Franconia Notch State Park

June 15-18, 2025

I left Danbury Sunday, June 15 and drove to New Hampshire. My first stop was at Lafayette Place Campground in Franconia Notch State Park for four nights. Lafayette Place is a nice campground, completely wooded other than the clearing for the campsites and related campground things like visitor center and a playground for kids. The campsites are private, all surrounded by trees. Each has a fire ring and a picnic table. There are no hookups (water, electric, sewer). There is water available at locations throughout the campground to fill bottles, but there is no “RV” station for dumping waste or filling tanks with fresh water. The driveways for each varies. Some are level, many are not. Some are huge, big enough to fit a forty-foot setup, while others can fit only a car. My spot, #42, had a pitch that I was able to alter by use of my “levelers” to some extent, but the van is still not quite level. I do not recall if the reservation website (Reserve America) makes any indication as to site criteria such as driveway pitch. The federal system (Recreation.gov) does provide this kind of information for some its campgrounds.

There is a paved bike trail that runs the length of the state park. It is 8.8 miles long officially, and it goes adjacent to I-93, which happens to run through the park as well. It is the only place I have ever seen where the interstate has just one lane going in each direction. The bike path is through wooded land mostly. The state park is surrounded by White Mountains National Forest. The area overall is a hiker’s paradise with many trails heading up into high peaks, in the 4K-5K feet range, such as Cannon Mountain (4180’) on the west side of the park and Mount Lafayette (5260’) on the east side. One thing this means is that while riding or hiking along this trail one has some fantastic, inspirational views.

Cannon Mountain

 I did two rides while here, one on Monday afternoon, one on Tuesday morning. The trail has some age to it. It has some bumpy sections due to frost heaves and root growth beneath it, but the bumps are not at all extreme. It is also quite hilly, several up and down sections, some quite steep, and it has a lot of curvature. I rode the trail north until it ended about five miles from the campground. From there I went on Route 3 and rode another six miles before turning around at a picnic area. There’s a good shoulder on the road. On Tuesday morning, the forecast said showers around noon, but they came early. I left camp around 8:30AM. The rain began around 9:45, about fifteen minutes before I arrived back at my campsite. I was wet but not soaked to the skin. I dried off, put on dry cloths, and all was fine.

I met up with my friend Linda while here. She has been traveling the country in her twenty-five foot Class C RV, Gilbert. We met in December 2023 at Organ Pipe National Monument near Ajo, Arizona and have stayed in touch, meeting up a couple times when in proximity. She is a seasoned hiker and had done the hikes up the mountains I mentioned, prior to my arrival. I would like to do them, but due to my recent Achilles tendon issue, mentioned in my last post, I am holding off on strenuous hikes into areas that are more or less remote. I hope to return to that kind of hiking soon.

Linda and I did a short hike on the paved trail from the campground to an area called The Basin, followed by a half mile of rock and root laden uphill to Kinsman Falls. This was  “test hike” for me, as it had a combination of distance (about four miles round-trip) and terrain (plenty of hills, some with roots and steep gradients), so this would require more extensive use of the tendon. You probably don’t realize how much you use your Achilles tendon until you injure it. Dr. Sealy at OrthoConnecticut told me it is the most utilized tendon in the body. The hike did not present any issues in terms of tendon use.

Linda at the River

The Basin is an area where the River flows swiftly through carved granite. There are many waterfalls. The water has formed some unique pathways through the rock over the past 25,000 years. It is an amazing task, carving out features that remind one of bowls and bobsled trails. Rock is hard, but water is patient. The hike up to Kinsman is along the Cascade Brook for much of the way. The brook basically runs over an extended area of exposed granite along this half mile. There is no dirt riverbed. There are waterfalls all along the way, and one can walk out on the granite, looking up and downstream at rushing water. It is also amazing to see trees growing out of the granite. Somehow, they find the nutrients and anchoring they need to grow and maintain life. It’s amazing.

It’s all quite amazing …

I am leaving this morning, heading to Hastings Campground in Maine. It is in the White Mountain National Forest on Route 113, also known as Evans Notch Road, near the small town of Gilead, Maine. Gilead is about midway between Gorham, NH and Bethel, ME.