Franconia Ridge

[BlueMtn]

Can you believe, I have lived in NH for 3 years and have never hiked this trail?! I know it is quite over-populated in nice weather so I am taking my chances here. Is this trail dog-friendly (on a leash)? I hiked Jefferson a few weeks back and would not take her up there due to the rock climbing. I wondered if it is similar up on Franconia Ridge. Also, how many hours for an average hiker does it take? Daylight is becoming more scarce these days!

 

[bobandgeri]

Depends on the dog. A mid-sized dog such as a lab or Golden would not have any issues with the terrain. We always see dogs up there. Heading up the Old Bridal Path to the summit of Lafayette - over to Lincoln and Haystack and down the Falling Waters trail is 8.9 miles with an elavation gain of 3900 feet and a book time of @ 6 1/2 hours.

There are always a lot of people on this loop, and usually many dogs, so be sure your dog is dog/people friendly. Also be sure that you dog has worked up to hikes of this distance, and bring plenty of water. The Greenleaf hut is open until Oct 15th so if you hike before then you can refill your water supply there. No water on the ridge - you will find water halfway down the Falling Waters trail.

It's a great hike on a nice Fall day.

 

[roadtripper]

Totally dog friendly, assuming the dog has done something similar in distance and elevation gain. There is one section on the Falling Waters Trail where you might have to give the dog a bit of encouragement...but besides for that there isn't much rock-hoping or scrambling on the entire loop.

Lastly, the trail is only sometimes really crowded on nice weekends from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This time of the year it's pretty quiet. I went on Monday last week and saw 20 people all day. I'd guess you'd see between 50-100 on a weekend day all day.

 

[dug]

I took my dog up Lafayette a few different times, and it generally was OK. The entire Ridge is fine for dogs, but there are long stretches with little or no water. Nothing like Jefferson, which has the many sharp rocks above treeline that can be damaging to dogs' paws.

 

[--M.]

Hi.

We saw a BIG lab/shep up there this June who was clearly struggling without enough water. It reminded me that there's no water at all up top.

As for crowding, we made a point to be there on a Monday, and there were some, but too many.

--M.