The town of Rye, NH is a quiet rural seacoast town. It has many beautiful historic homes with the diversity of a rocky coastline and sandy beaches. Rye has become a desirable rural setting for permanent living for people coming from more highly populated areas such as New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Many of the older cottages along the coast have been converted into beautiful year round homesteads. The current population is just over 5200. There are two schools in Rye; The Rye Elementary and Rye Junior High School. Rye schools are considered to be among the best in the state. Rye residents going onto public high school become enrolled at the Portsmouth High School, a neighboring regional high school in Portsmouth, NH. Rye harbor offers boat cruises, whale watches and daily fishing trips during the warmer months. There are several state parks along the shore for swimming, fishing, picnicking with playgrounds and walking trails. Odiorne State Park has an oceanography center with interactive displays especially interesting for children. There are many lodging opportunities during the summer months from beautifully appointed bed and breakfasts to the more modest motels and cabins. There are two bed and breakfast inns, both operate year round; The Arbor Inn Bed and Breakfast and the Rockledge Manor. There are several motels and cabins along the beach road, many operating during the summer months only. Rye has several fine dining restaurants. The Carriage House has traditional New England fare with a flair and is considered a casual fine dining experience. Saunder's Restaurant is located in the harbor and is particularly nice in warm weather months as they have outside seating on the deck over looking the harbor. There are casual seafood restaurants in town. One of the more popular is Petey's Summertime Seafood. This is a very popular locals spot for good reason. The seafood is fresh daily. There is Ray's Restaurant near the harbor, also serving local seafood selections. BG's Boat House has an outside deck for dining in the rough and sits on Little Harbor. There are several ice cream places; The Lone Oak makes their own ice cream with an extensive menu and is quite popular on Rte 1. The The Ice House is on the way to the Wentworth Golf Club on Rte 1B which is also very appealing with picnic tables in a nice setting. There are three churches in Rye; The Rye Congregational Church, St. Theresa Catholic Church and St. Andrew by the Sea. Rye has two very prestigious private golf courses; the first being a links course, Wentworth Golf Club. The other is located in the Rye Beach District, Abenaki Golf and tennis Club. There are two Beach clubs in Rye; one on Wallis Sands Beach the other on Jenness Beach. There is a dive shop in town for the scuba diving enthusiast. They have equipment for purchase, and a dive pool with instructors for acquiring sea diving certification. Rye also has a small airport for private planes only. There is a skateboard park near the airport. People coming to Rye for the specific purpose of using the park have said it is the best one on the Eastern seacoast. The town of Rye has a colorful history dating back to the 1600s which includes an Indian massacre of the Brackett family as well as a colonist's retaliation at Breakfast Hill. Many of the historic homes and farms have been beautifully preserved and handed down within the families of some of the original founders of the town. Among these farms you will still find several working horse farms for breeding and boarding. The town of Rye has been known since the turn of the century as a destination spot with its grand hotels for the more privileged traveler. Today the shoreline has a mix of beach cottages, historic homes and palatial mansions. The prestigious hotels from yest-er years have since burned down and are now a distant memory of Rye's historic past. Whether you are traveling to the Rye seacoast area for business or pleasure, take time to explore to see for yourself what a beautiful town Rye really is. There is something there of interest for everyone at any age.