New Hampshire is known for its spectacular landscapes featuring sublime mountains and stunning lakes. With more than 4000 miles of hiking trails, New Hampshire offers some of the most scenic, but also most challenging hikes in the country. It is a prime destination for avid hikers. The White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire is one of the most popular hiking areas in the United States, with breathtaking views from mountain peaks, endless wilderness to explore, and challenging climbs to conquer. However, not everyone is looking for a challenging hike to the summit of Mount Washington at 6,288 feet. Instead, there are several trails that are considered of easy to moderate difficulty and feature unrivaled views from the peaks. In this article, I want to share with you some of the best scenic but easy trails that hikers of all ages can enjoy in the White Mountain National Forest.
The trails in White Mountain National Forest are open all year round. In the Spring and Summer, you will see wildflowers, waterfalls, and freshwater pools that you can swim in along the trails. In the Fall, my favorite season, those trails will lead you to the peaks that are the perfect spots to get incredible views of brilliant autumn colors covering the mountains. I don’t recommend hiking when there is snow on the ground, a slippery path can make an easy hike much harder and more unpredictable.
All the trails mentioned in this article are free to enter. Some popular trails require an admission fee to enter; I will share those with you in another post. Large parking areas are available near every trail, but due to the popularity of these hiking areas, the parking lots can fill up fast. You can park along the highway as many others do. Be sure to pack enough water, snacks, and bug repellent, and most important, bring your camera. You will want to take a lot of photos when you get to the mountain tops.
Every trail has a distinctive color marking the entire path, keep an eye out for the trail blazes on trees and rocks to find your way. Alltrails is a very useful app that gives you all the information about a trail, such as difficulty level, elevation, and a map of the trail. Alltrails covers almost all of the popular trails in the United States, and the free version gives you all the information mentioned above but the paid version allows you to download maps to use offline when you don’t have cell reception. We have been using the free version Alltrails app for years, with paying attention to trail blazes, and we can always find our way.
1. Artist’s Bluff & Bald Mountain
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Time to Hike: 1.5 -2 hours
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Artist’s Bluff is a 1.4-mile loop located in Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountain National Forest. It is a short trail with a few steep parts. Artist’s Bluff is one of the most popular scenic trails in the area. It is a short, easy hike and once you reach the bluff, you will be rewarded with breathtaking views overlooking the mountains and Echo lake. In Autumn, when the foliage colors are changing, the views you see at the bluff are incredibly beautiful. Many photographers consider the view from Artist’s Bluff one of the best Fall foliage photos. The trail can be very crowed in October, especially on the weekends.
Trailhead | Take exit 34C off Franconia Notch Parkway (I-93) and drive a half mile, just past Echo Lake Beach parking on the left, and look for a large unpaved parking area on your right across from the Cannon Mountain Ski Resort. Across the parking area toward the mountain, you will see a three-foot wide entrance with a small sign marking the trailhead of Artist’s Bluff.
Hike | A quarter mile into the trail, you will see a sign pointing left for Bald Mountain and right for Artist’s Bluff. The path to the summit of Bald Mountain is short but steep. If you are not into scrambling up steep boulders, you can skip Bald Mountain and head right toward Artist’s Bluff. Look for RED blazes on Artist’s Bluff trail to find your way.
The trail has a few steep sections with uneven rocks, steep stone stairs, and switchbacks, but nothing too hard to climb. There are a few lookout points along the way, overlooking the surrounding mountains. The Bluff is located toward the end of the trail; a large open space where you can relax and enjoy the view. The Bluff offers you picturesque views overlooking Echo Lake, Cannon Mountain, and Franconia Notch. The view from the bluff is just like the name of the trail, a piece of artwork from an artist. We went to Artist’s Bluff in mid-September and early October. In just two weeks, the colors of the mountains changed drastically from a wild profusion of green to layers of green, yellow, and red.
The Artist’s Bluff trail is considered one of the best hikes in Franconia Notch State Park. The views you see are worth the effort of hiking the trail.
2. Mount Pemigewasset
- Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
- Time to Hike: 2 hours
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Mount Pemigewasset Trail is a 3.2-mile out and back family-friendly trail. The hike gradually ascends to the mountain summit at 2,557 feet. The summit offers an amazing view of the surrounding mountains.
