Flume Gorge (Franconia Notch State Park)
Hike Type: Lollipop Loop
Distance: 3.0 miles
Elevation: 524 feet
My Time: 1 hour, 22 minutes (55 minutes moving)
Book Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Parking: Parking for MANY cars at Flume Gorge Visitor Center
Hiking Challenges: N/A
Hiking Challenges: N/A
The Hike
Time for Hike #2! The rain was starting to lighten up, thankfully, but I still brought my umbrella with me. We all took a pit stop in the Visitor Center to use the bathroom, we then bought our tickets ($21 is expensive my goodness...), and then we were off!
The "Enter" kiosk said "this is a 2 mile self guided nature walk" and had information on The Flume:
"This narrow gorge 700 feet in length with walls of granite 60 to 70 feet high was formed thousands of years ago when magma filled an east-west fracture in the side of Mt. Liberty. Erosion resulting from water flowing over this lava dike through the ages created the Flume to you see today.
The walls of the Flume are overarched by a forest canopy and covered with mosses, ferns, and flowers that in summer produce a tapestry of color. The floor of the gorge where Flume Brook flows is sewn with rocks deposited eons ago. In winter the Flume is like another world as great iciles hang from the walls.
For centuries a large egg-shaped boulder hung suspended between the walls of the gorge. On June 20, 1883 a cloudburst on Mt. Liberty sharted an avalanche of water, earth, rock and trees that roared through the Flume carrying away the great stone.
According to local folk-lore the Flume was discovered in 1808 by "Aunt Jess" Guernsey, one of the pioneers of the region, who at age 93 went trout fishing and upon returning home told of looking into a great ghasm. At first no one believed her, later word reached the outside world bringing visitors to this natural wonder."
We started our hike on the access path that followed a wide, well-graded gravel road. Spirits were high, and we were all delighted to be slightly less soggy than before! We passed a large glacial boulder and then turned right onto Flume Path, which had a sign and arrow, starting the lollipop loop. The Flume Path started a realtively easy descent to the covered bridge that we then got to cross over the scenic brook even further down below.
We ascended alongside a road and visited the Boulder Cabin, which had bathrooms, some history, and some nature information. Andrew had to use the bathroom, but there was a line tragically. Onward!
We hiked along the scenic Table Rock, which would be so much fun to treat as a natural waterslide... We passed the closed Rim Path (maybe it's only open in winter?) and then it was time for the main event: The Flume! A sign read:
"The granite rock which make up the walls of the flume was formed many millions of years ago in ancient geological time. At a later period dark colored lava in a molten condition was pushed up from below filling a great crack and smaller side cracks that had been formed in the granite. This lava solidified to form dikes. As ages passed the main dike was worn away leaving the flume gorge. The original flume thus formed has been further widened by frost and water action. In a few places marked by signs the remants of the main lava dike are still preserved in the bed of the gorge and small branches or off-shoots can be seen along the canyon walls. The lava is darked in color than the granite walls."
This place is nothing short of spectacular! The walkway alone is a wonder let alone the flume proper. It wasn't crowded, but we also didn't have the place to ourselves. The flume became more and more dramatic the further we walked in on the somewhat slippery walkway. There were small information signs scattered about giving information about natural features of the area. The moss-line walls were just beautiful.
I particularly enjoyed a narrow stretch just before Avalance Falls came into view - it just felt like we were in prehistoric times or something.
The gorge widened near Avalance Falls and the walkway crossed over the brook, climbing up to provide nice and ever-changing views of the roaring falls. It was great to be here on a wet day, because everything looked even more dramatic!
From the top of Avalance Falls, we skipped the Bear Cave, and continued left onto the Ridge Path towards Liberty Gorge and Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge. Back on a wide, gravel road, we had some easy downhill walking to a viewpoint that was mostly socked in, and then we continued on down, enjoying each other's company and yapping up a storm.
We soon crossed over Liberty Gorge, which was another beautiful area (less impressive, though) and got a great view of the falls from a side path.
We crossed the covered bridge, played leap frog with this duo that was unfortunately incredibly stinky, and then followed another side path to O'Connor's Overlook. We followed the endless stairs on this seemingly new stretch of deck to get a view of The Pool, which was REALLY inviting us for a swim (if it was warmer out...). We could see where an older stretch of trail had eroded away, which is most likely what prompted this rebuild.
We could have taken another side trip through the Wolf Den, but everything was so wet and the stinky people were in there, so no thank you! At a rain shelter just after the overlook, we continued onto the Wildwood Path (these three paths make up the full loop and there's really no other option besides them). We passed some spectacular mushrooms and Andrew had to take a run to find the bathroom, poor guy! We also noticed how close the trail came to the Bike Path...
After some more leisurely walking we made it back to the glacial boulder from before, and we had a nice and easy walk out to the gift shop! I changed at the gift shop/Visitor Center, and then we all got ready to drive into Lincoln to get some lunch!
We landed at Basecamp Brewing in Lincoln and it was just perfect! After lunch we went to the Burgeon store and I am proud of myself for not splurging and buying a third Highlander Hoodie, yet... Afterwards we said our goodbyes and all made our seperate drives home. Bummer we didn't get our friends onto a 4,000 Footer, but we made great use of a rainy day!
Step-by-Step
- Start hike on access path.
- At split, turn right onto Flume Path.
- At Bear Cave, turn left onto Ridge Path.
- After Rain Shelter, continue left onto Wildwood Path.
Photo Album
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