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A Day Hike on Cannon Mountain New Hampshire's White Mountains |
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This day hike involved going along the Lonesome Lake Trail to the High Cannon Trail to the Kinsman Ridge Trail to the summit of Cannon Mountain, returning with a side trip to Lonesome Lake via the Cascade Brook Trail:
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The starting point for this hike was the parking lot at Layfayette Campground off of Franconia Notch Parkway (Interstate 93). If you are coming from the south (Boston, southern New Hampshire), you cannot take a left turn into Layfayette Campground and you will need to go up to the Tramway exit and reverse direction. Once in the campground take your first left and head into the parking area. You will need to cut across the campground on foot to reach the start of the Lonesome Lake Trail on the western side.
The Lonesone Lake Trail is heavily used and very easy to follow. There is a slight upward pitch to the trail but it is not steep at any point along its route. It does start to get slightly more steep as it approaches the junction with the High Cannon Trail. At the junction the High Cannon Trail will go to the right (north) and the Lonesome Lake Trail will continue to the west. Take the High Cannon Trail to go to the summit of Cannon Mountain and stay on the Lonesome Lake Trail to go to Lonesome Lake. You can still get to the summit of Cannon Mountain once you are at Lonesome Lake by following the Cascade Brook Trail to the High Cannon Trail.
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Once you are on the High Cannon Trail you will notice the trail becoming steeper and steeper as you progress along it. After about 0.2 miles along the trail you will come to a series of very nice overlooks of Franconia Notch and the peaks of Franconia Ridge (Mounts Layfayette & Lincoln and Little Haystack Mountain) on the other side of the notch. Following these overlooks the trail will enter into a couple of long switchbacks as it continues to climb higher and higher towards the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail and the top of Cannon Mountain. There is a huge ladder at the top of the switchback section that anyone with a fear of heights may have a problem with.
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Beyond the ladder there are some additional nice overlooks of Franconia Notch as well as some magnificent views of Lonesome Lake. The trail climbs less steeply now as it approaches the junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail. The Kinsman Ridge Trail itself is even less steep as it climbs towards the Lookout Tower at the top of Cannon Mountain.
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We rested, ate some snacks and warmed ourselves up in the cafeteria at the top end of the tramway. We spent probably close to an hour on top before starting back down again. On the way down we went towards the right at the junction with the Cascade Brook Trail, below the ladder and the switchbacks, and followed that to Lonesome Lake. After a short stop at the lake to take in the view and also take some photos, we followed the Lonesome Lake Trail back to Lafayette Campground.
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