overlook the Piscataqua River. We went on an overcast day so this isolated tiny penensula was as peaceful as the view of the river. At one point we had the whole island to ourselves.

For this little island alone, I’d recommend making the trip if you’re in town.
Written 24 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Steven W
Haymarket, VA456 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2018 • Couples
There are many great places to get a view of and from Portsmouth. What you won’t find is a free place to park and get some nice views. You can do both from the park on Pierce.
Written 29 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael H
Burke, VA195 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2018 • Couples
A wonderful get away spot in Portsmouth just south of Strawberry Banke which is quiet and restful. It offers great views of the city from the south, is surrounded by lobster boats and quiet still waters, and has a great view of the oldest shipyard in the United States, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. You are on the river and during tidal changes the river really rips by! The park has tables and allows grilling in covered gazebos.
Written 28 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WorcesterMoray
Worcester1,093 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2016 • Family
Went here for a walk with daughters dog. Nice place to walk with views over bay and harbour. Lots of wildlife.
Written 28 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WDLuisi
Portsmouth, NH104 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2015 • Couples
Most visitors to Portsmouth will spend a little leisure time at our wonderful Prescott Park, or will head out to New Castle Island to Great Island Park for a picnic. But one of my favorite places right here in town is to walk across the Peirce Island bridge (at the south end of Prescott Park) and head over to the picnic grounds. There are covered tables with grill grates for cooking, or uncovered picnic tables. But my best of all spots it at the tip of the park facing into Portsmouth over the water. There is a park bench isolated from the picnic area that I frequent during summer at sunset. You get the best of everything. Sunset view of Portsmouth, and a bit of privacy. There is no picnic table here, so this is not a place for a large family picnic, more an intimate spot for two.
Written 10 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

slarson127
Dover, NH302 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2015 • Couples
Pierce Island is accessible via a narrow 2 lane street and bridge across from Strawberry Bank.It is always busy with dog walkers and ship watchers enjoying the cool(summer) or frigid (winter) breezes. It is Portsmouth's backyard withers charms and its warts. Enough parking for all. The hiking trails are short but each step is 400 years old.One gets a sense of place and history here. Could be OK for children but its more for adults,alone or in small groups enjoying being one with their thoughts. You could be disappointed if you don't stop often and inhale the place.
Written 10 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Knowlesn
Fredericksburg52 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2015 • Family
We went to pierce island on several occasions and had an enjoyable time. I would suggest good walking shoes as there are some off-road paths and done climbing to get down to the waters edge if your dog (off leash) will be swimming in the water. Remember, the water here is brackish so be aware of that in case your dog drinks the water (mine hasn't learned her lesson yet and what goes in comes out every which way). She had a ball with the other dogs though and she also got a tremendous amount of exercise too (she's a young black lab and she needs this kind of activity). We also visited this area (via one of the walking paths on the piscataqua side of the island) when one of the tall ships (Spanish galleon) came in and we found an excellent vantage point which enabled us to see the ship and all the escorting boats too. Awesome! Great place near lots of other attractions.
Written 21 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

CTMans
Ridgefield, CT1,459 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2021
Nice place, but small. Hiking was level and easy and passed a pool and volleyball area. Plenty of free parking. Do not expect to be here long unless you intend to swim.
Written 29 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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PEIRCE ISLAND (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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