Fodor's Expert Review Franconia Notch State Park
Traversed by the Appalachian Trail and a stretch of Interstate 93 that narrows for 8 miles to become Franconia Notch Parkway, this stunning 6,692-acre state park feels as awesome as a national park and offers dozens of diversions, including myriad hiking trails, summer swimming at Echo Lake Beach, and winter downhill skiing at Cannon Mountain, whose 4,080-foot summit observation deck you can explore on the Aerial Tramway, an 80-passenger cable car. One of the top park draws, the dramatic, narrow 800-foot-long Flume Gorge is reached from a modern visitor center via a picturesque 2-mile loop hike along wooden boardwalks and stairways. The park was long famous as the site of the Old Man of the Mountain, an iconic profile high on a granite cliff that crumbled unexpectedly in 2003. Overlooking Profile Lake, at the small Old Man of the Mountain Park, you can walk the short but pretty paved trail to view the mountain face through steel rods that seem literally... READ MORE
Traversed by the Appalachian Trail and a stretch of Interstate 93 that narrows for 8 miles to become Franconia Notch Parkway, this stunning 6,692-acre state park feels as awesome as a national park and offers dozens of diversions, including myriad hiking trails, summer swimming at Echo Lake Beach, and winter downhill skiing at Cannon Mountain, whose 4,080-foot summit observation deck you can explore on the Aerial Tramway, an 80-passenger cable car. One of the top park draws, the dramatic, narrow 800-foot-long Flume Gorge is reached from a modern visitor center via a picturesque 2-mile loop hike along wooden boardwalks and stairways. The park was long famous as the site of the Old Man of the Mountain, an iconic profile high on a granite cliff that crumbled unexpectedly in 2003. Overlooking Profile Lake, at the small Old Man of the Mountain Park, you can walk the short but pretty paved trail to view the mountain face through steel rods that seem literally to put the beloved visage back on the mountain. You can see related photographs and memorabilia in a small museum, and also visit the New England Ski Museum (which has a second location in North Conway) to learn how skiing was popularized as a sport in New England, through artifacts, clothing, and equipment, as well as Bode Miller's five Olympic medals.
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