Article published Aug 20, 2006

Silver Lake offers paradise for people near and far

By STACY MILBOUER
Telegraph Staff

Luc Portillo flipped the tortilla and steak she was cooking on one of Silver Lake State Park’s outdoor grills and sighed when she looked out at the children splashing and their mothers sunbathing.

The Boston resident doesn’t speak much English, but she was able to communicate what so many who come here from near and far think. “It is very, very beautiful.”

Portillo and her husband made the trip from Beantown, she said, because they once passed Hollis’ Silver Lake on their way somewhere and promised themselves they’d come back.

The 80-acre park with its 1,000-foot sandy beach and towering pines is a draw for people all over New England and from every ethnic group you could think of. In a way, it’s as much a melting pot as it is a 34-acre lake in the corner of a small New England town.

In fact, the ethnic diversity of the place is precisely the reason some people love to bring their families to the park.

Sofia Bellamy of New York City was at Silver Lake recently with her husband, John, daughter Julia and 11-year-old nephew Omar Mohammad, who lives in Nashua.

“We’re here visiting my sister in Nashua on our way to the Cape,” she said. “My sister mentioned there was a lot of ethnic diversity here, and she’s right. It’s great.”While Bellamy basked in a the sun of a clear, temperate weekday at the park, her nephew and 15-year-old Chuck Romero, whom Omar just met on the beach that morning, were helping to pile warm, mocha-colored Silver Lake sand up to 9-year-old Chloe Romero’s neck.The Romeros’ mom, Nancy Romero of Bedford, said her daughter requested the burial even though the girl let loose a lot of realistic sounding protests. She said she was at Silver Lake because while “I love a sandy beach, we didn’t want to drive all the way to the ocean.”

The Romeros are not new to Silver Lake, but this is the first year they have really frequented the state park. The family traditionally went to Wallace’s Grove across the lake, a private park that was closed this year by its owner.

Park officials have also marveled at the park’s draw for families from so many places and so many diverse backgrounds and have dubbed it “The United Nations of New Hampshire State Parks.”

And a busy U.N. it is. On the average, about 36,000 visitors come to the park each summer – 2,300 on the Fourth of July alone this year.

Hope Rubin of Bedford also noticed that Silver Lake is a place where everyone, no matter what language they speak or music they listen to, feels comfortable.Her two boys, Corey and Justin, both 6, both adopted from Guatemala, couldn’t wait to run into the water when she arrived at Silver Lake.

“We come here because we have a business in Pepperell,” she said. “It’s also beautiful here and we love to see the families from all over who come here and really know how to have a good time. They bring grills, pots and pans – play music, cook great food – laugh and play. It’s wonderful.”

Doreen MacDonald of Pepperell said she has driven by Silver Lake “a million times” when she’s gone to car shows in Hollis, “but today is the first time I came here.”

MacDonald brought her grandchildren with her, including granddaughter Sitara Kirksey who lives in Revere, Mass., and was singing the praises of the park, which she deemed “beautiful.”

Grandma agreed. “It’s so country, so New Hampshirey, so clean here.

Call 465-2342 for more information, or visit www.nhparks.state.nh.us and click on the Silver Lake link.