The Great New England Road Trip: Days 17-18, New Hampshire
Day 17: One Last Vermont Adventure and Hello, New Hampshire
Before we could officially say goodbye to Vermont on Day 17, we had time for one last adventure. After breakfast and packing up the campsite, we hiked down into the gorge near our campground to see the water up close.
Normally, when we see clear mountain water, it means it’s time for a swim, but signs had recently been posted warning that bacteria levels were too high for swimming. We reluctantly obeyed and settled for climbing around on the rocks and enjoying the beautiful hike down into the gorge.
It wasn't quite the swimming-hole farewell we might have chosen, but it was still a beautiful way to spend our last morning in Vermont. Soon we were back at the camper, pulling out of the campsite and sadly saying goodbye to a state we had grown to love.
As we crossed into New Hampshire and got closer to our destination, the scenery began to change. Mountains rose around us, rocky faces appeared along the road, and our expectations went from low to high quickly and completely.
We had expected Vermont to be beautiful, and it absolutely was, but the mountain scenery greeting us in New Hampshire was breathtaking in an entirely different way. By the time we reached our campsite, we were already wondering why we hadn't planned more time here.
We set up camp and headed straight for Franconia Notch State Park. Our first stop was Echo Lake, where we found the boat launch, unloaded the kayaks, and paddled out onto the water.
The mountains and rock faces surrounding the lake were stunning. It was one of those places where you keep looking around at each other as if to say, "How did we not know about this?"
From Echo Lake, we drove just down the road to Profile Lake and immediately wondered if we should have kayaked there too. It was smaller, quieter, and surrounded by equally beautiful scenery. Profile Lake sits beneath the place where one of New Hampshire's most famous landmarks once stood: the Old Man of the Mountain. The series of granite ledges created the appearance of a man's profile looking out over the landscape and became an iconic symbol of New Hampshire. Despite decades of efforts to protect the formation, it finally collapsed in 2003. Knowing its history made it strange to look up at the mountain and imagine the face that had watched over the lake for generations.
We continued south through Franconia Notch as the sun began dropping behind the mountains, taking in the views on either side of the road. By the time we returned to camp, we had already reached one conclusion about New Hampshire: we should have planned more time!
Day 18: Thirty Pancakes, Crawford Notch, and Cold Water
We woke up on Day 18 knowing we had exactly one full day to see as much of New Hampshire as possible. Naturally, such an ambitious day required a good breakfast: pancakes, preferably.
We headed first to Polly's Pancake Parlor, a place that had been recommended to us several times. We generally try to avoid places that feel overly touristy, but we love finding destinations that are popular because they genuinely do something special. Polly's definitely fell into that category.
There are all kinds of combinations of pancakes and add-ins to choose from, but the best part is watching them being made. Our waitress took our orders and then went straight to the open kitchen, where we could watch our pancakes being made on the griddle.
By the time breakfast was over, our table had consumed approximately 30 pancakes. In our defense, we didn't actually order all 30. A few extras appeared because of some mistakes, and our waitressgraciously gave them to us anyway. Of course, we didn’t want to be protein-deprived, so the 30 pancakes were accompanied by eggs, sausage, bacon, and Eggs Benedict. We left very full, very happy, and with several family members declaring it one of their favorite breakfasts ever.
Since we had explored Franconia Notch the evening before, we pointed the van toward Crawford Notch State Park for the rest of the day. On the way, we stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the beautiful Omni Mount Washington Resort. Opened in 1902, the grand hotel was once one of America's premier mountain resorts, and more than a century later it is still an impressive sight. With its sprawling white façade and iconic red roof sitting beneath Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the Northeast, the whole scene looks like something from another era. New Hampshire just kept getting better.
Our first real adventure of the day was the Arethusa Falls Trail. Some New Hampshire natives we had met all the way back at Letchworth State Park in New York had recommended this hike to us, and we were so glad they did. Parts of the trail followed a creek filled with cascades and smaller waterfalls, which made the climb beautiful from the beginning. Eventually, though, we left the creek behind and got to the really steep part.
It was a challenging hike, but reaching Arethusa Falls made every bit of the climb worthwhile. At roughly 140 feet tall, the waterfall drops dramatically down the rock face, and standing beneath it after working our way up the trail felt like exactly the reward we had hoped for.
After hiking back down, we were hot and ready for one of our favorite road-trip activities: finding somewhere to swim. We stopped at a waterfall with pools beneath it, changed into swimsuits, and plunged into the freezing mountain water. No matter how icy the water is, someone in this family is usually willing to jump in.
Unfortunately, we weren't the only creatures enjoying this particular spot. A rather determined group of horse flies seemed to have claimed it as their territory, and our swim ended much sooner than planned.We quickly relocated farther down the creek, ate lunch, and then continued exploring.
Driving north again through Crawford Notch, we stopped at the historic Willey House site. There we learned the tragic story of the Willey family, who lived in the notch during the 1820s.
A ranger took the time to tell us their story and then talked with the kids about the surrounding mountain peaks and other places we should explore. He recommended hiking Mount Willard, but by then the day was getting away from us, and with only one full day in New Hampshire, we simply couldn't fit everything in. Mount Willard went straight onto the "next time" list.
The ranger also recommended Upper Falls as a swimming spot. Since several other people had already told us the same thing, we figured that many recommendations couldn't be wrong. They weren't.
As we've mentioned several times already, finding swimming holes is a favorite pastime in our family, and Upper Falls may have set a new standard.
There were rocks at all different heights for jumping, a large deep pool below them, a beach area for younger kids, and shallower pools to explore. Basically, it had every element our family could ask for in a swimming hole. After all the hiking and driving we had packed into the day, spending the afternoon jumping off rocks into cold mountain water was just about the perfect ending.
After dinner, someone said the word ice cream. This is dangerous, because once the possibility of ice cream has been introduced, it is nearly impossible to put the idea back to rest. Fortunately, both the rangerwe had met that day and the New Hampshire natives we had met back at Letchworth had recommended the same nearby place: Super Secret Ice Cream. When we arrived and saw the crowd, we quickly determined that the secret was apparently out.
The shop serves ice cream flights in egg cartons, which was both one of the most unique presentations we'd seen and a perfect way to sample several flavors. After a day of waterfalls, hiking, mountain views, swimming holes, and an almost unreasonable number of pancakes, an egg carton full of ice cream seemed like an entirely appropriate way to finish.
We arrived in New Hampshire with almost no expectations and left wishing for several more days. Franconia Notch, Crawford Notch, mountain lakes, waterfalls, swimming holes, pancakes, and ice cream somehow all fit into less than 48 hours, but we barely scratched the surface.
Sometimes the places you know the least about end up surprising you the most. New Hampshire certainly did that for us, and if our travels ever bring us back this way, we'll know better than to give it just one full day.
