The White Mountains

The White Mountains of New Hampshire are located in central New Hampshire. There are also numerous state parks in the area. The White Mountains Trail is a 100 mile driving loop, including the Kancamagus Highway listed below, that circles the heart of the White Mountains.

We stayed in Fransted Family Campground near Franconia State Park and stayed at a beautiful site along the river.

Mount Washington

Mount Washington is the highest mountain in New England at over 6000 feet. It can get very windy and cool at the top. Also, the second highest wind speed (and first highest recorded by man) was here.

Additionally, there are three ways to get up Mt Washington. However, they differ in cost and adventure.

First, you can drive up the Mt Washington auto road. There is a fee for both cars and passengers, which was about $85 for our family of five. You will receive a “This car climbed Mt Washington” bumper sticker. Interestingly, the auto road is the oldest roadside attraction in the United States!

Second, you can take the cog railway train to the top for a fee. However, tickets are not inexpensive around $74 per person.

Lastly, you can hike up. The Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail begins near the cog railway and is a steep climb over 4 miles each direction.

Additionally, there is a gift shop, restaurant and a small museum at the top. Also, visitors who take the auto road or cog railway get free admission to the museum by showing your bumper sticker or receipt.

Philbrook Red Barn Museum

Next to the Mt. Washington visitor center is the Philbrook Red Barn Museum. You can’t miss it, it is the big red barn directly left of the visitor center. This free museum features old cars and horse carriages that were previously used to take guests up Mt Washington.

Flume Gorge

The Flume Gorge is a natural rock gorge with a wooden walkway leading through. At the end of the gorge you can view Avalanche Falls and then hike the rest of the loop leading past a covered bridge as well as some other sites.

Be aware that there is an entrance fee. It was almost $100 for our family of five to enter. It feels like a lot when there are so many free hikes in the White Mountains. However, if you have never been, it is really a fun and memorable sight to see.

The Basin

The Basin is just north of Flume Gorge. It is a large bowl shaped water feature and a short trail leads down to both sides of the Basin. The Basin is free to visit.

Also, we noticed that Google maps will try to direct you to one side of the highway. However, the Basin has parking lots on both sides of the highway and is accessible via a tunnel that leads over from the opposite side.

Old Man of The Mountain Plaza

New Hampshire loved the old man of the mountain rock formation so much, they put it on their state quarter. Unfortunately, in 2003 the old man collapsed despite efforts to save him.

New Hampshire created an Old Man of the Mountain profiler plaza (next to profile lake), so that you can line up a post to see what the old man would have looked like today.

The Kancamagus Highway

The Kancamagus Highway or “The Kanc” is a scenic drive primarily between Lincoln and Conway. Here’s another site with details on the highway as well as another site that details some of the trails and overlooks. All stops on the Kancamagus Highway require a $5 day pass that you can purchase at the stops. However, if you have an America the Beautiful annual National Park Pass, you can display the it on your dashboard.

The sights listed below (Sabbaday Falls, Rocky Gorge, Lower Falls and Covered Bridge) are all stops along the Kancamagus Highway. Also, there are numerous overlooks that you can just stop at to hope out and look around.

Sabbaday Falls

One of the first major stops on the Kancamagus is Sabbaday Falls. A short 5 minute hike leads to you to a beautiful gorge waterfall. Also, you can head up to bridges for closer views of the waterfall.

Rocky Gorge

The Rocky Gorge Scenic Area is a short walk from the parking lot. It is a large rock that blocks part of the Swift River.

Additionally, there is a bridge that crosses over the river and a short path leads up to Fall Pond. It didn’t seem like many people make the walk over to the pond as it was just our family. The pond was full over giant tadpoles that were close to maturing to frogs. We also saw a hummingbird hawk moth, which my thrilled my bug-loving daughter.

Lower Falls

Lower falls is a small series of waterfalls that cascades across the Swift River. It is another short walk from the parking lot and you can walk right up to the rocks. If you are lucky, you might catch a view of a kayaker running the rapids.

Covered Bridge

One of the last stops heading east on the Kancamagus is the covered bridge. Additionally, it is right off of the highway, so I’m sure there are a lot of people who just drive through, turn around and then drive back.

Polly’s Pancake Parlor

I don’t normally include restaurants in my lists, but Polly’s Pancake Parlor near Franconia was so good, we went back a second day. Also, the kids even asked on our third day if we were going back again!

For Next Time

There really is a lot to do in the White Mountains and there are a lot of things that we will have to save for the next visit. Cannon Mountain has an aerial tram that you can take for views on a clear day. Additionally, there are numerous theme parks including Clark’s Bears, Story Land and Santa’s Village.