Frankenstein Cliff/Arethusa Falls 10-1-07
Frankenstein Cliff 2420"/Arethusa Falls
Frankenstein Cliff Trail/Arethusa Falls Trail
4.7 Miles 1300' Elevation gain
Kevin, Judy and Emma
We had not camped at Dry River in Crawford Notch since June of 2004 and we wanted to make a return trip, this was it. When we first started camping there, there were no flush toilets or showers, now there are both, and amazingly, even though they have been there a few years now, they are still spotless, except for some graffiti. It makes camping a lot more attractive if you can shower after a long hike, and since hiking is what we do when we're in the mountains, it's a nice place to stay. Oh, I forgot to mention there is a laundry room there, too, so you can wash your clothes for hiking the next day. Nice!
The campground was very quiet while we were there except for bears in the dumpster on the first night. Someone apparently forgot to lock up that night and they were rewarded with cleaning up a mess the next morning. Each night we heard, but never saw owl's nearby. When the moon rose, late in the night, we could here distant coyotes give some wailful howls to each other. The one thing that was bothersome at this spot was there seemed to be much more traffic on Rte. 302, especially overnight, so the sound of the cars and especially trucks was loud enough to be annoying as the CG is not very far off the highway at all. Sugarloaf up at the top of the notch is much quieter, as is Moosebrook in Gorham.
Well, we have camped here a lot, and every time we do we have thought, "Gee, we should go across the street and climb Frankenstein Cliff", but we never have until now. Having hiked 23 4000 footers this year I promised Jude a break, more like she insisted on a break, and we picked all lower elevation hikes. The good thing about this is, it brought us to all new territory and to places that we've been saying, "We should go there", for years, like Frankenstein Cliffs.
The hike is unremarkable until you reach the turn where the old trail comes up from Rte. 302. This "Lost" trail is completely overgrown, from what I could see. Here you begin to climb and soon pass under the Frankenstein Trestle where the trains run 80 feet above the ground for about 500 feet. The only thing that runs on it now is the Conway Scenic Railway that runs from Conway up to Crawford Notch Station near the modern AMC Highland Center. Although I would prefer the hands of man had never disturbed the notch, I can appreciate the engineering feat that laying a railroad through the notch entailed. It made trade between the seacoast and the northern towns possible and brought thousands to the area each summer to grow a deep appreciation for the mountains and a mind to preserve them for future generations, namely, me and you.
From here you are soon at the base of some east facing cliffs which are made up of a particular type of rock known as Mount Osceola Granite. Soon we had climbed past these and were on our way to the southeast facing cliffs that can be seen when traveling east to west on Rte. 302. When I was new to the mountains I thought the cliffs were named for Frankenstein, the monster because when viewed from the highway their shape is reminiscent of the movie monster's flat top head. I learned through reading the history of the mountains that they were named for a German born artist Godfrey Nicholas Frankenstein who visited the area and was a frequent guest of Dr. Samuel Bemis, who built what is now known as the Notchland Inn.
From the cliffs we had a commanding view of the southern portion of the notch and east to Mount Crawford. As we arrived and admired the view a train passed below us and soon after we saw a hawk, maybe a falcon, ride by on the breeze. After a rest there we continued along the trail and took the short side trip to the upper cliffs, known as Falcon Cliffs, and then returned to the main trail. Further along there is a filtered view from the height of land northeast towards Mount Washington. Soon after this the trail begins to descend to the Arethusa Falls Trail, and we were surprised to see the trail has been rerouted to the north side of the Bemis Brook. The new trail is very nice, almost wheelchair accessible, though the old part of the trail at the beginning is still pretty rough. On this day there was not much water running over the falls, but it was still worth visiting, and made for an enjoyable loop hike.
Read MoreFrankenstein Cliff Trail/Arethusa Falls Trail
4.7 Miles 1300' Elevation gain
Kevin, Judy and Emma
We had not camped at Dry River in Crawford Notch since June of 2004 and we wanted to make a return trip, this was it. When we first started camping there, there were no flush toilets or showers, now there are both, and amazingly, even though they have been there a few years now, they are still spotless, except for some graffiti. It makes camping a lot more attractive if you can shower after a long hike, and since hiking is what we do when we're in the mountains, it's a nice place to stay. Oh, I forgot to mention there is a laundry room there, too, so you can wash your clothes for hiking the next day. Nice!
The campground was very quiet while we were there except for bears in the dumpster on the first night. Someone apparently forgot to lock up that night and they were rewarded with cleaning up a mess the next morning. Each night we heard, but never saw owl's nearby. When the moon rose, late in the night, we could here distant coyotes give some wailful howls to each other. The one thing that was bothersome at this spot was there seemed to be much more traffic on Rte. 302, especially overnight, so the sound of the cars and especially trucks was loud enough to be annoying as the CG is not very far off the highway at all. Sugarloaf up at the top of the notch is much quieter, as is Moosebrook in Gorham.
Well, we have camped here a lot, and every time we do we have thought, "Gee, we should go across the street and climb Frankenstein Cliff", but we never have until now. Having hiked 23 4000 footers this year I promised Jude a break, more like she insisted on a break, and we picked all lower elevation hikes. The good thing about this is, it brought us to all new territory and to places that we've been saying, "We should go there", for years, like Frankenstein Cliffs.
The hike is unremarkable until you reach the turn where the old trail comes up from Rte. 302. This "Lost" trail is completely overgrown, from what I could see. Here you begin to climb and soon pass under the Frankenstein Trestle where the trains run 80 feet above the ground for about 500 feet. The only thing that runs on it now is the Conway Scenic Railway that runs from Conway up to Crawford Notch Station near the modern AMC Highland Center. Although I would prefer the hands of man had never disturbed the notch, I can appreciate the engineering feat that laying a railroad through the notch entailed. It made trade between the seacoast and the northern towns possible and brought thousands to the area each summer to grow a deep appreciation for the mountains and a mind to preserve them for future generations, namely, me and you.
From here you are soon at the base of some east facing cliffs which are made up of a particular type of rock known as Mount Osceola Granite. Soon we had climbed past these and were on our way to the southeast facing cliffs that can be seen when traveling east to west on Rte. 302. When I was new to the mountains I thought the cliffs were named for Frankenstein, the monster because when viewed from the highway their shape is reminiscent of the movie monster's flat top head. I learned through reading the history of the mountains that they were named for a German born artist Godfrey Nicholas Frankenstein who visited the area and was a frequent guest of Dr. Samuel Bemis, who built what is now known as the Notchland Inn.
From the cliffs we had a commanding view of the southern portion of the notch and east to Mount Crawford. As we arrived and admired the view a train passed below us and soon after we saw a hawk, maybe a falcon, ride by on the breeze. After a rest there we continued along the trail and took the short side trip to the upper cliffs, known as Falcon Cliffs, and then returned to the main trail. Further along there is a filtered view from the height of land northeast towards Mount Washington. Soon after this the trail begins to descend to the Arethusa Falls Trail, and we were surprised to see the trail has been rerouted to the north side of the Bemis Brook. The new trail is very nice, almost wheelchair accessible, though the old part of the trail at the beginning is still pretty rough. On this day there was not much water running over the falls, but it was still worth visiting, and made for an enjoyable loop hike.
