Crawford Notch State Park
Guide

Where there's water, there's fish. As well as the Saco River, Crawford Notch is full of smaller streams and ponds where you can drop a line and try your luck. Saco Lake within the park is kept stocked, and the brook trout here are a popular species to catch. Make sure to get your fishing license before you begin, which can be purchased online prior to your trip.

With nearly a mile of frontage along the Saco River, Crawford Notch provides a great place to cool off during the hot summer months. The water is bracingly chilly, but the shallows make perfect spots for kids to wade. Alternatively, you could try tubing and let the current carry you at a leisurely pace downstream.

When the snow falls, Crawford Notch's abundant hiking trails make great places to cross country ski or snowshoe. The winter weather tends to keep the crowds away, and with luck, you'll find yourself all alone on a trail if you want to be. With everything covered in snow, the park shows a different aspect to the green of summer, and the silence of nature is unforgettable.

Briefly described below are a few of the more popular family hikes in Crawford Notch State Park. For more specific information, or for descriptions and maps of lengthier hikes into the White Mountain National Forest and on the Appalachian Trail, consult the Appalachian Mountain Club White Mountain Guide. It is important to wear sturdy walking shoes and remember that in the mountains weather changes suddenly and darkness falls quickly. Keep close tabs on children, as unforeseen hazards may exist or develop suddenly on mountain trails. Two short, easy walks begin across the road and bridge from the Willey House site.

The POND LOOP TRAIL, 1/2 mile round trip, bears to the left just beyond the bridge, leads through the woods to a view point of the pond, and loops back to the bridge. The SAM WILLEY TRAIL, one mile round trip, bears to the right thirty yards beyond the bridge, follows the Saco River through the woods past several beaver dams, and loops back to the bridge.

RIPPLEY FALLS is a 100-foot high cascade where Avalanche Brook flows over moss-covered sloping granite creating a cool, peaceful spot to relax after the 1/2 mile walk in. The falls are easy to find by following the Ripley Falls Trail which diverges left from the Ethan Pond Trail shortly after it begins at the end of the access road, which leaves Route 302 one mile southeast of the Willey House Site.

ARETHUSA FALLS, over 200 feet high, are the highest falls in the state and certainly worth a visit. The access road to the start of the 1.3 mile, fairly rocky and moderately steep trail, leads off Route 302 1/2 mile south of Dry River Campground. Return via the same route or complete the 3 mile loop past Frankenstein Cliff to the start point. The open ledges at the 2,804-foot summit of Mt. Willard afford spectacular views of Crawford Notch, the southern Presidentials and Mt. Washington. The 1.4 mile (one way) trail climbs gradually to the summit from the Crawford Depot (AMC) near the north entrance of the notch.

Looking for a little history and a little mystery in your park's vacation? Crawfod Notch is home to the Willey House, which draws visitors to the park to this day. Never heard of it? Let us enlighten you:

During the fall of 1825 Samuel Willey, Jr. of Bartlett moved into a small house in the heart of Crawford Notch with his wife, five children, and two hired men. The first year the three men enlarged and improved the house which the family operated as an inn to accommodate travelers through the mountains on the desolate notch road. The little cluster of buildings was situated in the shadow of what is now called Mount Willey. In June, following a heavy rain, the Willeys were terrified when they witnessed a great mass of soil and vegetation, torn loose from the mountainside across the river, slide in a path of destruction to the valley floor. As a result, Mr. Willey built a cave-like shelter a short distance above the house to which the family could flee if a slide threatened their side of the valley. During the night of August 28, 1826, after a long drought which had dried the mountain soil to an unusual depth, came one of the most violent and destructive rain storms ever known in the White Mountains. The Saco River rose twenty feet overnight. Livestock was carried off, farms set afloat, and great gorges were cut in the mountains. Two days after the storm, anxious friends and relatives penetrated the debris-strewn valley to learn the fate of the Willey family. They found the house unharmed, but the surrounding fields were covered with debris. Huge boulders, trees, and masses of soil had been swept from Mt. Willey's newly bared slopes. The house had escaped damage because it was apparently situated just below a ledge that divided the major slide into two streams. The split caused the slide to pass by the house on both sides leaving it untouched. Inside, beds appeared to have been left hurriedly, a Bible lay on the table, and the dog howled mournfully. Mr. and Mrs. Willey, two children, and both hired men were found nearby, crushed in the wreckage of the slide. The bodies were buried near the house and later moved to Conway. Three children were never found. The true story of the tragedy will never be known. Poets and writers have conjectured many possibilities. Perhaps the family, awakened by a threatening rumble, fled from the house to their cave, and were caught in one stream of the slide. It seems more likely the Willeys started to climb the slope of the mountain to escape the rising floods and were caught in the landslide. Whatever the circumstances of the tragedy, it has endowed this part of the White Mountains with a legend enhanced by the awesome crags which rise guardians over the site of the former Willey home. Following the tragedy, an addition was built onto the house which was operated as an inn until it burned in 1898.