Flume Gorge

The Flume Gorge is a 800-foot granite gorge at the base of Mount Liberty, in the south end of Franconia Notch State Park. You see it on a 2-mile loop that starts at the Flume visitor center in Lincoln and takes about 1.5 hours. The walls rise 70 to 90 feet and stand only 12 to 20 feet apart, and a wooden boardwalk runs up the middle beside Flume Brook. It is open from early May to late October and charges an entry fee. Prices, reservations and hours are on our Flume Gorge tickets page.

What the Flume Gorge Walk Is Like

The loop is a self-guided walk, not a hike in the backcountry sense. NH State Parks describes the path as mostly packed gravel with boardwalk sections, moderate uphill walking and a lot of stairs inside the gorge. Wear shoes with grip. The boardwalk and stairs stay damp from the brook and the mist, and the state warns that the rocks at Table Rock are slippery.

There is only one way to do it this year. The Short Trail and Rim Path are closed, so every visitor walks the full 2-mile loop and finishes back at the Flume building. Plan on about 1.5 hours, more if you stop at every sign.

What You See Along the Loop, in Order

1. The Flume Covered Bridge. Built in 1886 across the Pemigewasset River and restored several times, it is one of the oldest covered bridges in New Hampshire. Pemigewasset means "swift or rapid current" in the Abenaki language.
2. Table Rock. A slab of Conway granite about 500 feet long and 75 feet wide that Flume Brook has worn bare. Stay on the trail here.
3. The gorge itself. The walls close in to 12 to 20 feet apart for 800 feet, and the boardwalk is hung above the brook so you can look straight down into the water. Ferns, mosses and flowers grow out of the cracks.
4. Avalanche Falls. At the top of the gorge, a 45-foot waterfall pours in so close to the boardwalk that its spray blows across it.
5. Liberty Gorge. A turnoff from the Ridge Path leads to a cascading stream in a narrow valley.
6. The Pool and Sentinel Pine Bridge. The Pool is a basin in the Pemigewasset River about 40 feet deep and 150 feet across, ringed by cliffs about 130 feet high. The bridge above it rests on the trunk of the Sentinel Pine, a tree nearly 175 feet tall that the September 1938 hurricane knocked down.
7. The Wolf Den. An optional, one-way squeeze through the rocks on hands and knees. NH State Parks suggests it for kids. Skip it if you don't like tight spaces.
8. Glacial boulders. Some of the rocks along the path weigh more than 300 tons. The ice sheet that covered this area dropped them as it melted.

NH State Parks publishes a Flume map (PDF) that shows the loop and each stop.

How the Flume Formed

The gorge walls are Conway granite that cooled deep underground nearly 200 million years ago and cracked into near-parallel vertical fractures. Dikes of basalt later pushed up into those cracks. Once erosion brought both rocks to the surface, the basalt wore away faster than the granite around it, and Flume Brook cut the channel you walk through today. Look at the gorge floor and you can still see remnants of the main basalt dike.

A Short History

According to NH State Parks, the Flume was found in 1808 by 93-year-old "Aunt" Jess Guernsey, who came across it while fishing and had a hard time getting her family to believe her. Back then a huge egg-shaped boulder, about 10 feet high and 12 feet long, hung wedged between the walls. A heavy rainstorm in June 1883 set off a landslide that carried it away. It has never been found. The same storm deepened the gorge and created Avalanche Falls.

The Visitor Center

Every visit starts and ends at the Gilman Visitor Center at 852 Daniel Webster Highway, Lincoln, NH 03251, at Exit 34A off I-93. The state's park map says it holds the ticket office, an information desk, a cafeteria, a gift shop and a small auditorium for interpretive programs, and the brochure adds restrooms, historical displays and a free introductory movie about the park.

Good For

• Families: the walk is under two hours, the Wolf Den is built for kids, and the state publishes a printable scavenger hunt.
• Hot days: the state describes cool mist filling the canyon, and the boardwalk keeps you out of the mud.
• First-time visitors to the Notch who want the signature sight in under two hours.

Maybe Skip If

• You need a walk with no stairs. The Basin, a few miles north, has paved paths and is free.
• You have your dog with you. Pets are not permitted in the gorge. See rules and dogs.
• You want a real summit hike. Try Artists Bluff for a short climb or the Franconia Ridge Loop for a full day.

When to Go

The 2026 season runs May 8 to October 25, 2026. Outside that window the gorge is closed to walkers: NH State Parks removes the boardwalks for winter. Peak foliage is one of the busiest times of the year in the Notch, and specific arrival hours can sell out, which is why the state asks visitors to reserve ahead.

Check Before You Go

Hours and dates are weather dependent and can change without notice. The NH State Parks Flume Gorge page is the source of record. For lots and directions, see parking; for seasonal hours across the park, see hours and fees.