2023 NE Vacation Day 5: Franconia Notch State Park

 Started off the day with a quick stop at the White Mountains Visitor's Center. Hello, New Hampshire!

Next up was Franconia Notch Flume Visitor's Center. It was very cold - only 36 degrees - and snowing!

Ben was still getting over his cold and doesn't do well in cold temperatures so we decided to pass on the Flume Gorge hike. The park rangers gave us a few suggestions of other, shorter, hikes we could do in other areas of the park. 

Our first stop was the Basic Cascade Trail. Once we got out and got moving, it really wasn't that bad. And the views were gorgeous!

Next, we pulled over to look at the "Old Man in the Mt" which is no longer there because it crumbled years ago. NH is very proud of this former feature.

Next was the Artist's Bluff/Bald Mountain hike. It was very steep, but a fun path.

We ended up back at the Visitor's Center where Tim and I decided to go ahead and hike the Gorge. It's about $18 pp and a couple of miles long. Ben and Gabe agreed to hang out and wait for us. 

Another covered bridge

Boardwalk inside the gorge

Entrance to Wolves Den

Narrow!

This was one of my favorite hikes of all time. The boardwalk inside the gorge was so fun and went on for a good long while. The rest of the hike was still pretty and featured a lot of interesting things. It was snowing at some points which didn't stick, but added to the magic of it all.

The rest of the day was spent driving, to get toward Maine. Ben was definitely feeling better and was looking forward to the rest of the trip