Woodstock, Mt. Washington, and Franconia State Park

Nate and I went on a mini vacation! We went camping in the North Conway New Hampshire area and saw some of the sights! This was a cool vacation in which we had no time constraints and were able to stop off at any places that looked exciting! 

 

 

Woodstock, NH
Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves - Really cool!!! This is a boardwalk hike with caves along the way. You can cut through the path using the caves to get to the next portion of boardwalk, or you can skip the cave and walk ahead. The caves are very fun! It is well taken care of and there are also informational plaques(?) along the trail. One of the caves was tight, and wear clothes that you don't mind getting a little dirty. You are brushing up on the sides of some of the caves or sliding along on your belly. It is next to a river and waterfalls so it is a little damp (aka caves!!). 

 

Dilly Cliff Trail - Access it in the Lost River parking lot. It is a 1/2 mile hike and climbs 700 feet. That means it is a fairly steep hike. It is over rocks so wear the right shoes. I work Tevas and was fine. But sneakers would have been safer. We took about an hour.
 

Mt. Washington
 Pinkham Notch- This is the base for many Mt. Washington hikes (Tuckerman's Ravine). We stopped in and walked up to the Crystal Cascades to check out the waterfalls! This is a 10 minute, .3 mile walk up the trail, small incline over rocks. 

Mt. Washington Auto Road - There are many options to get to the summit of Mt Washington: train, hike, drive, or guided tours. We chose to drive up ourselves. Wow! Scary drive up! The road is a very narrow and you are on the edge of the cliff. It is two lane traffic so you have to pull off to the side at times. The entrance fee includes an audio CD that details the creation of the auto road and some of Mt Washington's history/geography. Bring a jacket, it is cold and windy up top! This is a very intense mountain and the weather can change at any moment so prepare well. If you don't like narrow roads this might not be the drive for you.

Franconia Notch State Park

Flume Gorge - We did the 2 mile loop. It starts with a dirt path, through a covered bridge, and then follows a boardwalk style hike (stairs too) and then goes back to dirt path. There are areas that are dirt paths as you go along. It was very pretty area with lots of waterfalls and mossy rocks. Bring bug spray. The top link is to the State Park website that doesn't have lots of information, if you want more start with some of the reviews on Yelp or Trip Advisor.

The Basin- This was one of the unplanned stops along the way. We parked in the lot off the highway and it was a 20 minute short walk along some very pretty rocky waterfalls and river.

Food
Woodstock Inn Station and Brewery - Lots of filling food options. We had the slider sampler, nachos, and pulled pork sandwiches (we went twice... !). Great pulled pork! Reasonably priced and fast service. Ability to eat inside or outside. I didn't have any of the beers, but Nate did and said it was tasty.