The Great North Woods is the name given to the northernmost region of New Hampshire, stretching up to the Canadian border and the borders with Vermont and Maine. About 84% of the state is forested today, and nowhere does the forest dominate the landscape more completely than here.
The region has a character shaped by its proximity to Quebec — French-Canadian cultural influences are visible in the architecture and in some family names — and by its position as the first part of New Hampshire to get snow and the last to lose it. The towns of Colebrook, Pittsburg, and Lancaster are the main centres. Colebrook and Pittsburg are bases for fishing, hunting, camping, boating, and snowmobiling, while Lancaster serves as a shopping hub. The Connecticut Lakes, near Pittsburg, are a draw for anglers.