Flume Gorge Loop Hike – Winter
There are a lot of beautiful places in New Hampshire and many different ways to experience them. One hike I suggest everyone should experience is the Flume Gorge Loop in Franconia Notch during the winter.
My cousin and I decided to go for a quick hike up to Lonesome Lake but when we arrived in the Notch the clouds were thick and low and everything was socked in. Since my cousin had never hiked the Flume Gorge we decided to change plans and hike that instead.
| Date: | 12-31-2021 |
| Location: | Franconia Notch, NH |
| Distance: | 3.2 mi |
| Elevation Gain: | 542′ |
| Total Time: | 2 hr 29 min |
| Parking: | 10+ cars |
| Difficultly Rating: | Easy |
We parked in the Flume parking lot. This is a very popular spot in the summer time filled with tourists, buses and campers. Today it was cold and gray with only a few cars in the lot.
We started out by the Visitors Center (Closed in winter) and headed toward the gorge first. We passed some large glacial erratics and a few other hikers on their way out.
Soon the trail started to switchback down toward a bright red covered bridge (Flume Covered Bridge). The bridge was built in 1871 but looks like it is in great condition and very sturdy compared to other covered bridges I’ve seen.
We crossed the bridge using the foot path along the side and started hiking toward the river. As we got close to the gorge parts of the half frozen river starts to cascade beside us.
Soon we are at the entrance to the gorge, The granite walls rise up vertically and are covered with large ice flows perfect for ice climbers. We make our way in for a little bit and get some photos. We then hiked up to the top of the ledges to get a better perspective.
Once we got to the top there is a waterfall called Avalanche Falls. This was flowing really good and was covered with ice all around. A great spot for some photos. There is also a small rain shelter we stopped at for a small snack and a drink.
From here we continued on the loop toward the second covered bridge, the Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge. This was only a foot bridge and is not wide enough for any wheeled vehicles. We could see the bridge from above as we approached it. Once we crossed we decided to go to another viewing point below the bridge. Again great photos opportunities.
From this point we were not far from the entrance where we started. We soon found the split of the loop near the giant glacial erratic. And continued back to the car.
On this day the trail was hard packed with snow and we used our Microspikes. We saw many others bare booting it but the spikes just made things easier.
This a fun and easy hike full of covered bridges, streams, waterfalls, gorges and some rolling hills. This is a great family hike that is good for all ages. If doing it in the winter it is wised to have some sort of traction you. The trail can be slippery sometimes.
