Flume Gorge Trail

The Flume Gorge is a naturally occurring 800-foot-long chasm at the base of Mount Liberty, carved into Conway granite by Flume Brook over millions of years of erosion along a fracture zone in the bedrock. Boardwalks and ladders installed along the gorge walls allow visitors to walk through the slot canyon, where granite walls rise 70 to 90 feet overhead, creating a permanent cool microclimate that sustains moss, fern, and liverwort communities even during summer heat waves. The chasm narrows to as little as 12 feet wide in places, and the roar of water reverberates off the polished walls. The loop continues up to a covered bridge over Flume Brook and along Liberty Gorge, a secondary canyon with its own series of cascades, before passing Avalanche Falls, a 45-foot plunge waterfall that is among the most photogenic in the White Mountains. The trail system dates to 1848 when a local farmwoman discovered the gorge while fishing. Geological interpretation signs along the route explain the complex history of the Conway Granite intrusion, the Jurassic-age magmatic event responsible for much of the White Mountains' characteristic pink granite topography. The gorge is genuinely one of the most impressive geological features in New England and attracts over 200,000 visitors annually.