Join us as we try to hit all the most popular tourist destinations in Crawford Notch in a single day. Including Mt. Willard, Arethusa Falls, Ripley falls and more!
We began our day with a hike up Mt. Willard. This super popular destination is a relatively easy hike with a major payoff. I would also highly recommend this hike for people just getting into hiking as a first big adventure. Just find the train station, that will no doubt be surrounded by cars, and cross the tracks to find the trail head.
We took this hike labor day weekend and we were rarely alone. At the top was a consistent 20 plus people at any given minute, so be prepared for the crowds. Most of the hike is an uneventful slog up a relatively steep incline on a dirt and rock path. The one feature worth mentioning is a tiny waterfall named Centennial pool. You can't miss it, as it's directly on the trail.
The view from the top of Mt Willard is absolutely stunning. The cliff is wide enough to accommodate the large number of people who congregate here so don't worry too much about space for taking photos. It was cloudy and rainy off and on throughout the day we went, but I will definitely be back for some Fall Foliage photos at some point.
My video includes a time warp of our descent where you can get a pretty good feel for the number of other hikers you'll share the trail with. We never felt crowded despite the numbers and it really was the perfect way to start the day.
Once we made it back to the sign post at the trail head we took a left up the Cascade trail. Only minutes up the trail you will find two named cascades. When hiking Mt Willard you shouldn't skip these if you are a fan of waterfalls. We passed the first cascade and headed straight for the upper one. The "Pearl Cascade" was less than impressive when we arrived. New Hampshire was just getting over a drought and the rain during our trip didn't really help all that much. Maybe this is normally nicer so I'll return next year!
Luckily our second cascade was a much better pay off! "Beecher Cascade" had a pretty good flow to it that day. It definitely wasn't at its peak but it was still visually pleasing. Several downed trees ruined any direct sight lines but over all I was content to see one of the two flowing.
Both Cascades require a short hike down a trail to view them. So even though Beecher Cascade comes up first, I recommend going to see Pearl Cascade first instead. This way you can hike straight down from Beecher without having to hike back up. All in, this detour hike took us less than 20 minutes round trip. After crossing back over the train tracks we noticed even more cars had parked. We arrived at the trail around 8am and parking was essentially full along the roadside, so arrive early!
Just south of Mt. Willard are two more Cascades. These are much larger than the last two and have ample roadside parking. The Flume Cascade is the first you'll come across... this is not to be confused with the Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch. The Second is Silver Cascade. Both are relatively impressive and make for a quick stop.
We may have skipped breakfast in our excitement to scale Mt. Willard. So our next stop was the Willey House for a snack. This was once the sight of an early road side attraction but is currently the home of a gift and snack shop! The food here is nothing to rave about (I had a slice of pizza) but it's better than nothing. The gift shop was your usual smattering of choochkies.
The original house was beset by a terrible storm that caused a massive land slide. The family fled the house to escape, only to be consumed in the slide. Meanwhile the house remained untouched as the landslide maneuvered around it! Enterprising family members began advertising it as "The house God spared". All that remains is this foundation and plaque.
Our next big stop was Ripley Falls. A super popular hike for a reason, this is a relatively short hike with a great water fall. There were two steep sections but most of this trail is easy and it's only about half a mile round trip! This trail connects to several others but we parked and only hiked to the falls out and back. You can hike from here all the way to Arethusa falls if you wanted to but I hear that hike isn't really worth it.
Several people had also just finished repelling down the fall when we arrive. I'm sad I missed that, it would have looked awesome on film! That said, I guess that's another activity to do here as well. We stopped to admire Ripley falls as long as we could but we were already starting to lose the sun and we had another trail!
We finished our day in Crawford notch by visiting Arethusa Falls. This trail was definitely the longest of the day, and by the time we got here we were pretty exhausted. This trail was similar to Mt Willard but involved multiple ascents and descents which made it feel longer than it really was. Also, the number of stairs and stair like features were a slog.
You begin in a parking lot bordering private property. Don't cross into their yard! That said, we had a great conversation with the home owner who seems real knowledgeable about the amazing hikes in his backyard. From this spot you get an awesome view of the Frankenstein Cliffs. Both online and from people on the trail, I was told repeatedly that they aren't worth hiking up.
Arethusa Falls itself was badly affected by the drought in New Hampshire this summer. The water flow was incredibly low but this isn't unheard of. If you look up photos from the spring you can see just how incredible this waterfall can really be! That said, it's still the tallest waterfall in New Hampshire and I'm happy I got to visit.
My photo has no scale but I assure you this thing is massive. If you watch my video above you can see some people in the shot to give you perspective. That said, there were a TON of people hanging out here so any photography was pretty rough. We had a long rest here but the sun was really starting to drop in the sky. The return trail has 2 additional waterfalls on the other fork of the trail that we wanted to see.
After descending what might be the steepest trail I've ever been on... and on loose rocks and roots, we arrived at Bemis Falls. The lower water level made this look so incredibly different from what I've seen online I was shocked. Luckily it still had a very cool aesthetic that I seriously enjoyed.
The rich copper colors of the rocks and water is awesome and the light was perfect.
Getting out of here to head back further on the trail was the real issue. This is a seriously rough area, I'm not sure how often this waterfall is really visited compared to Arethusa. There are a lot of rocks to scramble on and trees to squeeze through. My face definitely got whacked pretty good by various vegetation while leaving :)
The final waterfall of the day was a small one named Coliseum falls. This is a real visual stunner despite it's small size. The coloration of the rocks and their erosion are so dramatically different from Bemis Falls that it's hard to believe this is the same stream! After taking a few photos we limped back to the car to head back to the hotel.
Over all, I was highly impressed with Crawford Notch. It would probably be best to split it into two days for the average person. Due to my limited time off I always jam way too much into a single day! The collection of waterfalls here is impressive and the view from Mt. Willard is one of my favorite. It's also a great central location that gives you easy access to Mt. Washington, North Conway, the Kancamagus Highway and more. Next time you're in the White Mountains you should definitely spend a little time here in Crawford Notch.
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