New Hampshire

Explore the beautiful nature of New Hampshire!

New Hampshire has famous scenic drives, amazing hiking and fun family activities. People sleep on New Hampshire sometimes for other, more popular New England states, but we feel New Hampshire has a lot to offer!

This trip took place July 2021.

Check out our full vlog below, where we visited all the rest of the New England States! West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont!

During our time in New Hampshire, we:

Conway, NH Hiking

We were so surprised by the beauty of New Hampshire – a highly underrated state! From rushing waterfalls to scenic covered bridges, to crystal clear water and sweeping views – this state, and the scenic drive along the famous Kancamagus Highway has it all!

After leaving Ogunquit we drove the 2 hours up just past Conway, New Hampshire to a hike called ‘Dianas Baths‘. It has a parking lot that fits about 50 cars, and it was nearly full when we arrived. The hike is just over a mile and relatively flat. Although it was crowded, this was a great hike. The forest you walk through is really beautiful, and then you come across a cascading waterfall at the end. You can walk up the various tiers of the waterfall and even out onto the rocks. The most fun (or scary, depending…) thing that is there is a small hole that you can jump into…. You can’t see the bottom, or what’s in the water, nothing! My husband watched a few people do it first, then he tried. He’s really tall and didn’t touch the bottom. I personally find the whole thing claustrophobic and terrible, but he thought it was fun.  (video of this in our vlog if you want to see!)

Next, we took a short drive up to the Cathedral Ledge Lookout. It’s a gorgeous view over a big rock face with lake and forest in the distance. If you want a bit more adventure, you can park at Echo Lake and hike up to the overlook which is about 3 miles and 700ft elevation. The lake also has some nice picnic spots as well, but we just didn’t have enough time.

For our lunch, we headed back into Conway and stopped at the Swift River Covered Bridge. There were 2 picnic tables on the bridge itself, so we enjoyed getting a great view for our picnic. There are lots of great looking restaurants in the area too if you’re interested in picking up food, or eating in.

Kancamagus Highway

Right from Conway, you can jump on the famous Kancamagus Highway. This road winds through the White Mountains National Forest and spans 35 miles from Conway to Lincoln. This is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. I’m sure in the fall, with the changing leaves, it would be even better. You could drive this in an hour… but what fun would that be?! Make sure you account for stops along the way. In total, it took us at least 5 hours…and we could have spent more time. Many of the stops have small parking lots and we were worried about them filling up, but we were luckily able to get parking spots at each location.

I’d highly recommend writing out each place you want to stop, and the distance between them, so you are prepared and ready to make a turn into the lot, because they come up quickly and you really can’t turn around easily and go back. Below, I’ll list all the stops we made in order from Conway to Lincoln. This is a super fun day for the whole family! There are also many other longer hikes you can do in the area, but we mostly kept to the shorter, easy hikes on this day.

Albany Covered Bridge

This is another, of the many covered bridges you’ll see. This one has a nice parking lot where you can get out and walk across the bridge, or even under it, along the rocky shores near the beautiful river.

Swift River Lower Falls Scenic Area

This was one of the prettiest stops we made. It’s a great place for a picnic, with tables around the area. Like many of the stops along the way, you can explore the river and walk along the rocks.

Rocky Gorge Scenic Area

This is similar to the Swift River area, but had a bit more rocky area to go on. You can also even swim in this area if you’re up for it! The water is chilly! It also has plenty of space to sit on the rocks, or check out the fairly large waterfall in the area as well.

Russell-Colbath Historic Site

I don’t remember all the history behind this stop, but it was a historic site where you could see an old house, barn, garden and graveyard. This wasn’t a must visit for us, but was worth a stop if you’re ok on time.

Sabbaday Falls

This is a GREAT stop if you want good bang for your buck. It’s a very easy, and beautiful 0.7mi walk through a beautiful forest, and at the end, you can walk along some nice steps to see a cascading waterfall. The steps go up along side the waterfall so you can see at different angles and make stops at the various tiers. The area is so green and lush – it’s a great stop.

Sugar Hill Scenic Vista and Pemigewassat Overlook

These next two are overlooks where you park the car and walk straight to the overlook. Both have sweeping views of the forests and mountains in the distance. They are easy, quick stops! You can also just grab a seat at one of the benches and enjoy the view.

Tips for driving the Kancamagus!
  1. Food – There are no restaurants on the drive, so make sure to pickup supplies for a picnic along the way, since it may take a few hours to drive. There are lots of picnic benches and great places to enjoy a meal
  2. Cell Service – there is minimal, if any cell phone coverage, so prepare for that. And, as I mentioned before – know where you are going and mark the locations on the map, so you don’t miss a turn out.
  3. Gas Station – There are no gas stations along the way. It’s only 35 miles or so, but you don’t want to accidently run out along the way!
  4. Parking – You’ll buy a pass for $5 or so at your first stop and can use the pass all day
  5. Restrooms – there are portapotties and some primitive bathrooms in some of the various stops along the way, but not all stops have them

Loon Mountain Ski Resort and Lincoln NH

For our overnight stop, we stayed at the Loon Mountain Ski Resort. It was fun to stay at a ski resort in the summer, because it had lots of activities to do! There was a zip line, a gondola and basketball courts, among other things. We tried out a few things before heading to a wonderful dinner at the Common Man Restaurant. The food here was incredible and the whole place had a great vibe – with fireplaces and comfy chairs and so on. We loved this dinner and would highly recommend.

Flume Gorge

On our way our of New Hampshire, we made one final stop for a very popular hike, for good reason – Flume Gorge. It gets crowded because of the popularity so they’ve now begun requiring advanced reservations with time slots picked in advance and a cost associated with the hike. We booked our tickets the day before and were still able to get a good time, but it may be better to book further in advance. It was a bit pricey – and I don’t love paying for a hike, and this one was $20! Was it worth it…. I’m not sure. We did really enjoy this hike but, thats a lot of money.

The hike itself is 2.2 miles and 462ft of elevation. It’s a really beautiful hike, through a large natural gorge with a waterfall through the center of it. For part of it, you will walk along a raised pathway through the gorge. It’s kind of amazing and also a bit scary maybe, as the wooden planks are attached to the rock face. Along the path, you’ll see huge granite walls that stretch 75+ feet tall, and are only 12-20 feet wide.

Overall, we had a great time in New Hampshire, and if you get a chance to visit during a trip to the area, you should absolutely make a stop here!

Like this guide? Let us plan your next adventure!

If you need a custom travel itinerary for your next trip, get in touch here!