Hiking Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

October 06, 2020

At the very end of summer I went to the White Mountains of New Hampshire to hike Franconia Ridge. This was a hike that I wanted to do all summer, but never seemed to find the time to get there. I am very glad I made it because it is spectacular, quite possibly one of my favorite hikes that I have ever done.

I parked just off of Route 93 at the Old Bridle Path Trailhead. I hiked up the Old Bridle Path to the AMC Greenleaf hut then continued up Greenleaf Trail to the top of Mount Lafayette. I continued south along the ridge over Mount Lincoln to Little Haystack Mountain. From the top of Little Haystack I hiked down the Falling Waters Trail back to the parking lot. I really enjoyed hiking up the Old Bridle Path because there are many viewpoints on that path along the way up that gives you a view of where you will be going. The falling waters trail is mostly within a forest without any viewpoints so it felt like a nice way to end the hike. Going down falling waters you follow a river for much of the trail and there are multiple waterfalls along the way.

All in all the hike was about 8.6 miles and I would say it is definitely a tough hike. My legs were feeling it by the end as you are constantly going up and down and I was carrying a pack with my food, water and a camera.

On the way up Old Bridle Path you are treated to multiple views of the mountains and ridges that you will be hiking. You see this scene once you reach the AMC Greanleaf Hut. This is looking out over Eagles Lakes towards a ridge leading to the top of Mount Lafayette.

Turning 180 degrees from the photo above I loved the look of the slopes leading up to Franconia Ridge. The area around the AMC Greenleaf hut is spectacular with views in every direction.

One you reach the summit of Mount Lafayette you can see the trail along Franconia Ridge stretching away from you. The hike along the ridge is deceptively far. On a clear day you can see a very long distance and it made me think that I would reach the end in no time. The peak that the trail in this photo leads to is Mount Lincoln, there are multiple little dots on top of the summit, almost invisible, that are actually people.

On the way to Mount Lincoln I turned around and took this photo of Mount Lafayette. I loved the way this summit looked, with the green vegetation and the orange colored peak. There are people in this photo as well, multiple little dots on top of the mountain. I am hoping to return to this trail again to take some new photos from different areas along the way.