
If you go to Odiorne Point State Park just south of Portsmouth, NH, you can find the remains of hidden bunkers in the forest. Though hidden, they are marked on the trail map you can download. (Okay, erhaps they are not so “hidden”.) I made my way using the map and an app on my phone. I was in the middle of the forest, but didn’t see a bunker, just a big hill next too me. As you can likely guess, that was the bunker.

The slope of the bunker was steep, but I made my way to the top. There really isn’t much to see at the top just some closed up vents and stovepipes. I made may way through the brush trying to take some photos. Odiorne Point had been a part of the U.S. coastal defenses in the Second World War. If you go to the visitor’s center, there are more bunkers and the tracks for the guns that fired the ammunition stored in the bunkers.

I had been to this location years ago and wanted to find the massive steel doors that I remembered. I hiked down from the top of the bunker and made my way are to find the scene below.

The entrance ways are now blocked by this massive rocks. So much for getting photos of the doors, but it was still a fun hike.
Odiorne Point is one of my favorite places, but I don’t think I’ve seen the forest bunkers. Maybe I haven’t ventured far enough in?
At this point, they are truly in the forest and you either have to look for them or get very lucky. Odiorne is great.
I would love to visit this location!
I’ll try to get back out there and show the other bunkers and such. It’s kept up better.
Were the rocks blocking the entrance done by vandals?
I thin the rocks were placed there with heavy equipment to keep vandals from getting inside.
Ah! That makes better sense. Thanks, Chris.
We think of New England as being primarily the site of the Revolutionary War, but there is so much more history along the US East coast. Do you know how these were used?
I went to a writers’ conference on Cuttyhunk Island in MA a few years ago. It’s a small island but on our walking tour, we came across bunkers for civilian volunteers to watch for German Submarines. (Cuttyhunk is southernmost of a chain of islands dividing Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound.)
These bunkers and the associated guns guarded the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor. There was a naval base in the harbor and their is still a naval shipyard there. There is also an obervation tower nearby that Itoured last year. I assume that if an enemy vessel was spotted from the towers, the coordinates could be called into the gun battery at Odiorne Point.
😆 love it!
Thank you so much.
It’s quite surprising, I associated the bunkers more with Europe, with their incessant wars between countries.
Yes, I’ve seen some of the bunkers in France and Germany. This area was protected because it guarded the entrance to a naval harbor.
Wow this is cool!!
I would love to visit this place!
It’s really nice in the summer because it’s right on the coast.
This is fascinating, Chris. Bunkers always have some level of mystique about them. Even when coming across old installations I always think to myself how cool it would be to find some old memorabilia – it never happens, but its alway good to daydream!
I thought I might share this link with you regarding former coastal defences where I am: the Princess Royal Fortress. It has a video of the restored bunkers and so on:
https://www.rainbowcoast.com.au/areas/albany/princess-royal-fortress.htm
I feel the same way when visiting old bunker and such. Fascinating link. Thank you for sharing it. The bunker is really well restored. It’s important to recall the history of an area and it’s nice to see it preserved like this.
Wow, what a cool adventure! Too bad vandalism is a legitimate concern. Wouldn’t it be great to see the inside?
Yes!!!! I love to see hidden places. especially underground.
Wow! Hope no live ammo is still about!
I hope not. Yikes!
Very interesting and intriguing location. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Kally. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Great images..
We have a bunker close by but I’m not sure I can get a pic of its doors either. Will have a look though. 😉
That would be cool.