Fall Foliage Reports

WHITE MOUNTAINS REGION (Updated 10/27/11)

The White Mountains region is mostly past peak, but a drive to this area now will not completely disappoint leaf peepers, as there are still some bold yellows and oranges to be seen. What remains are mainly muted colors, including rust and gold, with the addition of a new color – white! Snow is in the forecast, which will brighten up the landscape, especially the mountain summits. It’s nearly time for the ski season, so make plans to visit this region for some of the best skiing in the east. Will this be your year to try downhill or cross country skiing? How about snow tubing, dog sledding, or winter hiking? Not a skier? Check out the day spas in this region, and relax in a bubbling hot tub or enjoy a massage as you watch the snow come down outside.



GREAT NORTH WOODS REGION (GRAND NORTH) (Updated 10/27/11)

Fall has come and gone in the Great North Woods region. Despite some remaining faded gold and oranges in the lower elevations, and occasional yellows in the hillsides, the area is past peak and most of the leaves are on the ground. Now is the time to enjoy the panoramic views through the bare trees, or act like a kid again by raking up a pile of crunchy leaves and jumping in! Remember to wear blaze orange if you go hiking right now, as hunting season is on. As the temperature drops and snow begins to fall, consider visiting this region for excellent snowmobiling tours. Find a secluded cabin, stoke up the fire, and enjoy the peace and quiet.

LAKES REGION (UPDATED 10/27/11)
While many leaves have dropped in the Lakes region, there is still some color to be seen. Look for muted yellows, gold, some oranges and even some remaining soft reds all around the area. Occasional bright oranges and yellows can still be found along the waterways. As fall makes its change into winter, this region offers some great cold weather sports, including ice fishing, ice skating, and ice sailing. The lakes and ponds here provide beautiful winter scenery once they freeze over, so bring your camera as you travel through this area during the frosty cold months.






This map is from Yankee Magazine.  

Attractions Update Hurricane Irene

5:50pm UPDATE

Lost River Gorge We're excited to announce that Lost River Gorge will partially open at 9am on Tuesday August 31st with access to Cave of Odin, Devil's Kitchen, Center of the Earth and the new boardwalk extension. Many thanks to Martin Forestry Consulting out of New Hampton, NH, Dan Mitchell Builders out of Lyndonville, VT and Lost River staff for all of their hard work!! Debris from Hurricane Irene has been removed and the boardwalk is under repair.
Our goal is to be fully operational by the weekend.

4:00pm UPDATE

New Hampshire road closures update from the NH DOT. Click Here

Conway Scenic Railroad Update Four major areas of damage have been identified between Intervale and Hart's Location. Private contractors with equipment and manpower have been hired and put in place to systematically put the railroad back in operating order. Repairs have already begun. We expect to be able to operate the Bartlett Train in approximately 2 weeks and be fully operational by Railfans' Weekend. As always, we're moving forward!



12Noon UPDATE 8/30/11

There are many locations that are still closed in the White Mountain National Forest For a list of places closed in the White Mountain National Forest please clcik this link:http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/conditions/closures_08292011.pdf

To check on Road Conditions in the White Mountain National Forest click here.

To check on Campground conditions for the White Mountain National Forest please click here.

To check on Huts run by the Appalachian Mountain Club please click here.


For a list of roads closed in the state of New Hampshire please click here

Santas Village The park is up and running today. We will be open 9:30-5. It is a great day to splash down the Yule Log Flume, ride Rudy's Rapid Roller Coaster, take a spin on the SS Peppermint Twist and learn to fly at Loopin' Louie's Flying School. Enjoy a gingerbread cookie, fresh made fudge and a slice of pizza. IT'S CHRISTMAS TODAY!

Franconia Notch State Park Update:
Flume Gorge OPEN 9-5
Cannon Tramway: OPEN 9-5
Echo Lake Beach: OPEN 10-5
Lafayette Campground - All sites & services OPEN - call: 877-NHPARKS
...Cannon RV Park - OPEN call 877-NHPARKS
The Basin - CLOSED for path repairs.
All other FNSP trails and waysides: OPEN.
Recreation Path: Open

Loon Mountain
Good Morning and what a beautiful morning it is! We are OPEN for business today so come on by and enjoy the day. Please note, the main bridge is closed. Follow the sign at South Peak Resort in Lincoln to get to Loon Mountain. Thanks!

Hobo Railroad Unfortunately, the tracks are still not ready for trains. Please keep your fingers crossed and maybe they will be ready on Wednesday. :)

Attitash Ski Area Great news! Staff worked hard today to clean up after flooding and we'll re-open Alpine Slides, scenic chair, waterslides, Buddy Bear's Playpool, climbing wall, & Eurobungy Wednesday, August 31. Unfortunately, more work required to re-open downhill mountain bike trails and horseback trails remain under water, so will not be open Wednesday. The biggest hit is that it may be weeks before we can re-open the Mountain Coaster, but silver lining is that it was primarily only base area erosion.

Lost River Crew members and staff worked hard on Monday in the gorge to remove debris left from Hurricane Irene. Water levels still remain high in the gorge though. We are opening the the main building, gift shop and mining sluice tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9am. Our goal is to get part of the lower gorge open for Wednesday and be fully operational by the weekend. Please check back here for further details as they become available.

