Trail Report: Avalon Tr, A-Z Tr, Mt. Tom, Crawford Notch

The starting point of the first trail is at the Crawford Deport in Crawford Notch. When we arrived at the parking it was full. During this time of year, this is a very popular place to hike so parking is limited. You can park on the edge of the road which we did. The great park though of coming later is the train that arrives at the station from North Conway bringing visitors.

I was on the trail side when taking this picture of the train when it stopped at the station. We headed up the trail which is called Avalon Trail. My stepson and I had hiked this trail to Mt. Avalon in the early spring. Great views from Avalon. As you travel up the path you will come across a sign that says Beecher and Pearl Cascades. You can take that trail around and it will lead you back to the main trail. There you will see two cascades.

After hiking up Avalon trial for 1.3 miles, we connected onto A-Z trail which brought us up to Mt. Tom Spur Trail. We had traveled 1.0 up on A-Z trail before connecting onto Mt. Tom Spur. At that point my stepson wanted a break, so we had a snack. That spot was a great resting stop, had a few logs to sit on and it was shady. Then we hiked up Mt. Tom Spur to see the view. There are two places to view the mountains around. Here are a few pictures I took:

There were some short trees to have to take pictures over, but I stood on the highest point. I have to say that it wasn't the best views but I still got some nice pictures. The hike all together was 5.6 miles. We hiked for about five hours, stopping a few times. Mt. Tom is 4051 feet, making it a 4000 footer!
Happy Hiking!

Trail Report : Mt. Willard and the cascades

Last Thursday and Friday I stayed at the AMC Highland center in Crawford Notch. It was a wonderful stay and I got to go out on some of the trails. Two trails I explored were Mt. Willard Trail and Avalon Trail. If you are looking to hike these trails, they are mostly cleared. There are a few snow patches, and a little ice. The stream to over Mt. Willard Trail is over flowing due to melting so the trail is a little hard to find at the bottom. The view at the top of Mt. Willard is stunning as always. I enjoyed seeing both Beeches and Pearl Cascade, for they are so lovely with the water flowing so rapidly.
Here are some pics I took of these adventures. These places are great also to take children too. The hikes are fun and not difficult. Happy Hiking:)

 This is Beeches Cascade which is on the cascade loop.

The loop is about a mile all the way around.

Great trail for children to explore.

 This is Pearl cascade which is on the cascade loop.

This is the view from top of Mt. Willard. You can see the Valley and mountains on both sides. It was a great day for a hike up that morning. We started around 9:00 am and made it to the top by 11:00 am with a fw small stops along the way for the kids to have a break. The weather was a little chilly on top but all was needed was a windbreaker. Great place to have lunch, which we did and enjoyed the view. The trail is 1.6 miles to the top. Great for children to hike up!

Trail Report: Hiking up Mt. Avalon

This past weekend was beautiful. The weather was in the 70's and there was a cool breeze! My stepson, Stitch and I decided we wanted to go hiking. I thought it would be a great idea to hike a trail we have never hiked before, so I check my map and decided on Mt. Avalon. Mt. Avalon is located in Crawford Notch. You can find the starting trail on route 302 near the Crawford Depot. You just park and walk over the tracks to the starting trail called Avalon Trail.
The trail was not to bad this time of year. The snow was still about four feet deep in most places but in the middle of the trail it was well packed down. The Trail in about 1.8 miles up to Mt. Avalon and the view was amazing! You can see all over. I loved the view of Mt. Washington from up on Mt. Avalon. On the way up or down you can also view Pearl Cascade and Beecher Cascade on a side trail loop. If you were to continue up Avalon Trail another 1.0 miles you would be at Mt. Field. I hope that I come to this spot again this summer and continue up to that Mountain. Here are some pics of the view and beauty of Mt. Avalon.

Cascade Beecher

This sign means you are very close at seeing beautiful views

The View from Mt. Avalon

The view of Mt. Washington from Mt. Avalon

Did you know that Mt. Avalon Trail was named by Moses F. Swetser, who thought the area's beauty rivaled that of King Arthur's fabled residence. I wonder if I start searching on the trail if I will find my own Sword and the Stone:)


Happy Hiking! Enjoy the Spring Hiking!