Trail Report: Ripley Falls - Crawford Notch

This trail report leaves off of my last blog on Monday with the Frankenstein Cliffs, we headed down the path to the a sign that was on The Arethusa Ripley Falls Trail and we had two ways to go...Arethusa Falls or Ripley Falls. I had seen Arethusa Falls last year so I wanted to head to Ripley Falls. From the sign it was 1.2 miles over to Ripley Falls. The trail was mostly flat, about .7 miles of the way ,but then it was a descend to get to Ripley Falls. Now Ripley Falls is the second largest waterfall in NH (approx. 100 ft). The fall was beautiful and worth the hike over to see it.
Here are my pictures of the Falls:

The sign to help you decide which way to hike

The top of Ripley Falls when coming down the trail

Ripley Falls from below near the pool

After the falls you can go back up the trail over to Arethusa Falls, and that will be 2.3 miles over, or you can take the Ripley Falls Trail and head over to Route 302 and walk the road. We decided to walk the road back to our car, which was 2.5 miles. Over all great hike!

The tracks you cross when going to the parking lot

Enjoy your hike in the White Mountains...Happy hiking!:)

Trail Report: Frankenstien Cliffs - Crawford Notch

Yesterday was Mother's Day and so I decided that for the day, I wanted to hike up Frankenstein Cliffs. I have always been very curious about the cliffs and why they were called Frankenstein Cliffs in the first place. It was named after an artist. There is a sign below in the valley that is on the Frankenstein Trestle. I have been to the parking area before for it's the same place you would park if you were hiking up to see the Arethusa Falls. This time we took the trail to the left instead of the trail up the road to the right.
This trail is .6 miles over to the Frankenstein Trestle. You cross under the tracks and then hike up the cliffs. The trail to the over cliffs is .7 miles and in some parts very steep. The cliffs you are hiking near are beautiful and very high. Once you hike up a ways you get to relax at the lower cliffs. There are some beautiful views of the Crawford Notch valley and mountains. The awesome part is that you can see the top of Arethusa Falls from the lower cliffs.
Then we headed up the trail to the Falcon Cliffs, but it was another .7 miles in and we decided to pass by the trail. If you do take that trail, it is said that you will have a great view of Mt. Washington. We headed to the top pf Frankenstein Cliffs where we were to see Mt. Washington and you can see it if you stand on a rock a little ways from the sign. I was a bit disappointed because the trees are grown so you can't see the view anymore. That trail was .8 miles and the elevation was 2531'.
Here are some pictures of the views and signs on the trail.

 The sign to follow to the Cliffs

 Frankenstein Trestle

 On the Tracks

The Cliffs when hiking up

 The view from lower cliffs

 The sign on top of Frankenstein Cliffs with no view

Next post will be Ripley Falls

Happy Hiking