Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park, NH
Flume Gorge is by far our family’s favorite hike in the entire Northeast United States!
Stunning waterfalls, historic covered bridges, fun small caves and absolutely spectacular scenery! Flume Gorge completely blew us away on this breathtaking 2 mile loop through Franconia Notch State Park.
Flume Gorge Trail is especially great for families too! The path is easy, the dramatic scenery is constantly changing and there are a variety of fun natural features scattered throughout this trail that kids will love! Do they dare enter the “Bear Cave?” Can they wiggle their way through the “Wolf Den?” Will they be able to hold up the “Glacial Boulder?” These sites and more are conveniently located on the trail map that you can pick up in the visitor center. This is a great way to keep kids excited and engaged as they look forward to what they will discover next.
Click here to view the Flume Gorge Trail Map.
Short on Time?
Bookmark or Pin This for Later
Flume Gorge Ticket Information
Open Daily 9-4 (Closing October 23, 2022 for the winter season.)
During the Open Season, you will start your adventure at the check-in booth in front of the Flume Building. It is advised to make a reservation before arriving at the park. Reservations are limited per hour and per day. Visitors who do not have a reservation if the Flume is sold out will be turned away, and Flume Gorge frequently sells out, especially on weekends.
Let’s Begin Our Journey into the Spectacular Flume Gorge
Our Flume Gorge adventure began on this beautiful forest path right after checking in at the Flume building.
For us, we began hiking first thing in the morning, right when it opened. I highly recommend doing this! The air was cool, the sun sparkled as it shown through the trees and we had the trail almost completely to ourselves!
Historic Covered Bridge
After walking only a short distance down the forest path we came upon this historic covered bridge. It was built in 1866 and happens to be one of the oldest in the state of New Hampshire!
I was really excited to be able to walk through this covered bridge with my children! We had only seen one other covered bridge in the northeast so far and we drove-thru it. It was beautiful, but I felt that we didn’t have enough time to fully appreciate it. By walking through this covered bridge here on Flume Trail, we were able to take our time and really admire this beautiful historic structure.
Family Tip: This is a great time to talk to kids about covered bridges, why they were built and show them their unique construction.
Table Rock
Continuing on down the Flume Path lead us alongside this intriguing natural formation called “Table Rock.” Here there is a long section of flat, smooth rock that almost looks like it could be turned into a waterslide. Our kids loved imagining what that would be like!
Please note that the park advises all guests to stay on the trail. Do not go out onto these rocks, as they are extremely slippery. So, please keep all waterslide thoughts only in your head.
Table Rock is huge! It is 500 feet long and 75 feet wide. The trail continues alongside its length so you really get an appreciation for how big this natural feature is.
Entering The Flume
After you pass Table Rock on your left you will now find yourself entering The Flume!
Hiking Tip: From the Visitor Center to the Flume is 0.7 mile.
At this point in the hike my eyes began to grow wide and I found myself staring around in awe in every direction that I looked! Insanely green, moss covered rocks and ferns decorated our path as we came closer and closer to the narrowing walls that rose high above the creek bed just ahead.
My anticipation began growing. Then the boardwalk crossed from the right side of the gorge to the left and the walls rose up 90 feet in the air, leaving less than 20 feet between them! We were now entering into the heart of the gorge and it looked amazing!
Photography Tip: When the boardwalk moves across the gorge, this is a great angle to get a family picture. (See photo below.)
Flume Gorge
Flume Gorge is an amazing site!
As you can see, by going first thing in the morning on a weekday, we had the gorge completely to ourselves! I can’t even begin to describe how magical it feels, standing in this gorge, listening to the water rushing by, with just the people you came with. We were able to go at our own pace down this narrow boardwalk and fully immerse ourselves into the beauty of Flume Gorge, and it was wonderful!
Traveler Tip: Again, I highly recommend timing your hike away from peak hours if at all possible.
As we continued down the boardwalk, the walls quickly began to narrow around us. Soon only 12 feet separated the two towering walls of the gorge! Our path then began to climb as we headed toward the falls in front of us. The roar of the rushing water echoed loudly as we came closer. It’s amazing to think that this powerful water rushing past helped create this incredible gorge. At this point, I thought that we were exiting the gorge and that this would be the end of our incredible hike.
Boy, was I wrong! When we reached the top of the falls our path turned the corner and a whole new world of beauty opened up in front of us!
I felt like we had entered into another magical world!
