New Hampshire trails · Franconia Ridge
Franconia Ridge
A 4.5-mile network in New Hampshire, with 1,363 ft of climbing. Reaches Little Haystack Mountain and other summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 1,120 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Little Haystack Mountain (summit)
- Mount Lafayette (summit)
- Mount Lincoln (summit)
- Mount Flume (summit)
- Mount Liberty (summit)
Heads up
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:38 a.m., the sun rises at 6:08 a.m. and sets at 7:24 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:54 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 17 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 4.5-mile route takes roughly 2 h 21 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 8:28 a.m. — 10 h 56 min before sunset.
Loop options
- FRANCONIA RIDGE + Franconia Ridge Trail — 7.5 mi loop, 1,281 ft gain
- Flume Slide Trail + FLUME SLIDE + FRANCONIA RIDGE — 8.2 mi loop, 3,158 ft gain
- Franconia Ridge Trail + FRANCONIA RIDGE — 8.3 mi loop, 1,060 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Bondcliff — 2.9 mi
- Garfield Ridge — 3.7 mi
- Garfield Ridge Trail — 3.7 mi
- Twinway — 6.3 mi