Mount Washington Auto Road After assessing the damages to the Auto Road we anticipate opening later this week. We will keep you updated as often as we can. Stay safe with any of your efforts to clean up.

Conway Scenic Railroad Conway Scenic Railroad is running, and all departures this week will be to Conway. Due to track damage that's been identified as a result of Irene, we don't expect to have the Bartlett and Notch trains in operation this week. We'll continue to post updates as we have them.

Bretton Woods and Mount Washington Resort Access to Mount Washington Resort and Bretton Woods is a little limited at the moment, but the Bretton Woods Adventure Center is open today, and we hope to have the two golf courses open tomorrow to try to bring a little fun back to the lives of those in the area.









5:00pm UPDATTE 8/29/11

I have been able to find out the following updates on the attractions:

Route 16 is open thru Pinkham Notch.

THE WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/white_mountain/

Hobo RR & Cafe Lafayette Dinner Train Hope to operate on Saturday

Mount Washington Auto Road Hopes to re-open late this week

Conway Scenic Railroad The 4th Iron Bridge (Route 302) is gone, but the trestle is fine. Our crew went over it going to and returning from Crawford Station this afternoon. Based on preliminary inspections, the tracks in Bartlett suffered the most damage from the storm. We'll have more details to report tomorrow, and possibly some pictures, too. Wishing all of our neighbors and friends a speedy recovery from Irene! The Conway Valley Train is running, and the 11:30 departure is boarding now. All departures this week will be to Conway: 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, 4:30, and 6:00. No dining car service today or tomorrow due to access issues with our restaurant partner, Attitash in Bartlett. Due to track damage that's been identified, we don't expect to have the Bartlett and Notch trains in operation this week. We'll continue to post updates as we have them. Thanks, Everyone, for your good wishes and support!

Loon Mountain . Due to the heavy storm with Hurricane Irene, Loon is closed Monday, Aug. 29. We plan to reopen tomorrow, August 30! KEEP IN MIND THAT THE ENTRANCE WILL MOST LIKELY BE THE COOPER MEMORIAL BRIDGE BEHIND SOUTH MOUNTAIN

Squam Lakes Science Center Good news! We had a few branches down but did not sustain any major damage. We will open today at noon so stop by for a visit! We will not have any lake cruises or Up Close to Animals presentations but the trails will be open at noon.



This is why the Kancamangus Highway is closed. This scene below is repeated numerous times all the way over to North Conway. Photo taken by Lorna Colquhoun
























Franconia Notch State Park - UPDATE:
- Flume Gorge re-opens Monday @ Noon
- Lafayette Place opens Monday Afternoon. Full facilities open Tuesday.
- Paved Rec Path is open.
- Artists Bluff Trail and Pemi Trail are open.
...- Waysides are open.
- Cannon RV Park opens today, available for overnight tonight.
- Cannon Aerial Tramway reopens on Tuesday @ 9am
- The Basin & trails reopen on Tuesday.
- Echo Lake Beach reopens on Tuesday.
Camping Reservations: 877-NHPARKS Park Info: 603-823

Please click on this Link for more information regarding White Mountain Attractions:
http://www.visitwhitemountains.com/uploads/images/pdfs/HurricaneIrene_2011.pdf

Discover How the White Mountain National Forest was created

BETHLEHEM, N.H.—The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the Ammonoosuc Chapter of the N.H. Audubon Society, and naturalist Dave Govatski will present the free program, “The Weeks Act and the Creation of the White Mountain National Forest,” at The Rocks Estate Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.

The program is timely, as the Weeks Act was passed February 15, 1911 and signed into law by President Taft March 1. The Act enabled the protection of eastern watersheds from further development and exploitation and made possible the long-term effort to replant and restore eastern forests that had been decimated by logging.

The program will use historic photographs and glass slide images from a century ago to document the rise of the forest conservation movement in New Hampshire. The movement to protect the forests followed extensive forest fires resulting from destructive logging of White Mountain forests.

Govatski, a local naturalist and historian, will lead the discussion. He is Secretary of the Weeks Act Centennial Committee and a member of the Board of Directors of WhiteMountainHistory.org. He retired as a forester from the White Mountain National Forest and has a strong interest in forest conservation.

Govatski will explain why the protection of navigable rivers was key to passage of the Weeks Act, one of the most important forest conservation laws in United States history. Govatski will share a 1915 Forest Service map of the “White Mountain Region” (before it became a National Forest), showing which parcels of land had already been purchased when the Weeks Act became law.

The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests played a key role in securing the passage of the Weeks Act.

The free program is part of the Bretzfelder Park Family Educational Series.

Owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (http://www.forestsociety.org/), Bretzfelder Park is managed in cooperation with the town of Bethlehem. The Park was bequeathed to the Forest Society in 1984 by Helen Bretzfelder in memory of her father, Charles, and includes a classroom, educational trails, a pond, and several picnic sites.

The next program in the series is titled “The Impact of North Country Community & Collaboration on The Weeks Act of 1911” and will be presented Feb. 23 by Rebecca Weeks Sherrill More. For more information and a calendar of events please visit http://www.therocks.org/, email us at info@therocks.org, or call 603-444-6228.