Total Distance : (from parking area to summit) 2.8 miles
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Climbed September 21, 1996
Weather conditions: Clear/Lower 70's (base)
Follow Route 93 North into the Franconia Notch Parkway. Parking can be found in either of the Lafayette Campground Parking areas. Be prepared this time of year for parking to be difficult, especially on the weekends. The trail begins about 1/2 mile from the Parking area by following the Lonesome Lake Trail. The first half of the trip is basically a series of "Zig-Zags", the Zigs being somewhat steep and the Zags leveling off. The trail then turns into small boulders to climb over surrounded by much larger ones leading past the Dodge Cutoff at 0.8 miles. It continues to ascend moderately to a lookout over Franconia Notch at approx 1.2 miles, shortly thereafter coming to a wooden ladder that must be climbed in order to go forward. **A word of caution. Unless your dog is small enough to carry or is an avid climber (both up and down), DO NOT bring him/her.** The trail continues again to ascend moderately affording outlook ledges of Lonesome Lake and at 2 miles ends with it's junction with the Kinsman Ridge Trail. The remainder of the trail is level and leads to the summit ( a tower) and to the Tramway station. We found that some hikers took advantage of the Tramway by either riding up and hiking down or vise versa. The descent of this trail can also be tricky as there is a lot of loose gravel which can make footing difficult.