Spring Hike to Arethusa Falls in Crawford Notch

Outdoor Odyssey 1 Hiking, Waterfalls Arethusa Falls, Crawford Notch, hiking, New Hampshire, Rocks and Crocs, Spring, Waterfall

Date:	4-4-2026
Location:	Crawford Notch, NH
Distance:	3.14 mi
Elevation Gain:	707′
Total Time:	3 hr 5 min
Parking:	20+ cars

My buddy Eric and I wanted to get out for some fresh mountain air. It looked like some of the waterfalls up north were starting to thaw so we decided that Arethusa Falls in Crawford Notch would be good option.

Weather was looking good, with some sunny and partly cloudy skis. Temps were going to be in the 40s/50s. When we got to the trail head at 9am temps were already in the high 30’s.

Trail conditions varied but we bare booted most of the way

There was lots of parking when we arrived. The lower lot was empty, and the upper lot only had 3 or 4 cars there.

When we started up the trail there was very little snow or ice. Shortly after the trail got snowier and muddy but no need for spikes. As we progressed there was various levels of ice and snow on the trail.

When we reached the bridges, the trail was mostly hard packed snow. It is always nice to see the water flowing good on in the streams.

When we got to the trail junction, we decided that we would put on the spikes for the hard pack snow and ice going down to the falls.

pretty much the hight of the trail is the trail junction

When we got to the falls, we were the only ones there. The falls were flowing beautifully. There were two large pilers of ice on both sides of the rocky falls with a great flow of water coming down.

Some of the best cascading water I’ve see, on these rocks in a long time. Very different from the trickle of water seen in the summer and fall.

I made my way closer to the falling water along the edge. At one point I was walking on some hard packed snow, and I fell through up to my thigh, I was waiting for my feet to get soaked but the water was only about an inch deep.

I stepped out and over to the shore for the last 30 feet or so. I didn’t want to get too close incase some of these large ice chunks broke off and fell down.

The angle I was at was great. I could see the spray coming off the top of the waterfall. I took a bunch of pictures from different angles then started to head back to where Eric was.

By this time a couple of people had arrived. We took a few more shots and then we headed back down the trail. We decided to keep our spikes on most of the way down back through the snow, ice and mud.