Glacial Boulders: Some of these 'erratics' dumped here by Ice Age glaciers weigh more than 300 tons.Wolf Den: Good luck crawling and wriggling your way through the rocks if you opt to follow this narrow, one-way path.Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge: Pause as you walk across this second covered bridge to admire the view of the Pemigewasset River.This is a particularly beautiful spot in the fall.Liberty Gorge: I you choose to continue the hiking loop, follow the Ridge Path downhill and watch for signs pointing you toward this gorge and its cascading mountain stream.Bear Cave: This dark, boulder-roofed cavern begs to be explored.You'll have an up-close view from the top of the Flume and feel the falls' cooling mist. Avalanche Falls: Since 1883, this thunderous, 45-foot waterfall has given the gorge its soundtrack.The Old Man of the Mountain, a gone but not forgotten feature of Franconia Notch State Park, was also made of Conway granite. Table Rock: A massive outcropping of pinkish Conway granite smoothed by Flume Brook.It's one of the oldest surviving covered bridges in New Hampshire. The Flume Covered Bridge: A bright red 'kissing bridge' built in 1886 over the Pemigewasset River.

As we finished, we noticed the crowds were starting to fill the queue lines. There is a small gift shop at the end of the trail along with restrooms. One was empty and we'd hoped to fill it up there, but there isn't a bottle filler and the water fountains are turned off. It took us just over an hour with lots of stops for photos. They say you have two hours to complete the hike. There is a lot of uphill, but nothing that an average person couldn't do. There are plenty of benches to sit down on if you need to take a break. There are a lot of steps, but it wasn't overwhelming. For the majority of the hike we were by ourselves. We enjoy hiking and had no problem getting ahead of the crowd. They give you a map and start you on the path. We got up to the ticket booth (you wait in line on stickers keeping you six feet apart) and show your ticket. They show you how many tickets have been sold for your time slot. We decided to take a weekend trip to NH just to do some of the things we never did while living there. The hike to the Flume takes you up along the Pemigewasset River, over an 1886 covered bridge, by cascades and waterfalls, until you reach the Flume Gorge. Husband and I once lived in NH and never visited the Flume. It took our group about an hour and a half.Īlong the path, there are restrooms and rain shelters. The pamphlet they give you says it takes about an hour and 15 minutes to walk it. There are a few picnic tables spread out within the gorge and outside the visitor's center and in the parking lot. The visitor center was not air conditioned, so not much relief from the heat. Others in our group, used their arm strength to push them up and through, but that way resulted in a scratched leg. If you want to try to squeeze through, I recommend turning with your back to the rock, slide up until you can sit on it, and pull yourself up. The sign says it is a small space, it is a really, small space and you aren't just sliding through it, you are actually climbing up it. I'd say those over 150lbs or taller than 5'8' may not be able to get through. The gorge was about 8 degrees cooler than the shaded areas on the trail.īesides the flume, be sure to take a few minutes to see table rock, the pond, and (if you are able) go into the wolf den. Basic tennis shoes or hiking boots work for this trail and we recommend going when temperatures are around 70 to avoid the heat. The loop is 2 miles and probably longer than necessary to see everything, but longer justifies the cost I guess. It is located only 6 miles from nearby Artists Bluff, as well as 7 miles. The flume is beautiful and it is cool inside the gorge. Flume Gorge is located near Lincoln, New Hampshire, along the Daniel Webster Highway.

Flume gorge lincoln new hampshire