White Mountain notches: Mount Washington to Franconia

Route description

From North Conway drive north on NH-16 through Jackson, with its red covered bridge, into Pinkham Notch. Glen Ellis Falls is a short walk from a lot on the road, and the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, a few minutes on, is the start of the trail to Tuckerman Ravine. It is about 30 minutes of driving from North Conway to the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road.

The Auto Road climbs 7.6 miles, without guardrails in places and at an average grade of about 12 percent; use low gear on the way down to save your brakes. Large RVs and some other vehicles are not allowed, and guided van tours run from the base. The summit is often in cloud with strong winds, so check the Mount Washington Observatory forecast. The Cog Railway climbs the western side from near Bretton Woods.

Return south on NH-16 to Glen and follow US-302 west through Bartlett into Crawford Notch, about an hour. Arethusa Falls is a 1.5-mile climb from a trailhead just off the highway, and the Willey House site and the Dry River campground are in the same state park. US-302 then climbs out of the notch past the grand hotel at Bretton Woods, below the western slopes of Mount Washington.

Continue on US-302 and US-3 to Franconia Notch State Park, where I-93 narrows to a two-lane parkway between Cannon Mountain and the Franconia Range. Walk the Flume Gorge boardwalks and see the Old Man of the Mountain memorial at Profile Lake; the Cannon Mountain aerial tram closed in 2025 for replacement and is not expected back before 2028. End in Lincoln, at the western end of the Kancamagus Highway. The route is about 160 km, and traffic is heavy in early October.