Franconia Notch State Park: The Flume (Blog Hike #163)

Trails: Flume, Ridge, and Wildwood Trails

Hike Location: Franconia Notch State Park

Geographic Location: north of Lincoln, NH (44.09683, -71.68124)

Length: 2 miles

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Date Hiked: August 2004, August 2015

Overview: A scenic route, partly on boardwalk, through one of the most famous destinations in the White Mountains.

Park Information: https://www.nhstateparks.org/find-parks-trails/franconia-notch-state-park

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=719311
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From Lincoln, go north on I-93 4 miles to the exit for the Flume.  The Flume is a popular tourist destination, so it is well-marked.  Park in the large paved parking lot.  The trail leaves from the visitor center.  A significant admission fee will be charged to access the trail.

The hike: Few destinations in the White Mountains attract families like Franconia Notch.  Since I-93 runs through the notch itself, the destination is easily accessible from populated areas to the south such as Concord and Boston.  The notch also has family friendly attractions including several scenic railroads that depart from the town of Lincoln, the southern gateway to the notch.

Included in these attractions are three top-quality hiking destinations.  The Basin, described elsewhere in this blog, provides a very easy walk along the Pemigewassett River itself.  Located 10 miles west of Lincoln, Lost River (not described in this blog) provides a more difficult walk with lots of steps through an interesting gorge, featuring many waterfalls and caves.  Perhaps the most famous destination of the three, however, is the Flume, described here. 

Although the term “flume” can be used to describe any place where water cascades through a narrow, glacier-runoff-created chasm, if one speaks of The Flume, everyone knows that this person is referring to the Flume of Franconia Notch.  Indeed, The Flume attracts visitors from around the country and even around the world.  While many visitors care only to hike the Flume Trail, making it somewhat crowded, a very pleasant hiking experience can be had by taking the route suggested here.  This route starts with a journey through the Flume, but then embarks on a woodland trail over a couple of covered bridges and past some nice forest and aquatic scenery along the way.

Front door of Visitor Center

            Begin by paying for admission, then walk out the back door of the Visitor Center.  The first 0.5 miles of this hike can be avoided by taking a bus to Boulder Cabin, but those with the time and energy should choose to walk.  The gravel trail leaves the Visitor Center and immediately crosses a paved maintenance road.  In 0.2 miles, the trail arrives at a large boulder, where the trail forks.  To get to the Flume faster, this description will use the right fork as the outward portion and the left fork as the return portion of the loop.

Bearing right, the trail drops steeply to cross the Pemigewassett River on the first of two covered bridges.  Looking to the right, you can see the bridge used by the buses to cross the river.  The trail now parallels the bus route and climbs moderately to arrive at Boulder Cabin.  Stay to the left of Boulder Cabin as the trail continues climbing.  At 0.65 miles, the trail arrives underneath an impressive waterslide where Flume Brook cascades down bare bedrock just after exiting the Flume.

Waterslide at base of Flume

            The trail climbs more gradually now and soon becomes boardwalk as the Flume comes into sight.  The dark grey granite walls rise nearly vertically some 40 feet above the stream.  Further, the walls are only about 10 feet wide in places, so there is no place to put a trail on the floor between the walls.  Fortunately for hikers, the state of New Hampshire has built the boardwalk directly over the stream, so wet feet are avoided and you can feel the cool dampness within the Flume.

Boardwalk through the Flume

Steps and waterfall in the Flume

            The trail climbs through the Flume on wooden boardwalk and steps to arrive at Avalanche Falls.  This is the point where Flume Brook enters the Flume from the north side.  The waterfall is 25 feet high and similar to many of the other spill-over type waterfalls in the region.  Just above the falls, the trail climbs a final set of steps to exit the Flume.

Avalanche Falls

            At the top of these steps, the Rim Trail continues straight ahead to short-cut the hike and return you to the Visitor Center in only 1.25 miles.  Our hike turns right on the Ridge Trail.  After a short ascent to the height of land, the trail descends rather steeply through beautiful, mature pine forest.  Pass a small waterfall on the left and continue to descend.  At 1.4 miles, the Pemigewassett River comes into view to the left, and a couple of protected overlooks provide nice views of the wide, boulder strewn river which flows 130 feet below you.

The trail continues to descend and crosses the river on the Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge.  The area immediately to your left as you cross the bridge is called The Pool.  The name is appropriate, as the area is a large round depression with a tranquil pool, a pause in the normal tumbling of the river to the south.  Now at the lowest point of the hike, the trail climbs moderately steeply, passing one final river overlook on the left.

The Pool

            This last section of trail past the river is called the Wildwood Trail after the mature mixed pine and hardwood forest that grows near the river.  After the climb away from the river, the most difficult section of trail is behind you, and the well-worn trail assumes a rolling track through the forest.  Intermixed with the forest are a few glacier erratics transported here from the north by the last ice sheets.  2.2 miles into the hike, the Wildwood Trail comes out at the large boulder to close the loop.  Continue straight to return to the Visitor Center and complete the hike.