Flume Gorge New Hampshire Hike Guide
Flume Gorge is an 800 foot natural gorge in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Whether you are retired or a small child, this hike is accessible to almost everyone and one of the popular tourist destinations in New Hampshire. If you are visiting New Hampshire and are looking for ideas, most likely you have heard of Flume Gorge or had someone recommend it to you. This is a short hike with several other beautiful destinations along the way including the Liberty Gorge, a covered bridge and the Wolf Den a narrow one way trail that takes hikers through a small hole in the rocks.
Flume Gorge Quick Facts
Flume Gorge Rating: ★★★★ ★(5/5 Stars)
Distance: 2.54 Miles (Includes some additional hiking – Flume Gorge itself is about 2 Miles RT)
Elevation Start: 1,255 ft
Highest Point: 1,570 ft
Total Elevation Gain: 535 ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 1-2 Hours Total
Difficulty: Walk In the Park What does this mean?
Class: Class 1 – What does this mean?
Season: May – December (expect snow outside of this period)
Directions to Flume Gorge
Trailhead: Flume Gorge
Getting Here: From 93: Take exit 34A towards The Flume Gorge/Park Information Center
You can enter in Flume Path into your favorite navigational device.
Fees: $16 per person, Children 6-12: $5, Children 5 & Under: Free
Parking: Parking for Flume Gorge is easy. There are several large parking lots at the entrance of the park. During a weekend and even on some weekdays, Flume Gorge can get extremely busy. If you want a more secluded hike, try visiting during off hours (early morning or later in the afternoon). There are restrooms at the visitor’s center along with a gift shop and a food court.
Summary
Camping: While no camping is allowed at Flume Gorge, there are a ton of campsites in the area. View this page for more information.
Dogs: The hike up Flume Gorge does not allow dogs.
Make it a Loop: The hike up to Flume Gorge is a one way out and back hike. However, if you want to extend your trip, there are several other sights along a slightly bigger loop. View a complete map of the park here. Instead of going right back down the rim path, I would recommend taking the ridge path to see other sights.
Trail X Factors: Side Attractions & Crowds
Most people visit The Flume Gorge for the short out and back hike up the Flume itself, turn around, then leave. However, if you do that, you are missing some of the best parts of the park in my opinion. Take the Ridge Path down to enjoy several other secluded spots, awesome views and side attractions to take full advantage of the hike.
Crowds will be your second x-factor to this hike. In the busy summer months, during peak hours (basically the middle of the day), the Flume Gorge can get swamped. You will be hard pressed to get pictures without people in them, let alone enjoy the hike without feeling rushed. If you want to avoid this, head to the park during early morning hours or later in the afternoon, preferably on a week day.
Hike Tip(s): Since you have already paid $16+ to visit the park, you might as well take advantage of all the other sites outside of the Flume Gorge. Take the Ridge Path back towards the parking lot where you will pass a large waterfall, a covered bridge, The Liberty Gorge (another big gorge in the park) and for those who are not claustrophobic, check out the Wolf Den. This is a narrow one way trail that forces you to crawl on your knees to get through the small hole in the rock formation.
Best Views: The Flume Gorge trail is full of fantastic views. Outside of the Flume itself, hike down the Ridge Path to see a covered bridge, waterfall, and some more boulders from the ice age. If you like waterfalls and pictures of them, you picked the right hike!
Flume Gorge Hike Route
Shows complete loop of all trails in the park
Gear Needed
- Men’s Trail Runners
- Women’s Trail Runners
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Boots (Men’s)
- La Sportiva Trango Hiking Booths (Women’s)
- Backpack
- Food & Water
- Bug spray
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Hiking Poles
- Optional: Headlamp
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: Camera and Lens
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod
- *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.
Our Trip to Flume Gorge: June 2018
Growing up in southern New Hampshire, I visited the Flume Gorge a lot. As most people know, Franconia Notch used to be home of the Old Man on the Mountain which was the iconic “mascot” of New Hampshire until it slid off Canon Mountain in 2003. Since this popular hike was so close, it made for a nice side trip when people came to visit the Old Man. It’s funny how so many things about your home state change over the years, but nature remains exactly the same.
We arrived to the parking lot around 10AM and since it was a week day, the crowds were pretty mellow. This hike can get extremely busy in the popular tourism months of June, July and August. We paid our SIXTEEN dollar entry fee and began the hike into the park. Although it was nice to make Flume Gorge accessible to basically everyone, it killed me inside to see that they offered a shuttle for the .3 mile to the base of the Flume Gorge trail.
Photography has become one of my favorite parts of hiking, in particular long exposure water shots. As we approached the start of the Flume Gorge, I tried to space ourselves from other hikers so that no one would get in the shot. When we arrived to the wooden staircases that lined the Flume Gorge, I had a nice gap to snap some long exposure pictures before the people behind us caught up.
As a little kid, the massive granite cliffs and raging river always made me feel like a tiny spec in the universe. Fifteen plus years later, everything seemed much smaller. It wasn’t that The Flume Gorge wasn’t awesome, I just remember the hike through the canyon to be much longer with taller cliffs. We hiked up towards Avalanche Falls, enjoying the views of the rushing water through the canyon. In all honesty, Avalanche Falls is definitely the crown jewel of the Flume Gorge. The small waterfall had a heavy flow of water which made for another good photo opportunity.
The hike through Flume Gorge was very short and we had paid a hefty entrance fee, so we decided to extend our visit by taking the Ridge Path back to the car. I am happy we did because shortly after leaving Avalanche Falls, we encountered another beautiful waterfall along the trail. After the second waterfall, we entered into Liberty Gorge, the less popular but equally beautiful gorge in the park. We took in views from the Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge and continued on along the path. Next, we explored the small side trail the Wolf Den. I didn’t remember this from previous visits but it was a short path that squeezed us through a series of small cracks in between boulders. The final section was about 4 square feet wide and made for an interesting visual as both Jackie and I squirmed through the tiny opening.
The remainder of the hike was quiet and uneventful, we reached the visitors’ center about 10 minutes after leaving the Wolf Den. Although the entrance fee was much higher than I remember, I was glad that I was able to share The Flume Gorge with Jackie. It is a neat spot to check out if you have a couple of hours to kill in the White Mountains and want a family friendly hike. I would recommend visiting The Flume Gorge during off hours (early morning or later afternoon) to enjoy the views with less people.
