North Conway is a strip of outlet stores with the White Mountains directly behind it, and that combination is the whole character of the place. You can spend a morning above treeline on the most dangerous small mountain in North America and be buying socks tax-free by four in the afternoon.
Here are the North Conway things to do worth your time, sorted by how much of the mountain they ask of you.
Walk to Diana's Baths
The easy one, and the right first stop with kids. About 1.3 miles round trip on a flat, wide, mostly accessible trail in Bartlett, ending at a staircase of small falls and pools on Lucy Brook. In summer people swim in the pools all afternoon.
The parking lot fills by mid-morning on any warm weekend and there is a fee. Go early or go late.
Go up Cathedral Ledge
A 700-foot granite cliff above Echo Lake, and the unusual part is that a paved road runs to the top. Fifteen minutes from downtown to one of the most photographed views in the valley without walking at all, which makes it the answer when someone in the group cannot hike.
If you would rather earn it, the trail up is about 2.8 miles out and back. The cliff itself is one of the best-known trad climbing walls in the Northeast, so expect to watch ropes going over the edge while you look at the view.
Swim at Echo Lake
Directly below Cathedral Ledge. A small state park with a sand beach, warm shallow water and the cliff standing over it. It is the best swimming in the valley and it is five minutes from town.
Drive the Kancamagus Highway
34 miles between Conway and Lincoln through the White Mountain National Forest, with no gas, no services and no cell coverage for the whole run. Sabbaday Falls is a short walk off it, Rocky Gorge and Lower Falls are roadside, and the Pemigewasset Overlook is the big view.
In the first two weeks of October this is one of the most crowded roads in New England for fall color, and it is worth it, but leave at sunrise.
Mount Washington, three ways
6,288 feet, the highest peak in the Northeast, and it holds one of the worst weather records on the planet. It has recorded winds over 200 mph. People die on it every year, including in summer, usually because they started in sunshine and did not turn around.
The Cog Railway climbs from Bretton Woods, about 45 minutes northwest, and has been running since 1869. The Auto Road climbs from Pinkham Notch on the east side and you can drive it yourself or take a guided van. On foot, Tuckerman Ravine from Pinkham Notch is the standard route: roughly 8.4 miles round trip and 4,250 feet of climbing, and it is a serious full day.
Whichever way you go up, check the Mount Washington Observatory forecast that morning, not the valley forecast. Summit conditions have nothing to do with what North Conway looks like.
Hike something in the valley instead
You do not need Mount Washington to get a view here. Mount Willard in Crawford Notch is about 3.2 miles round trip to a ledge looking straight down the notch, and it is the best view-to-effort ratio in the White Mountains. Black Cap is around 2.4 miles round trip from Hurricane Mountain Road with a broad summit over the valley.
Ride the Conway Scenic Railroad
From the station in the middle of North Conway. The Notch Train through Crawford Notch is the one worth the ticket, running along the side of the valley on trestles with a long drop below.
When to go
Late September through mid October is peak, with the fall color that fills every hotel in the valley. Book months ahead for that window. Summer is warm, green and busy, with swimming in the pools and lakes. Winter turns the valley into a ski base for Cranmore, Attitash and Wildcat, and mud season in April is genuinely worth avoiding, with high trails closed or ruined.
How many days do you need?
Two days covers Diana's Baths, Cathedral Ledge, a valley hike and the Kancamagus. Three if you want Mount Washington by any route, because it takes a whole day and needs a weather backup. Four if you want to hike above treeline more than once.
North Conway Things to Do FAQs
Almost everything. Diana's Baths is a 1.3-mile walk to waterfall pools, Cathedral Ledge has a paved road to a 700-foot cliff top, Echo Lake has the best swimming in the valley, and the Kancamagus Highway and Mount Washington are both short drives away.
Yes. A paved road runs to the summit, about fifteen minutes from downtown North Conway, which makes it one of the few big views in the White Mountains that needs no hiking at all. The road is seasonal and closes in winter.
Three ways. The Cog Railway from Bretton Woods, the Auto Road from Pinkham Notch by car or guided van, or on foot, most commonly via Tuckerman Ravine at roughly 8.4 miles round trip and 4,250 feet of gain. Check the Mount Washington Observatory summit forecast the morning you go, not the valley forecast.
Yes, especially with children. It is a flat 1.3-mile round trip to a series of small falls and swimming pools. Go early. The parking lot fills by mid-morning on warm weekends and there is a fee.
Usually late September through mid October, with the Kancamagus Highway at its best in the first two weeks of October. It is the busiest time of year in the valley, so book lodging months ahead and start driving at sunrise.
