stuff to do in the central/southern whites

Going up to Campton NH for a long weekend and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for stuff to do. We always do storyland for the kids and we hit Echo Lake at Cannon also. any suggestions for an easy hike (ok with two little kids maybe more like a walk). Any ideas would be great. The place we stay at has an indoor rec center but driving that far to hang by a pool gets a bit old.

Climb Washington?

Presi traverse?

Marc said:

Presi traverse?

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lol, i guess i wasnt clear enough.

stuff to do in the central whites with a 2.5 year old and a 4 year old.

maybe the cog railway though.

2knees said:

lol, i guess i wasnt clear enough.

stuff to do in the central whites with a 2.5 year old and a 4 year old.

maybe the cog railway though.

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Do the Auto Road, the Cog is a ripoff

The Lincoln Woods Trail, it is flat and has nice areas to watch the Pemi River. With the non stop rain it will be roaring!

It is on Route 112, head East from Lincoln, pass Loon Ski Area, it will be on your left three or so miles from there and after you cross the bridge over the Pemi.

http://www.cog-railway.com/indexa1.htm

$59 per adult, $39 per child. Pricey, but looks pretty cool.

Auto road would cost you $27 ($20 for car and driver, $7 additional adult, kids 4 and under are free). The drive is an adventure in itself.

Glen Ellis Falls on RT 16 is alright for little kids.

http://www.newenglandwaterfalls.com/waterfall.php?name=Glen Ellis Falls

I'd suggest the Lincoln Woods trail off of the Kancamagus highway just after you get into the WMNF. Relatively flat with some nice views of the river, and Franconia Falls is around 3 miles in.

I was going to do the Auto Road a few weeks ago, but Mt. Washington was in clouds and I didn't want to drive in the fog...the Cog is nice but you don't get much time at the summit.

If you are going by Storyland, make the trip further north to Wildcat and get a ride on the Zip Rider...a bit expensive but worth doing it at least once IMO.

Flume gorge? Its right there before Cannon.

Take the Loon gondola to the top, and explore the bolder caves they have, or climb the fire tower for an excellent view. For tourist stuff, Clark Traiding Post is cool for little kids with bear shows and a train ride. Lost River is very nice for kids with lots of bolder caves to explore off the main walkway. Ellacoya State beach is a nice family beach on Winnipesaukee in Gilford http://www.nhstateparks.com/ellacoya.html.

The Lincoln Woods trail and Glen Ellis Falls are exactly what i was looking for Thanks!

We always take the Kanc. to get to Storyland and I've seen a bunch of trailheads along the road. wasnt sure what they were like though.

Johnskismore, i looked at the forecast on NWS and it seems like a washout for the next few days. Is that what the local weather people are saying also?

2knees said:

The Lincoln Woods trail and Glen Ellis Falls are exactly what i was looking for Thanks!

We always take the Kanc. to get to Storyland and I've seen a bunch of trailheads along the road. wasnt sure what they were like though.

Johnskismore, i looked at the forecast on NWS and it seems like a washout for the next few days. Is that what the local weather people are saying also?

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So far yes, Sunday seems to be the next mostly sunny day. Hopefully this will change and we'll have some more sunshine

cbcbd said:

Flume gorge? Its right there before Cannon.

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Is that the water park??? I know there is a waterpark somewhere near Loon

The Auto Road up Washington is a must do if you've never done it. I think you can probably find chairlift or gondola/tram rides at Loon, Cranmore, Attitash, Wildcat, Cannon, BW, etc. Your 4 yeard old would love a chairlift ride and it will probably get her psyched for skiing to boot. Hold on to her! :-o Mom and the little will need to hang at the base though.

There are some nice hikes off the Kanc like up Potash Mountain (pot ash :lol, but I think it's like 2 miles one way or something so it might be a bit much for your 4 year old. Unless you have a few kid packs you can carry them up. Not sure if that's your (or your wife's) thing, but Potash has great view for minimal effort. I have one you could borrow. Another short hike with great views is up Middle Sugarloaf in Twin Mountain (north of Bretton Woods). Still it's a hike, not a walk.

The Lincoln Woods trail is easy hiking, but it's basically just an old railroad bed through the woods. Not overly exciting and you could do something like that at home. I've seen moose in there, probably not this time of year though. Maybe see if there are rail trail systems up there and bring your bikes. My kids love the bike trailer, but again, that's something you can do at home.

White Lake State Park has a great swimming area, playground and views of Chocura and Sandwich Range. You could easily kill a half day there playing on the beach with the kids. You could kill the rest of the day strolling around the outlets in North Conway (I hate that crap, but I do my husband duties when needed).

Here's another good site with tons of ideas:

http://www.mtwashingtonvalley.org/attractions.cfm

Beetlenut said:

Take the Loon gondola to the top, and explore the bolder caves they have, or climb the fire tower for an excellent view. For tourist stuff, Clark Traiding Post is cool for little kids with bear shows and a train ride. Lost River is very nice for kids with lots of bolder caves to explore off the main walkway. Ellacoya State beach is a nice family beach on Winnipesaukee in Gilford http://www.nhstateparks.com/ellacoya.html.

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I didnt know about the Loon thing. this sounds really cool too. We've done the Trading post and the train ride but my older one freaked cause there is a wolf that kinda pops out during the train ride. Kids are wimps. lol.

thanks everyone for all this.

this place is better then a Froemers guide.

2knees said:

The Lincoln Woods trail and Glen Ellis Falls are exactly what i was looking for Thanks!

We always take the Kanc. to get to Storyland and I've seen a bunch of trailheads along the road. wasnt sure what they were like though.

Johnskismore, i looked at the forecast on NWS and it seems like a washout for the next few days. Is that what the local weather people are saying also?

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If you are looking for more easy trails off of the Kanc, you can try the walk to Sabbaday Falls or the Lovequist Loop trail. Our 4-month old puppy handled those without any problems...

On the way up or the way back, you could check out the Polar Caves in Rumney, right near Plymouth.

I'd highly recommend the Flume Gorge as well. That place is pretty cool.

Northwest end of Lake Winnipesaukee with Weirs Beach right there is also a fun idea too. They've got the beach at The Weir's, Weir's Beach Waterslide, the "old school" penny arcades there with skee ball as well as modern games, if it's raining they have the indoor version of the arcades up the road towards Meredith at The Funspot, and you could also always take the lake tour on the M/S Mount Washington: http://www.cruisenh.com/

When it comes to Central NH attractions, I'm kind of Winnipesaukee biased as my grandparents have lived on the lake for over 35 years

GrilledSteezeSandwich said:

Is that the water park??? I know there is a waterpark somewhere near Loon

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I guess one could jump in the falls and go for a ride... with painful results

http://www.visitnh.gov/flume/index.html