Lopstick is located in Pittsburg, New Hampshire; a beautiful and remote area that is an outdoor lover’s dream. Many of the Cabins at Lopstick overlook First Connecticut lake, and are only a few miles from a large stretch of the best fishing waters in all of New England. Whether you are an angler, hunter, snowmobiler, ATV enthusiast, hiker, or just want to get away to a beautiful place, Lopstick has a cabin, guide, or rental that will exceed your expectations.
Hiking & Fishing was recently given the opportunity to experience the cabins, get on the water with a fly fishing guide, and enjoy the surrounding area. This article is meant to show you our experience, and help you determine if Lopstick is a destination for you.
You’ll find that we had a pretty awesome time.
The Cabins
Lopstick has beautiful cabins all around the local area. When choosing a cabin, you have the option to choose cabins located in 6 areas. Each location features extremely functional cabins that can pretty much suit any type of adventure seekers, groups of individuals or families. Some cabins have lake views, others are waterfront, and visitors can also choose pet friendly cabins.
Each cabin on the site lists the amenities, features pictures and videos of the cabin, shows bedrooms, and lets you know the cost, and amount of people that can comfortably sleep in that Cabin. There is a lot to choose from, so we would encourage you to check them out on the website, and give Lopstick a call to help determine the best available cabin for your needs.
See all of Lopstick’s Cabin Options
Our Stay and Review
Hiking & Fishing was lucky enough to stay in the awesome Magalloway 1 cabin. This cabin features two bedrooms with two twin beds in each, a nice living room, dining room table, kitchen, and bathroom with shower. Not only did it have everything we needed to crash after a long day of fishing, but we were able to pack groceries into the refrigerator, cook dinner, watch the Bruins playoff game, catch stunning views of First Connecticut Lake, and be located only a mile from our fishing destination.
The Magalloway Cabins are located right on Lopstick’s main property and overlook First Connecticut Lake.
Here is a quick video of Magalloway 1:
The Location
If you didn’t already know, Pittsburg is an area where the trees, water, and mountains are plenty. With 2.9 people for every square mile of land, the moose and wildlife have a lot of areas to roam free. It happens to be the largest town by square mileage in all of New England, and of course, borders Canada.
Fishing
The area features endless fishing opportunities with the upper Connecticut River, the many lakes and ponds, and close proximity to other extremely popular New Hampshire rivers. Pittsburg is home to probably the most productive and well known fishery in New England. The “Trophy Stretch” has a name for a reason. There are pretty much endless places to fish around here, and too many to mention, fortunately, Lopstick almost hits them all here. Below, we will mention a few.
The Connecticut River
The river features what many consider the best fly fishing in the state. The fast and cold flows hold brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout year round. The interconnected lakes by this river house all of the above, but also lake trout, and landlocked salmon, which frequently make their way into the river system during spring and fall to feed and spawn. Pittsburg features 6 miles of fly fishing only waters but far more than that of productive fishing. Lower stretches of the Connecticut are fantastic for wading, float trips, and targeting species ranging from trout, to bass, and even pike.
The Connecticut Lakes
The lakes feature deep and cold water. Lake trout, cusk, and salmon are the most targeted species out of these lakes. First, second and third Connecticut lake all feature boat launches, and pretty remarkable fishing year round. Ice fishing can also be had on these lakes once they freeze over. Fourth Connecticut lake is the headwater of the Connecticut river. This lake is far smaller, features a hiking trail all around it, and is an incredible place to spot wildlife as the lake is remote, and located in land maintained by the Nature Conservancy.
Other Fishing Options
The above are just the most popular fishing options, but Lopstick also does float trips down the Connecticut, the Androscoggin River, Pike fishing trips and more. No matter what fishing you are into, there is a quality option nearby. We’d recommend giving Lopstick a call to see how they can accommodate what you are looking for.
