Best of White Mountains National Forest, New Hampshire
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My breath was completely taken away by this gorgeous park in northern New Hampshire. I was here the first week of September, so I caught the very beginning of leaf peeping season. That, on its own can drive the desire for an entire trip here. I sadly wasn’t here for the peak of the season, but I can only imagine how captivatingly beautiful it must be!
This park has literally everything your outdoor adventuring soul could ever ask for! From hiking to biking to kayaking to four-wheeling to waterfall jumping to tubing to basically anything else your adventurous mind could imagine!
I spent two days exploring the park, but could have easily spent months exploring every inch of this beautiful place. These are a few of my favorite spots that I was able to enjoy:
Kancamagus Scenic Highway
This is a beautiful drive scenic drive through the White Mountains with lots of activities along the way. There are many hikes, waterfalls, and scenic overlooks along the drive that are definitely worth checking out! I would allow yourself an entire day to make this drive and make stops along the way.
Lower Falls
Just a few miles down Kancamagus Highway (coming from the east), you will find basically a natural waterpark! There are countess levels to the falls, with small rapids to tube in, slippery rocks to slide down, huge pools to swim in, and lots of rocks to jump off of!
This place is very family-friendly and is extremely popular, so expect crowds. However, even with the amount of people there, it didn’t feel terribly overcrowded because there was so much room to spread out and all have your own area to play in!
The falls are beautiful and it offers great views of the surrounding mountains. I honestly loved this place and would absolutely add it to your White Mountains itinerary!
Champney Falls
This is a moderate 3-mile hike to a nice waterfall. It was an enjoyable hike and enjoyable fall, just nothing too extravagant. There is not one big fall, just a bunch of different levels of smaller falls. The hike up is about a mile and a half of a moderate incline. This was a nice shorter hike, but you definitely could skip if running low on time.
Sabbaday Falls
This waterfall should not be missed!! The short 0.3-mile hike leads you to a stunning waterfall created by the breaking of a basalt dike 100,000 years ago! This honestly might have been one of the coolest waterfalls I have ever seen! With different levels, sharp turns, and emerald green water, it will leave you captivated! With the hike being only a little over a half a mile roundtrip, this should absolutely make it on your itinerary!
Sadly, there is no swimming allowed at this waterfall, but definitely a gorgeous site to check out!
Old Man of the Mountain
About 12,000 years ago, due to glacial activity, a rock formation in the shape of what looked like the profile of an old man’s face was born. This was a natural phenomenon and has been a staple of New Hampshire’s history for years. Until sadly, due to natural causes, May 3, 2003 marked the collapse of the Old Man, leaving the state heartbroken.
The site still remains, which includes about a 5-10-minute walk to the site, with history snippets along the way. Since the face no longer remains, there’s really not much to see, but still cool to say you’ve seen the site. Now, I guess you could say you’ve seen the lost old man in the mountain??
Haystack Mtn, Falling Waters Trail, Ridge Trail, Old Bridle Path
If you’re hoping to do some mountain summiting on your White Mountains trip, then this is the trial for you! I did the loop trail of Falling Waters to the summit of Haystack Mountain to the Ridge Trail and then to the Old Bridle Trail.
This is rated as a difficult hike!! Altogether, this loop is a little over 11 miles with about 3500ft elevation gain. Expect for this to take about a half a day and be sure to arrive early before the parking lot fills up.
I unfortunately ended up in the White Mountains on Labor Day weekend along with the other 400,000 people also in the White Mountains on Labor Day weekend. I searched for longer and more strenuous hikes to do to hopefully escape the crowds. This was sadly not the case with this trail!! I wish I would have known before, but this is one of the most heavily trafficked trails in the entire park, so expect to hike with a heck-ton of other people!
The falling waters trail is really beautiful, with lots of falls and cascades along the way. It’s about 3 miles up to Haystack summit with about 2200ft elevation gain. It is lots of uphill and mostly rock scrambling the last mile or mile and a half to the summit.
If you want to do the shorter hike, then you can just hike back out the same trail you came up. This would be a little over 5 miles, with the downhill section being a little tricky due to the rock scrambles.
If you’re wanting to do the loop and the full 11-mile trail, then from the peak of Haystack Mountain, make your way to the ridge trail to summit Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. They all provide gorgeous 360 views from the top and are completely worth it if you can make it! Make sure to have sun protection since most of this trail is very exposed.
After the summit of Mount Lafayette, you will start the 4-mile descent back to the parking lot. There is a Greenleaf Hut resupply station on the way down with bathrooms, snacks and drinks for purchase, and a water refill station.
Profile Lake
After my 11.2-mile hike, I was in the mood to just chill and take it easy, so I decided to pop a squat at Profile Lake. This is a beautiful lake right in the middle of the Franconia Notch, with gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and a nice 0.5-mile hike just along the lake’s edge.
There are many spots along the lake to sunbathe, read a book, have a picnic, or go fishing. Great for a nice spot to relax.
The Basin
This is a beautiful spot that is an easy 0.2 mile hike to the bottom! Along the way, there is a gorgeous fall that you can admire along with the beautiful cascades leading down to the basin.
The basin is an incredible phenomenon that formed by water and small rocks basically getting spun in a whirlpool fashion, which caused erosion and the formation of this circular basin. I definitely would recommend this spot since it is beautiful and has such easy access!
I honestly could have spent so much more time here and I feel like this list barely scratches the surface of all there is to do in the White Mountains, but I hope it does help you to plan your trips there!What are some of your favorite spots in the White Mountain National Forest? I would love to add them to my list to check out on my next trip out there!!
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Thank yall for reading, now go out and make every day an adventure!
