Region
Highlights
- Mount Lafayette is the highest peak in New Hampshire outside of the Presidential Range and is the 6th highest official "4000 footer" in the state
- One of the most popular day-hike destinations in White Mountain National Forest due to spectacular views at its alpine summit. A variety of trails lead up over 3,000 vertical feet to its exposed summit.
- The upper portion of the mountain is located in the alpine zone, an area where only small vegetation exists due to the harsh climate.
- The Greenleaf Trail ascends to the Appalachian Mountain Club's Greenleaf Hut, then continues to the summit. The Bridle Path trail follows a western spur ridge of Lafayette and joins the Greenleaf Trail.
- The summit lies at the junction of the Garfield Ridge Trail, which follows the ridge northeast to Mount Garfield, and the Franconia Ridge Trail, which leads south to Mount Lincoln, Liberty, and Flume. Both the Garfield Ridge Trail and the Franconia Ridge Trail form part of the Appalachian Trail.
- A very popular day hike and perhaps the finest in the Northeast is to make a loop combining the 3 most notable summits of the Franconia Range: Little Haystack, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Lafayette. This loop is 8.9 miles with an elevation gain of about 3,900 feet.
Routes
110 summits • 13.9 mi • 6,129 ft gain • 8 hr 25 min • Class 1
3 summits • 10.8 mi • 3,725 ft gain • 6 hr 39 min
2 summits • 20.0 mi • 6,229 ft gain • 11 hr 27 min
2 summits • 15.6 mi • 5,455 ft gain • 10 hr 49 min
2 summits • 7.3 mi • 2,700 ft gain • 7 hr 12 min
1 summit • 8.9 mi • 3,735 ft gain • 4 hr 1 min
1 summit • 12.1 mi • 4,418 ft gain • 10 hr 11 min
1 summit • 12.9 mi • 5,034 ft gain • 9 hr 20 min
1 summit • 13.6 mi • 5,205 ft gain • 7 hr 31 min
1 summit • 16.0 mi • 6,183 ft gain • 11 hr 43 min
1 summit • 24.2 mi • 8,336 ft gain • 14 hr 19 min
1 summit • 9.3 mi • 3,637 ft gain • 6 hr 7 min
1 summit • 9.4 mi • 3,774 ft gain • 5 hr 31 min
Latest summits
"A hike with Molly for our Grid. Busy day out on the trails. We headed up Falling Waters Tr and reached Little Haystack. Beautiful day up on the ridge. No wind until the northern side of Lincoln. We bundled up on Lincoln and wore jackets until Greenleaf Hut. Blue skies and fantastic views all the way across. We came down Greenleaf Tr and Old Bridal Path. We both picked up 2 Grid peaks today. " — newenglandwarrior • Feb 25, 2024
"Great warm sunny day to be out on the ridge. Recent rains have made the waterfalls on Falling Waters raging. Side to trip to Shining Rock was interesting. They have done a lot of trail work on the ridge and the bottom half of the Bridle Path. Looks fantastic." — Alohabuffy • Sep 21, 2023
"Did a Semi-Pemi Loop backpack from the Lincoln Woods Trailhead up the Ossetian Trail and along the AT. Camped at Liberty Springs continued along the AT to Garfield summit and then down the Franconia Brook Trail to camp at 13 Falls then back down the Lincoln Woods trail. Nine summits in total with 26 miles and 6,800 feet of elevation gain. A three day trip" — Zardoz • Sep 6, 2023
"Franconia Ridge Loop. Up Falling Waters Trail and down Old Bridal Path (which is what I always do, but it was extra recommended this time due to the excessive rainfall). Many more and larger stream crossings going up than last year, but all doable. None going down. Extremely busy on the trail. Hiked with Chris and his parents. " — AmyScrambles • Aug 12, 2023
"Pemi Loop. 20 hrs, 2 minutes. 4 of us. Flume was the first peak, Bondcliff the last. We also threw in Galehead and West Bond for 10 peaks total. Got some blisters out of this hike. Glad to have finally done one. " — newenglandwarrior • Jul 1, 2022
"Final summit of the Franconia Ridge with Maryellen, Nancy, Chris, Eric, Diane, Matthew. Continued ridge walk from Lincoln looking at spectacular views all around! Passed by Greenleaf Hut on the way down. Got coffee! Lots of rock steps up and down. The weather was awesome!" — lfrancois • Jun 24, 2022
"A couple of peaks for my Grid for today. It was a mostly cloudy day but the wind wasn't bad. Myself, Molly, Denise, and one other went up Falling Waters Tr to Little Haystack first. While heading up the icy trail, a father son team with no traction were also heading up. Crazy unsafe, but they made it up. We reached the ridgeline and headed over to Lincoln. We then went over to Lafayette. Then came down Greenleaf Tr to Old Bridal Path to the trailhead. I have only one peak left for my April Grid. " — newenglandwarrior • Apr 3, 2022
"A Lafayette and Lincoln loop. I decided to head up Lafayette first because of the low cloud cover and navigation purposes. But it was also windy up there too. I used my full winter gear and goggles when I was above treeline. Not much to see today being in the clouds. Came down Falling Waters Tr. Picked up both peaks for my Grid and a Calendar Day. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 8, 2021
"Lincoln (23), Lafayette (24). Halfway! Solo. Boy, what a day.
The forecast called for severe clear skies and highs in the 50’s. Well. Disappointment was had.
Got the lot super stinkin early even though it is a Wednesday in October. Grumbled a bit noting only 5 cars in the lot when I turned up at 6am. Why did I get up so early?! It was in the mid 40’s and I was comfortable in a long sleeve so stuffed my jacket in my pack. Popped my headlamp on and got going around 06:15.
The first portion of trail onto Falling Waters was easy going dirt and rocks, lots of interesting mushrooms again today. When I got onto Falling Waters I passed an older couple who told me that after ten years, they would be finishing the 48 on this hike. Awesome! I picked my way up the trail carefully as everything was of course soaked. As the sky lightened I packed away my headlamp and got to take in some nice trail features. The waterfalls were absolutely stunning & numerous, the stream crossings nothing to write home about thankfully.
After passing all of the waterfalls the trail became more of a jagged rocky affair as usual, still soaked. I had noticed that the sky was a sheet of white above m..." — kellieirene • Oct 6, 2021
"It was quite challenging to climb. We access it from Mount Lincoln along the Franconia Ridge. We could see Mount Washington as the day was very clear. Lots of people at the summit." — the-zebra-climbers • Sep 20, 2021