Trailhead | Take exit 34 A from I-93 toward the Flume Gorge Park Information Center and head to a large paved parking area in the north, near the ticket booth. On your left when facing the ticket booth, you can see a wide entrance with a sign marked Mount Pemigewasset Trail. Follow the wide Recreation Path a short distance and look on your left for the entrance to the Mount Pemigewasset trail.
Hike | After crossing three tunnels under the highway and the road, the trail begins to climb Mount Pemigewasset. The trail is marked with BLUE blazes on trees and rocks. The hike to the mountain top is about 1.6-mile long, gaining 1,557 feet. It ascends gradually and doesn’t have very steep sections. Along your way climbing up, look around and you may see wildflowers, trees, and waterfalls depending on which season you visit. We hiked Mount Pemigewasset in early September, and we saw lush green trees but no waterfalls. Close to the summit, you will see a sign pointing to Indian Head Trail, continue left and follow the blue blazes of Mount Pemigewasset Trail to the summit. Once you get to the summit, there is an open space where you can relax a little bit and take in the views.
3. Mount Willard
- Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
- Time to Hike: 2 hours
- Pet Friendly: Yes
Mount Willard is located in Crawford Notch State Park, north of Franconia Notch, in the White Mountain National Forest. The Mount Willard Trail is a 3.2-mile out and back kid-friendly and dog-friendly hike. You will be rewarded with a spectacular view of Crawford Notch once you reach the mountain peak.
Trailhead | Head to Crawford Notch Station, and you will find plenty of places to park. The trailhead of Mount Willard is behind the yellow station and across the railroad tracks. There is a narrow winding path that leads you to Mount Willard.
Hike | The beginning of the trail is fairly easy. You will cross a couple of streams – in the dry season, you will see just a little water on the ground – shortly after that, you will get to the Centennial Pool, a small freshwater pool where you can cool off under the trail path. The rest of the trail ascends gradually with some stone stairs and dirt with gravel paths. Once you walk through a shady tunnel created by the lush green trees on each side, you will see an open platform, the summit. The summit area is large enough for hikers to rest and to recharge, and most important, to engage in the stunning views of Crawford Notch. The summit of Mount Willard, at 2,864 feet, is another popular spot for foliage watching, with a wide range of colorful cascading mountain peaks.
4. Lonesome Lake
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Time to Hike: 2.5 hours
- Pet Friendly: Yes
The Lonesome Lake Trail is 2.4 miles out and back, plus a 0.8-mile loop around the Lonesome Lake located in Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountain National Forest. You will hike about 1.2 miles and gain 1,026 ft to the Lonesome lake, at 2,730 feet. The beautiful Lonesome Lake with mountains as its backdrop will take your breath away.
Trailhead | Park at the Mount Lafayette Campground, and you will see clear signs directing you to the trailhead of Lonesome Lake. At the very beginning of the trail, you will cross a large campground with a couple of wooden bridges.
Hike | About 0.4 miles from the Campground, after crossing the third wooded bridge, you will be at an intersection with a sign pointing to Hi-Cannon Trail on the right and Lonesome Lake Trail on the left. Follow the Lonesome Lake trail, keeping an eye on the YELLOW blazes to stay in the right direction. Note that some of the blazes are fading, but there is only one trail that leads you to ascend the mountain.
The hike to the lake is moderately difficult, kid-friendly, and dog-friendly. The path going up is about 1.2 miles long, ascending 1,026 feet. The trail features wooden bridges, stone stairs, and narrow dirt paths, surrounded by lush maple, beech, and birch trees. You will walk in green scenery most of the time.
Once you reach the lake, take in the stunning views of the glistening water with a perfect reflection of Franconia Ridge. You can walk the 0.8-mile loop trail around the lake. On the loop, you will encounter the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Lonesome Lake Hut and have even better views of Mount Lafayette and other mountain peaks of the Franconia Ridge.
All four hikes above in the White Mountain National Forest are easy to moderate difficulty, family-friendly, and pet-friendly trails. Artist’s Bluff is the shortest one with incredible views but has some steep sections. The three other trails are out and back trails that rise in almost unbroken slopes to their summits, but they are easier to hike for young children and senior people. The views you get from the mountain tops vary largely depending on what time of the year you hike. In the Fall, the colors of the mountains change daily. No matter what time you visit, you will discover that the magnificent mountains are worth all the effort of climbing. I hope you enjoy this article and have a chance to discover those mountains. I will see you in my next post!
