New England, October 2021: New Hampshire hikes and sights, part 2

by | Oct 20, 2021 | Travel, USA Travel

On Friday we started fairly early on the popular Kancamagus Highway ($5 day use fee for all stops). Our first stop was the Pemigewasset Overlook, which was a little underwhelming. I think we are spoiled by the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Pemigewasset Overlook

Next up was the popular two-tiered Sabbaday Falls accessed via a short paved hike with a bunch of stairs to different viewpoints.

Sabbaday Falls

Sabbaday Falls

Our next stop was the Rocky Gorge Scenic Area, which had several spots of fall color, plus the rather serene Falls Pond.

Rocky Gorge Scenic Area  Rocky Gorge Scenic Area

Lower Falls is a little further up the road but the name is a misnomer as it’s really just a wide cascade.

Lower Falls

At this point we wanted some actual hiking (and to get away from the crowds), so we left the Kanc and took the winding and pretty Bear Notch Rd north to 302 and up into Crawford Notch. Here we visited Arethusa Falls, making sure to take the side trail to also check out Fawn Pool, Bemis Falls, and Coliseum Falls.

Arethusa Falls trail

Coliseum Falls
Coliseum Falls

Bemis Falls   Eric @ Fawn Pool
Bemis Falls and Eric photographing Fawn Pool

The side trail rejoined the main trail via a very steep climb just after Bemis Falls.

the trail UP to Arethusa Falls

Once we rejoined the trail, Arethusa Falls was about another mile and well worth the hike.

Arethusa Falls

Driving north we passed by a sign for Ripley Falls and decided to stop – thankfully we found a spot in the small lot. This was a short one mile RT hike to a tall sloping falls.

crossed the tracks to Ripley Falls trail  Ripley Falls

Silver Cascade is roadside, with parking across the street. Along the side is a small trail that takes you to a nice view of the upper falls as well.

pedestrian crossing!

selfie w/ fall color

Silver Cascade

Quite nearby is another flume as well

Flume

We attempted to find Upper Ammonoosuc Falls, but apparently our directions were incorrect, so we’ll need to try again on another trip. Instead, our final falls of the day was Lower Ammonoosuc Falls. Our legs and feet were a bit worn out from the earlier hikes, so thankfully the path for these falls is rather short and along completely level ground.

Lower Ammonoosuc Falls

Our Itinerary

2024 Trips

San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Valencia, Spain (Mar)
Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Bari, Italy (Sept)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)

2022 Trips

Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)