Scenic New Hampshire - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Travel America, May, 2001 by Tom Bross

A leisurely drive on the Kancamagus Highway showcases the best of the Granite State

New England's highlands loom highest in New Hampshire's White Mountains, where raw granite peaks protrude above tree lines. During the Ice Age, bulging glaciers shoved rock formations apart, carving gaps ("notches" in regional terminology). Intrigued by a close-to-nature experience, city dwellers began heading up this way when passenger railroads were extended into northerly terrain a century ago. Now vacationers get here via the speedy Interstates. Then they veer onto inviting back roads for leisurely touring.

If that's something you'd like to do, map-read your way toward Route 112, much better known as the Kancamagus Highway. Named for a Native American chieftain, the two-lane road--designated a National Scenic Byway in 1989--curves east-west through the vast White Mountain National Forest.

Work on the present highway began in 1939. Conway and Lincoln were connected by the whole 34 1/2-mile stretch two decades later, and paving was completed by 1964. The higher-elevation western portion's overlooks provide majestic views of the Granite State's Presidential Range. Dominant on the northern horizon: Mt. Washington, tallest peak in the northeastern U.S. at 6,288 feet.

Travelers who start their Kancamagus drive from the eastern end have ample shopping opportunities because factory-outlet stores cram Route 16 between Conway and North Conway.

To fully enjoy the "Kanc," make random stopovers at off-road glens opening onto sign-posted hiking trails. At Rocky Gorge--near a classic old covered bridge--the Swift River tumbles past boulders so broad and flat that you can lay out a picnic spread. Don't miss an opportunity to clamber up the wooden staircase at Sabbaday Falls to watch the cascade gush down a granite chute.

Reaching the highway's western terminus at Lincoln means you've come to north-south 1-93. Lincoln, originally a paper-mill town, and neighboring North Woodstock buzz with touristy doings.

Furthermore, driving a few miles northbound on 1-93 brings you to three of New Hampshire's most recognizable attractions. In Franconia Notch State Park, figure on an hour for a trek to Liberty Mountain's Flume Gorge, where boardwalks and stairs deliver you to the brink of crashing, spraying Avalanche Falls.

Cross the Interstate to ride the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway for picture-perfect panoramas of sprawling timberland, extra-spectacular when autumn temperatures transform leaves from green to a multi-colored extravaganza. Then walk to nearby Profile Lake, the optimum vantage point for views of New Hampshire's symbolic Old Man of the Mountain, a craggy stone profile (granite, of course) measuring 40 feet from chin to brow.

Contact: White Mountains Attractions Association (TravelAmerica Magazine), P.O. Box 10, North Woodstock, NH 03262-0010; (603) 745-8720; www.visit whitemountains.com.