Hidden NH Cottage Inspired Little Red Riding Hood

Have you ever stumble across a place that feels like it shouldn’t even be real?

That’s kind of how I felt when I first learned about this tiny red cottage hidden away in Mason, New Hampshire. I found out about it on TikTok. It’s called Pickity Place, and the more I read about it, the more I thought… wait a minute…

Credit: The Pickity Place via Facebook

The cottage itself dates all the way back to 1786, according to the New Hampshire Magazine, and it honestly looks like something straight out of a fairy tale. Bright red siding, white trim, a little pathway leading up to the front door, surrounded by gardens and woods. I would almost expect a character from a children’s book to walk out carrying a basket.

Have you hard of Little Red Riding Hood? Well, back in the 1940s, an illustrator named Elizabeth Orton Jones lived nearby while working on a children’s book version of Little Red Riding Hood. She used this exact cottage as the inspiration for Grandma’s house in the story.

So yes… that cozy little cottage from the fairy tale? I guess you could say it’s real, and it’s sitting right here in southern New Hampshire.

Today the cottage operates as a small restaurant and herb garden, and people come from all over just to experience it. They serve a five-course lunch that changes daily, with herbs grown right on the property. From what I’ve read and watched on TikTok, it’s one of those places where the whole experience feels relaxed and old-school New England.

Honestly, if you are an outsider, you would probably drive right past it.

I love discovering places like this as I learn more about the Granite state.

New Hampshire is full of little surprises tucked into the woods, small towns, and back roads… and sometimes they come with a story that’s been hiding in plain sight for centuries.

And in this case, that story just happens to include Little Red Riding Hood’s grandma.