Georgiana & Harvard Falls (Second Presidential State Forest)

Georgiana & Harvard Falls (Second Presidential State Forest)

Hike Type: Out-and-Back

Distance: 2.67 miles

Elevation: 702 feet

My Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes moving)

Book Time: 1 hour, 41 minutes

Parking: Parking for ~10 cars at trailhead.
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Hike 

Sarah, Linnea, Andrew, Christien, and I had grand plans to spend the night up at Moose Brook State Park and head into the southern Presidentials in the morning for a stunning hike, but nature said otherwise! We all drove up Saturday afternoon and met at the campground and had truly a wonderful night of fire, food, yapping, and a few drinks! Around 3:00am the rain started (and my $30 Walmart tent held up wonderfully, thank you!) and it stayed for most of the day. Instead of giving up, we pivoted to getting breakfast in Gorham and going on a couple waterfall hikes! Breakfast at the White Mountain Bookstore and Cafe was an absolute dream, and after some scrolling and searching we decided we'd drive down to the Lincoln area and explore Georgiana/Harvard Falls and maybe also the Flume Gorge! This also got us an hour closer to home which was a treat in itself!

Our first stop was the hike to Georgiana Falls, which there wasn't too much information about online. The trailhead was clearly signed, though, so our plan was a go! Poor Christien left his hiking clothes at home, so he was in jeans... in the rain. I opted for hiking with an umbrella versus a rain coat, and I truly was not upset about my decision! We all got started around 10:30am.

The hike started by following what felt like a snowmobile trail into the woods and under the I-93 overpass (naturally we had to sing "ahhhahhh ahhhahhh" from Frozen 2) and then really got into the woods, passing what looked like an old bridge or something rusting just off trail?

The snowmobile trail split with signs for "Bog Pond" and "Murray's Trail" going straight and a smaller sign for "Georgiana Falls" to the right. We went straight just for a moment to catch a view of Harvard Brook (lovely) before getting on with our hike.

Back on task, the route followed a wonderfully flat and wide woods road with old yellow blazes. After a few minutes, the road continue straight/right and the trail turned left - the wrong way was clearly blocked off.

The old yellow blazes were now joined with occasional, newer red ones, which I thought were some form of property lines but are apparently real blazes! The trail joined Harvard Brook and instantly became beautiful (and wet). We navigated one tricky section that crossed a wet, rocky area and soon came to the lower Georgiana Falls! Water levels were low, so it wasn't running too intensely, but it sure was beautiful! Most of the crew hiked up the slab parallel to the falls to continue on, but I have trust issues with wet slabs, so I followed either the trail or a herd path through the woods.

From here, the trail steepend and footing became significantly worse, mostly due to mud. The red blazes loose guided us up. Morale was dipping, also becuase it was raining, but thankfully Sarah and I are stubborn and needed to see what was next!

After huffing, puffing, sweating, and slipping, we later made it up to the viewpoint of the upper Georgiana Falls, also known as Harvard Falls, I guess? The naming of these cascades is a bit confusing. Apparently, this used to be fully unblazed and just a herd path, but the red blazes continued all the way up. The falls were beautiful! I was sure glad that we pushed on up. A bit further up was another viewpoint, and apparently you can scramble your way to the top of the falls here for a swimming hole and viewpoint, but we were in a cloud and I did not trust the slippery rocks - another time!

We hung out here just for a few minutes before starting the slow, careful trip down. Andrew found a small snake while relieving himself that we all said hello to, and we very carefully made our way down. Everyone was soaking wet, except for me! I was loving the umbrella and I fear I am now in the market for an ultralight one... Footing was dicey at best, but we had most success staying to the left hand side of the "trail."

We got a little off-trail near the crossing further down, but AllTrails came to save the day. There were a lot of criss-crossing herd paths, which made things a bit confusing. 

After the crossing it was smooth sailing! We followed the lovely road all the way back to our cars where we decided to not dry off (even Christien decided to stay in his wet jeans...) and head right to the Flume Gorge for hike #2 du jour! Thankfully, it was no more than five minutes down the road.

Step-by-Step

- From Trailhead, follow signs for Georgiana Falls, sometimes with very faded yellow blazes.

- When red blazes begin, follow red blazes.

- At Harvard Falls, turn around and retrace steps.

Photo Album