Peak Bagging: Franconia Ridge Trail Loop (Little Haystack, Lincoln, + Lafayette)

Jul 6

WHAT. A. HIKE. (I say this in a good way). This 8.4 mile loop takes you up Falling Waters Trail to Little Haystack Mountain, then across the Franconia Ridge Trail to Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette, and down Greenleaf + Old Bridal Trails. You could do this in reverse, but an ascent on Falling Waters Trail was what All Trails recommended and I agree this was the better/easier way to complete the loop- Old Bridal and Greenleaf trails seemed a bit steeper and definitely required more rock scrambling.

Falling Waters Trail was such a beautiful trail because well, waterfalls! I started this hike at 4am when it was dark out but it started to get light out so I was still able to catch some waterfalls :) I did take two wrong turns as I wasn’t paying attention/the none-trail looked like a blazed trail, but I noticed before I had gone too far, oops. Also TG for All Trails because I was able to see where I needed to be! All Trails sponsor me… pls!! This trail was also not too steep until the end of it- I’d give it a moderate/hard rating.

I summited Little Haystack Mountain around 6:30am and then made my way along Franconia Ridge Trail to Lincoln and Lafayette. There was one group already on top of Little Haystack, and I saw a few other people along the ridge (mostly trail-runners). On my way down from Lafayette I saw a number of people as the weather had started to clear up. I was in clouds the entire time until I started heading down Lafayette- which was nice because I got a sick view of Cannon Mountain. It was sad to miss out on the views of the Presidential Range that the Franconia Ridge Trail is known for, but experiencing it in the clouds was still cool!

*The round-trip trail mileage for Mount Lafayette is 7.5 miles, so it could be worth it to have a slightly longer mileage, but slightly easier hike by doing this loop. Plus, 3 summits are better than 1!

PARKING

There is a sizable parking lot at the trailhead, and there is more parking across the street at the campground. Beyond that, overflow parking is at Exit 34B I believe, by Cannon.

MILEAGE

The loop is 8.4 miles.

ELEVATION

Little Haystack 4,760′, Mount Lincoln 5,089’, Mount Lafayette 5,249’

”Although well over 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in height, the Appalachian Mountain Club doesn't consider Little Haystack a "four-thousand footer" because it stands less than 200 ft (61 m) above the col on the ridge from Lincoln”. (Wikipedia)

TERRAIN

The Falling Waters Trail is a pretty standard trail with roots and rocks but nothing too much to have to scramble over, and I would say the trail is at its steepest the closer you get to the summit. The Franconia Ridge Trail is pretty easy to walk along and fairly gradual to the Lincoln and Lafayette summits. The Greenleaf Trail and Old Bridal trails are both quite rocky and steep.