Franconia Notch State Park

The notch is a deep pass between the Franconia and Kinsman ranges, and the interstate narrows to a two-lane parkway to get through it. The Flume is a natural gorge about 240 metres long with granite walls rising up to twenty-seven metres, only a few metres wide in places, walked on a boardwalk built along the rock. The Old Man of the Mountain was a granite profile on Cannon Cliff, five ledges that lined up from one angle into a face, and it was the state emblem until it collapsed overnight in May 2003 despite decades of cabling and epoxy; a memorial at Profile Lake uses steel rods you line up to see the profile against the empty cliff. The aerial tramway climbs Cannon Mountain.

Highlights

• The Flume Gorge - a boardwalk through a granite slot 240 metres long.
• The empty cliff - where the Old Man collapsed in 2003.
• A profile viewer at the lake - lining up steel rods against the rock.
• The Cannon Mountain tramway - to the summit ridge.

When to go

May to October; foliage in early October. A full day.

What to expect

The Flume is one-way, timed and sells out on foliage weekends. The Old Man is gone - visitors still arrive expecting it. Parking fills early in autumn. The gorge boardwalk closes in winter.

Nearby

The Kancamagus Highway is east; Mount Washington is north-east.

Key facts