The Holderness Inn

The present Holderness Inn was built in 1895 after the original (built in 1874) burned down. It provided food and lodging for hundreds of summer visitors until it was purchased by a citizen’s group in 1967 to become part of what is now Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. For the next 14 years, the Inn provided the Science Center’s first classrooms, offices, workshop, and animal care facility. When a new education facility was built, in 1982, the Inn was closed.

Today the Holderness Inn is home to Samyn D'Elia Architects.

Clean Up Day 1973 in front of the Holderness Inn

Keith V, 05/29/19
Great small zoo / science center with wildlife that's native to New Hampshire. Great place to visit with kids as well.
Michelle Fowler, 06/16/24
Love coming here. It's a beautiful place to walk around. You can learn so much about the animals.
Jake McGlothin, 08/20/24
What an amazing place. My kids loved it!
Howard Nash, 10/08/18
Very well presented exhibit on the wildlife of New Hampshire. Coming from the UK, we had some concerns about the moral question of keeping wild animals in cages. This was set against the very obvious great condition of the animals on display and the effort taken to educate on the natural world - a video or even holograph would not have the same impact. The reason we give it only 4 stars is that not enough effort is made to explain why the animals, particularly the large animals, are kept in relatively small enclosures. Looking at the negative reviews that focus on the moral question, your responses are very encouraging. Perhaps you should cut out the middleman and make more effort at the Centre to explain why the animals are maintained in captivity from a conservation perspective.
Patricia Johnston (Patti), 09/21/21
We went on their pontoon boat Squam Lake tour. It is a 90 minute tour, and is quite enjoyable. This lake has lots of water fowl, including lions, cormorants and eagles. It was also used for the filming of "On Golden Pond". The guide was very knowledgeable. The only downside was that the nature center was hard for us to find. Their are signs, but they are small, hard to see from a moving car. Google maps took us to the wrong place using the street address. But, I would definitely go again.

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