SUGAR HILL, N.H. (WCAX) – The lupine fields in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, have been a tourist draw for decades. But like the recent crowds of leaf peepers — fueled by social media — that have inundated some Vermont towns — locals say the traffic and behavior of some have been out of control.
“It’s beautiful, more beautiful this time than before,” said Colleen Bartkovich, who is visiting the White Mountains from North Carolina. The flower lover stumbled upon one lush lupine field. “I didn’t expect to see them here so this is an added surprise.”
The flowers are located across from Polly’s Pancake Parlor. As a way to attract more tourists during the spring, owner Kathie Cote started a Lupine Festival more than 25 years ago. “It actually rallies the fall foliage business. People come just to be able to see the fields of lupine,” Cote said.
But recently — likely thanks to social media — the booming traffic to catch the annual blooms has become too much. “We want you to come, we want people to be here, but we also ask people to realize that we all live here and would just like our property and privacy respected,” Cote said.
But, residents say, that has not been the case. “Drones, people flipping me off, people trying to dig up lupines out of my front yard,” said Holly Hayward, a seventh-generation resident whose home abuts a lupine field with views of the Franconia range.
Foot traffic got so bad in Hayward’s yard that she made the decision to mow her lupines this year. “Every single field you go to up here to look at lupines, somebody owns. It’s theirs, they pay taxes, they take care of it,” she said. Another nearby property owner did the same.
“I hope to come back soon. It’s so beautiful,” Bartkovich said.
Landowners say she’s welcome as long as she follows the rules, which are posted at Polly’s. “Tourism is extremely important to us up here,” Cote said.
The locals say it ultimately comes down to preserving the beauty of the area for everyone to be able to experience.