Hiking
The hiking in Pittsburg isn’t exactly like the White Mountains with large peaks and long hikes, but the there are various smaller mountains, isolated pond trails, and tons of opportunity to see wildlife. During fall, the foliage is stunning, and many of the local hikes are great for all levels of ability. Here are some of the hikes in close proximity to Lopstick.
In addition, there is a trail system that stretches 170 miles from Crawford Notch in the White Mountains all the way to the Canadian border and beyond. Be sure to read up on the Cohos trail if this long backpacking trip, or sections of this trail are of interest to you.
Snowmobiling
All of Lopstick’s cabins are located right on, or in very close proximity to snowmobiling trails. The Pittsburg Ridge Runners maintain the trails around Lopstick, but there are over 200 miles of maintained trails connecting Pittsburg, Vermont, Maine, and Quebec. This is the top destination for snowmobiling in New England. Read more about Lopstick’s winter options.
The Fishing Guides
Lopstick has some incredible guides. They are truly passionate fisherman that are willing to put in a full day of fishing, and get after it all day long. Whether you are looking for a wading trip, float trip, trout, salmon, or even pike, Lopstick guides have decades of experience getting guests on fish. They truly are a one stop shop for all types of experiences. Whether you are a beginner fly fisherman, or a long time fisherman looking for a serious and hard working day on the water, the guides will be sure to make sure you have a quality experience.
As Orvis endorsed guides, they are responsible for maintaining an extremely professional organization. Each year, Lopstick participates in Orvis guide surveys that give them invaluable feedback to continuously improve year after year.
In addition to fishing guides, Lopstick employs hunting guides as well. You can read all about each of Lopstick’s guides here.
Our Fishing Experience
Now we have been to Pittsburg quite a few times, fishing just about every section of the upper Connecticut and trophy stretch. Thanks to our guide, we got on far more fish than normal, and learned a whole bunch. We were lucky enough to get on the water with Bill Bernhardt, Lopstick’s head fly fishing guide. He is extremely experienced, kind, and and certainly knows how to pack his guests a good lunch.
Wading in the upper stretches of the Connecticut River, Bill was able to get us into some productive fishing holes, explain how to read the water, explain what flies were working and why, explain the history of the area and so much more. He was patient, handled all of our knots, handled our fish nicely, and even got us on fish willing to eat dry flies.
We were also able to take the boat out to the inlet where the Connecticut river flows into Lake Francis for a morning filled with landing salmon, rainbow trout, and even some brookies on the fly. From the beginning, it was clear Bill was a pro at handling the boat, and rowing us into position. Yet again, he was able to assist with rod setup, fly selections, and even point where the fish were likely holding. We were able to have an extremely successful morning, landing tons of nice sized salmon. Anytime we got caught on bottom, he quickly maneuvered over and handled everything without issue.
Next time you are heading to the Pittsburg area for some fishing, we would highly recommend getting a guide. Not only will you land more fish, but nearly any level of fisherman will learn extremely valuable information to make all of your future fishing trips more productive.
Additional Pictures
A Moose on the way back to our Cabins from Fishing.
Bill passing along fishing knowledge
Bill netting and handling a fish and a rod.
A nice little brookie from the Connecticut
Some of the Lopstick Cabins
Lopstick Fly Shop
The Lopstick Starcraft we headed out onto Lake Francis with.
Max DesMarais is the founder of hikingandfishing.com. He has a passion for the outdoors and making outdoor education and adventure more accessible. Max is a published author for various outdoor adventure, travel, and marketing websites. He is an experienced hiker, backpacker, fly fisherman, backcountry skier, trail runner, and spends his free time in the outdoors. These adventures allow him to test gear, learn new skills, and experience new places so that he can educate others. Max grew up hiking all around New Hampshire and New England. He became obsessed with the New Hampshire mountains, and the NH 48, where he guided hikes and trail runs in the White Mountains. Since moving out west, Max has continued climbed all of the Colorado 14ers, is always testing gear, learning skills, gaining experience, and building his endurance for outdoor sports. You can read more about his experience here: hikingandfishing/about