Ok, as a side note, I am a sucker for really green moss and ferns. I don’t know why, I just think they make things look magical. And then you throw in a babbling brook and stunning waterfalls and I’ll admit it, I’m completely hooked.
This is another fantastic place for a family photo!
Photography Tip: Here the boardwalk crosses from the right side of Flume Brook to the left side and then the bridge in the picture above shows it crossing back again. This makes for a great head on shot of your family surrounding by some pretty spectacular scenery. (The only downside here is that the two bridges are pretty far apart so you won’t be able to get all of your group in the picture since someone will have to stay behind to take it.) Again, note the lack of people on a weekday morning!
Avalanche Falls
Flume Gorge Trail then continues past Avalanche Falls. This 45 foot falls creates a roaring sound as it enters the gorge and I found this really beautiful! The sunlight just seemed to dance upon the water as it fell down each tier in the rock face. And the boardwalk passes so close that you can feel its spray in the air.
Below is a picture looking back down the trail and into the gorge, where we just were.
Again, notice the lack of people on a weekday morning. I can’t emphasize enough how amazing it is to go outside of peak hours. I have heard that Flume Gorge is packed on the weekends and this would give a very different experience. Still incredibly beautiful, but definitely different. I think some of the peacefulness that we felt here would be lost if we had visited later in the day when there were crowds of people.
At this point, I really thought that we were coming to the end of our adventure on Flume Gorge Trail. I mean, we had already seen a historic covered bridge, the cool looking Table Rock and just walked through a spectacular gorge! What more could we ask for on just a 2 mile trail?
Then I looked at the map and saw “Bear Cave” was next. I wondered what that could be?
Bear Cave
After exiting the gorge, the first fun feature you will come to is Bear Cave. Our boys loved this little cave! And I loved it because it allowed our kids to have a minute to explore and have fun after walking on the boardwalk through the gorge.
I thought it was brilliant how this park named several of their natural features on the trail. Not only did this give our kids fun places to play and interact with nature, but it also gave our kids something to look forward to as they read the map to tell us what we should be looking for next.
After Bear Cave, your path will lead you downhill through a fun forest path where the light sparkles through the trees. This path will take you to Liberty Gorge. The turn off will be on your left as you near Cascade Brook.
Liberty Gorge
Take a look down into Liberty Gorge and find a beautiful cascading mountain stream that flows into a pool below.
Along this path you’ll also see some pretty cool mountain scenery on the way.
Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge
Shortly after Liberty Gorge the path leads you to Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge.
This historic covered bridge (one of the largest in the state at nearly 175 feet high) stood for centuries until the hurricane of 1938. During this hurricane, the giant pine (whose trunk upheld part of the bridge’s base) was uprooted. Fortunately today, you can walk across this wonderful covered bridge and find some amazing views of the pool below.
To see the view of the picture below, you will go across the bridge, past our next site (The Wolf Den) and continue down the path a little. At this point, don’t forget to turn around to get a view of this picturesque scene of Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge and The Pool.
The Wolf Den
Can you believe that we’re still not done with all of the great features and scenery that this incredible trail holds?
Let’s head to our next stop down the path, Glacial Boulders.
For Your Hike: (Our Favorites for Flume Gorge)
10 Traveling Feet is a participant of Amazon Associates which means means we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. I will only recommend products that I have found useful and have loved using with my family. Thank you for your support.
Glacial Boulders
Over 25,000 years ago, during the Glacial Period, a great sheet of ice more than one mile thick moved through this area. The mass of ice was so powerful that it moved both large and small boulders. As the ice sheet retreated it left these boulders, called glacial erratics.
Some of these boulders can be quite large, weighing over 300 tons.
These boulders can also make for some fun family pictures!
Aside from the amazing marked natural features along this trail, our family also loved looking at the cool trees and their roots! We were amazed at the unique ways that these trees here have struggled and found ways to survive.
How cool are these trees and their roots!
Family Tip: This is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about why they think the trees and their roots grew this way.
So, now we have finally come to the end of this incredible 2 mile trail.
And how does this trail end, you ask? With an incredible family photo spot!
A picture perfect background to wrap up this spectacular trail!
I hope you enjoyed this journey through Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire. Personally, I can’t think of another trail that is as jam-packed as Flume Gorge is with such diverse, spectacular scenery and fun natural features for everyone to enjoy!
Flume Gorge is our family’s favorite trail in the entire Northeast United States and I hope I’ve been able to inspire you to go and see it yourself with your own “Traveling Feet!”
If You Found This Post Helpful, Please Share / Pin It
