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.
Flume Gorge 
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