Franconia Loop Restoration Project

Did you know that the Franconia Ridge Trail is one of the busiest in the region, with up to 1,000 hikers per day in peak season? The view along the entire length of the ridge is the definition of spectacular. It encompasses a section of the Appalachian Trail, makes the 4,000-footer list and is a bucket list goal for day hikers and back packers alike. That’s why we’re working with the Partnership to Restore the Franconia Ridge Trail to ensure this resource can be enjoyed for generations to come.

The Franconia Ridge Trail Loop was built between 1826 and 1958 before the advent of modern knowledge and practices of building trails for resiliency. AMC, United States Forest Service, White Mountain National Forest, and New Hampshire Parks and Recreation crews are working to restore these trails to ensure they can withstand changing weather patterns and the increased use of The Franconia Ridge Trail. It is comprised of four trails: Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail; Greenleaf Trail, and Old Bridle Path. 8.6 miles of these trails are on White Mountain National Forest lands. The Trail traverses fragile alpine habitats and is home to the third largest connected area of alpine tundra in the eastern United States.

A special thank you goes out to all the trail crews and organizations putting the efforts forward to restore this incredible trail loop. The Partnership to Restore the Franconia Ridge consists of trail crews from the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire State Parks, Appalachian Mountain Club, Northwoods Stewardship Center Conservation Corps, Vermont Youth Conservations Corps, New Hampshire Student Conservation Corps, Off the Beaten Path, Trailworks LLC and Peter Johnsen & Associates LLC.

We want future adventurers to be able to hike Franconia Ridge in the safest and most sustainable way possible. Our trail restoration work will make it easier for hikers to stay on the trail and avoid trampling the fragile ecosystem from the base to summit. The Franconia Ridge and Greenleaf trails traverse fragile alpine habitat that takes years to recover after being trampled, loss of this vegetation will have adverse effects on the alpine ecosystem. Portions of the Falling Waters Trail has numerous river crossings that have been heavily damaged by recent storms, making these crossing and rocks scrambles increasingly more challenging and dangerous. All of the trails are in need of significant repairs and some areas of the trail system will require realignment. This ensures a resilient future for both the trail loop and the surrounding natural areas.

Crews will spend 20 weeks drilling, splitting, and installing stone steps to make more uniform structures on the Old Bridle Path and upper Greenleaf Trail. If you would like to support the restoration efforts, there are numerous way you can get involved.

Volunteer for trail crew - Sign up for Saturday Volunteer Days. No experience is required, there will be a trained AMC leader on site to prove instruction and guidance. This is a wonderful opportunity to give back to the trail systems of New Hampshire, while learning about what it takes to build and maintain sustainable trails.

Not up for the physically demanding work of a trail crew? Your donations help keep crews on the trails, from paying for tools and equipment, to the necessary supplies need for extended stays in the wilderness.
Donate to the Appalachian Mtn Club
Donate to World Trails Network

Update 1: 5/27 - 6/6
The 2024 restoration season kicked off on Memorial Day weekend. With many folks on the crew having less experience with masonry, they focused the first couple weeks on cycling people through all sorts of tasks. Volunteers are taking to the drilling and splitting with ease and have been able to make enough material to open up multiple sites and put in 21 new steps. Much of the material needed is below the current work site which requires crew to hand carry rocks up the trail to the work site.
See The Full Work Site Report Here.

Update 2: 6/10 - 7/4
During this time frame crews worked a total of 746 hours, built 47 rock steps, and 4 water bars. They started working on 2 reroutes around highly impacted sections of trail. Tahlia set a beautiful step in a particularly challenging section. Pinched between a large boulder and the edge of the trail, the step has wonderful contacts and visually fits into the landscape well. See The Full Work Site Report Here.

Old Bridal Path, WMNF, Franconia Notch, NH Sponsor: Great American Outdoors Act Partner: USFS Pemi District, Appalachian Mountain Club, SCA, Northwoods Stewardship Center, VYCC

Crew leads - Deva Steketee, Emily Wight, Lou Kimball Accomplishments: 101 stone steps (two rocks wide), 32 stone steps (one rock wide), 9 rock water bars, 3 cairns rebuilt, 100’ alpine scree wall built (18” tall x 18” wide).

Old Bridle Path, WMNF NH, 4 weeks Sponsor: White Mountain National Forest Pemi District, Great American Outdoors Act, Appalachian Mountain Club, Off the Beaten Path Trailworks, LLC.

