But, that makes the gorge a hidden gem that is always fun to discover. (Photo: Anna Berry)There’s little information available about the size of Chesterfield Gorge, which is lesser known than the other two. Today, White Mountains Attractions Association leases and operates the Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves attraction at the property in North Woodstock.ĭid you know that gorges and flumes are the same thing? Evan (left) and Jonah Berry learn other surprising facts at Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves in North Woodstock. Lost River Gorge is part of a 157-acre property protected and cared for by the Forest Society since 1912. The largest waterfall, Paradise Falls, is 35 feet tall and a giant pothole extends to at least 60 feet below the top of the gorge.

Lost River Gorge’s boardwalk trail is close to 4,000 feet long and visitors descend about 300 feet once inside, according to General Manager Kate Weatherell. It’s been protected since 1927, when the Forest Society completed a successful campaign to conserve 6,000 acres in Franconia Notch (also including the Old Man of the Mountain), which the state of New Hampshire has owned ever since. Its walls are up to 90 feet tall and 20 feet apart. The Flume Gorge extends 800 feet from the base of Mount Liberty. So how do the state’s top gorges stack up? You might not know, however, that the nonprofit Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests has been integral to protecting three of the state’s most famous gorges: Chesterfield Gorge, The Flume Gorge, and Lost River Gorge.Īll are great places to enjoy nature this summer and beat the heat, without schlepping towels, chairs, and umbrellas to the beach. (Photo: Anna Berry)Īs a transplant to New Hampshire from Alaska, where I knew more about glaciers than gorges, I came to know the Franconia Notch attraction as just “The Flume.”īut, it turns out that a flume is just a gorge - and a gorge is very similar to a canyon, except steeper and narrower.

Jonah Berry looks up from inside Lost River Gorge, where trees create a cool shaded microclimate similar to other ravines and gorges that are forested.

Flume gorge new hampshire