USA – Aspiring Nirvana

If you aspire to enjoy natural preserve that offers multitude of outdoor activities year-round then you must visit Franconia Notch!

Franconia Notch, White Mountains, New Hampshire

Franconia Notch State Park is located on I-93 (Exit 34) in northern New Hampshire along the White Mountains range. This natural preserve is a 8 miles long mountain pass between Kinsman Range and Franconia Range, with Flume Gorge in the south and Echo Lake in the north.

The Notch offers plenty of places for hiking, biking, rock climbing, boating, camping and swimming. It bursts with nature-lovers in summer, offers spectacular fall foliage in fall, and plenty of skiing options in winter. It also offers varied wildlife including moose, deer, bear, falcons and raccoons. Be careful!

A friendly tip, most of the places require advance reservation because of Covid-19, so plan accordingly. We are sharing highlights of our trip:

Flume Gorge is the highlight of the area! We took self-guided walk along a two mile long natural gorge with 70 to 90 feet high granite walls that were only few feet wide at many places.

We walked along the trek and wooden stairs surrounded by dramatic waterfalls, crystal clear water streams and covered bridges that offered plenty of photo opportunities. At the very top of the gorge lies a 45 foot waterfall, Avalanche Falls.

The Basin is a 20 feet wide granite pothole carved out of stone below a waterfall in the Pemigewasset River. It is was formed 15,000 years ago by glacier activity and shaped by constant swirling of rocks and water. We explored steep hiking trails full of thick tree roots running alongside rocky terrains and water streams.

The Boise rock was formed by glacial activity and measures 45 feet wide, 35 feet long and 14 feet in height. It became famous when Thomas Boise crawled under it to survive a fierce snowstorm while he was sledging in the area.

Old Man of the Mountain Historic Site was famous for Old Man of the Mountain, a natural rock formation on Cannon Mountain that resembled a man’s face. It was 40 feet in height and 25 feet in width. Unfortunately it collapsed in 2003.

Other notable attraction that we plan to cover in future trips are:

Cannon Mountain Take Aerial Tramway to get to the top of the mountain and admire beautiful sights.
Echo Lake Enjoy boating at the beach and walk through Sunset Bridge to admire views of Mt Lafayette.

Our Rating: 4* out of 5.

Helpful Link: https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/state-parks/franconia-notch-state-park

If you aspire to stand next to the tallest, widest, fastest-growing and longest-lived of all organisms on Earth, you must visit Sequoia National Park to view Giant Sequoia trees. These trees are as tall as 25-story building, have width similar to a city street, and are older than 2500 years. You have to literally stand next to one of them to appreciate the stunning size of these giants!

Sequoia National Park is located in California, close to town of Visalia that is mid-way between San Jose and Los Angeles. We started driving from town of Visalia and reached the park entrance in about 1.5 hours. The route cuts across steep and winding mountain roads that offer beautiful scenery along the way.

We parked near Giant Forest Museum and walked inside to get information about giant sequoias and nearby attractions.

Outside the museum we took Big Trees Trail that is about 1 mile loop. Throughout the trail we saw incredible sequoia trees and lovely meadow with plenty of photo opportunities.

Big Tree Trail, can you spot tiny humans?

Once back to the museum, we boarded one of the free shuttles that takes visitors through the main attractions of the park. We highly recommend taking the shuttle.

General Sherman is a giant sequoia tree and is the largest tree in the world; standing about 275 feet tall, about 100 feet in circumference, weigh 1,385 tons and is believed to be 2,200 years old. Our reaction after watching it was “this is a BIG monster..”

You may have done plenty of drive-through for coffee, but if you ever wanted to drive through a tree then you need to visit Tree Log Tunnel. The tunnel is 8 feet tall and 17 feet wide. The tree had died of natural causes and was later turned into a tunnel.

Crescent Meadow is a small and beautiful meadow in the region and is often praised as “Gem of the Sierra”. We strolled through this peaceful place that was flourishing with lush greenery.

Our last destination was Mono Rock, which offers best view of the whole park.

Moro Rock is a large granite dome that has elevation of about 6,750 feet. We hiked to the summit by taking about 400 steps of concrete stairway. Be careful of the narrow and sudden drop-offs along the route, although handrails makes it somewhat safer to climb. From the top, we saw spectacular view of the valleys and wilderness in the surrounding area.

Adiós

We took park shuttle back to the museum, took few more shots of the giant trees, and headed back to our home with fond memories!

Rating 4.5*s out of 5

Helpful Links: https://www.visitsequoia.com/explore/sequoia-national-park

Category: USA

A Perfect Hidden Gem for Families in White Mountains of New Hampshire – Franconia Notch

Rare Walk with the Giants of Earth at Sequoia National Park