If you’re looking for ideas for day trips to round out your summertime fun, we have some great suggestions for you at the Bedford Public Library. All of the books and DVDs related to travel have been gathered in our “Travel Neighborhood” section of the library, making browsing easy. For some educational and fun destination ideas, try “The Field Guide to Lighthouses of the New England Coast,” “Appalachian Mountain Club’s Best Day Hikes in the White Mountains” or “Bicycling New Hampshire’s Seacoast.”

If you want to bring along your dog, we have “Best Hikes with Dogs New Hampshire & Vermont,” which includes the “10 Canine Essentials for Hiking” with your pet. Speaking of hiking with pets, an inspiring read is Tom Ryan’s book, “Following Atticus.” It is a story of transformation and friendship of a man and his dog who hike the 48 high peaks in New Hampshire together.

Combining recreation with education by visiting a museum, science center or natural history site is a great family day trip. We offer discount coupons or free passes to many New Hampshire museums for Bedford residents. Passes include the Canterbury Shaker Village, Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, Currier Museum of Art, The Fells, McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Millyard Museum, Museum of New Hampshire History, Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, SEE Science Center and Strawberry Banke.

Interested in heading to the Boston area to see the renovated new wing at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the “Summer Oasis Courtyard in Bloom”? Our pass to the Gardner Museum admits two visitors for $5 a person. Without the pass, an adult ticket is $15. Passes to other Massachusetts attractions include: the Museum of Fine Arts, Plimoth Plantation and the Boston Museum of Science. The New England Aquarium pass is also available from September-June.

The library is fortunate to offer these museum passes due to the generous support of several community organizations. Passes can be reserved online through the library website, or you can call the library up to two months before you plan to use a museum pass. We only offer one pass per museum per day, so make sure to reserve in advance. There is a limit of one pass per family per week. To see what is available by museum or by date, visit our website at www.bedford.lib.nh.us/museum.html or call the library at 472-2300. A brochure of all library passes is available at the library.

If you come across an interesting museum on your day trip that we do not have a library pass for, please let us know. Sending a postcard is fine! Address it to: Mary Ann Senatro, c/o Bedford Public Library, 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, NH 03110.