Crew Leads - Emily Wight and Off The Beaten Path Trailworks Accomplishments: In tandem with, and under the tutelage of, 4 seasoned professional trail builders from Off the Beaten Path Trailworks, 4 AMC Trail Crew spent 4 weeks working on the Old Bridle Path from the USFS boundary up, constructing rock stairs to a high standard. The crew of 8, with a few days’ help from USFS Trail Crew and AMC TC Field Coordinators, built 82 rock stairs, many built two stones-wide, and all built to tight specifications, and replete with rock scree. In addition, they constructed 10 rock water bars to divert water from the trail and the newly built structures.

Lily Hartman - The First 4,000 Feet of the New Old Bridle Path Are Open, Thanks to Team Effort. "The Franconia Notch has long been an area of both concern and pride in the state of New Hampshire. Originally, the notch was home to the Old Man of the Mountain, who fell in 2003, which has drawn in visitors for decades. With Interstate 93 running right through the notch, the area became easy to access for tourists. What’s more, the popularity of the Appalachian Trail, which includes the ridge, increased foot traffic in the area from all of the “thru-hikers” attempting to complete their 2,190-mile journey. Chris Thayer, Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC) Senior Director of External Affairs, says that AMC has heavily studied and maintained the ridge for decades following guidance from White Mountain National Forest land managers due to the level of use and visitation." Read The Full Story.

New Hampshire Union Leader - High Altitude Restoration on Franconia Ridge. "Over the next few years, the Appalachian Mountain Club will be tackling an ambitious $1.3 million trail restoration project on sections of the iconic Franconia Ridge Loop. The current work is focused on stabilizing and realigning the Falling Waters, Upper Greenleaf and Old Bridle Path trails through 2026, when congressional funding ends. Future maintenance is also planned for sections of the Franconia Ridge Trail in the delicate Alpine zone." Read The Full Story.

Glode NH - Repairs to iconic N.H. trail under way to address heavy use and climate change. "The Franconia Ridge Trail Loop is one of the most popular hiking trails in New Hampshire and in the region. The trailhead off of I-93 is easy to access, and it offers stunning 360-degree views, which have landed it on National Geographic’s list of 10 mind-blowing hikes. At its busiest, the 8.9-mile loop trail can attract as many as 1,200 hikers per day, according to the Appalachian Mountain Club, a nonprofit that maintains the trails." Read The Full Story.

Concord Monitor - Restoring the Franconia Ridge Loop Trail to deal with increased popularity and severe weather. "Sporting a bright orange hard hat, Lou Kimball stood above a large stone with a hammer in hand. The boulder was marked with four holes that Kimball had drilled minutes earlier. Metal feathers and wedges, tools used to split hulks of granite into manageable shapes, fit inside the holes. Kimball tapped each wedge with the hammer, first gently and then with greater force. Fine gray silica dust clouded the air as metal met metal. After 20 taps, the stone split into two, nearly even halves. “That was a really easy one!” said Kimball, smiling. “This might make a really great step surface.'" Read The Full Story.

New Hampshire Bulletin - How New Hampshire's trail workers make hiking possible. "This summer, millions of tourists will make their mark on the thousands of miles of trails New Hampshire has to offer. What they may not know is that hundreds of mostly volunteer trail workers around the state make their hiking adventures possible. “There are so many different organizations that help with trails and trail maintenance in the state; it’s really a big patchwork,” said Carrie Deegan, reservation stewardship and engagement director with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests." Read The Full Story.

nhpr - Hikers, extreme weather leaving their mark on one of the White Mountains most famous trails. "On most days, the rugged alpine peaks of Franconia Ridge in the White Mountains are visible from the trailhead parking lot. But on a recent Tuesday, an eerie haze descended into the notch, blocking the view. “That's the wildfire smoke from Canada,” says Alex DeLucia, director of trails for the Appalachian Mountain Club. “Really wild.” Somewhere in the smoke is a walking path, traversed by Indigenous people for thousands of years and then first formally blazed in 1826. The Old Bridle Path to the north and Falling Waters Trail to the south, connect hikers to one of the most stunning ridge lines in the northeast. The trails cross the peaks of Mount Lafayette, Mount Lincoln and Little Haystack, linking a strenuous 8.9 mile loop that reaches 5,260 feet in elevation, well above treeline. Read The Full Story.