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Best Waterfall Hikes in New Hampshire

The directory currently contains 8 quality-checked routes matching this guide in New Hampshire. Their average mapped distance is 2.5 km and average recorded ascent is 55 m (180 ft); the longest route in the set is 7.7 km.

This subset represents 2% of the 390 quality-checked routes in New Hampshire. Its average distance is 2.5 km, compared with 5.3 km across the full local set. Average recorded ascent is 55 m (180 ft), versus 260 m (853 ft) for all quality-checked routes in the same area.

Every route in this set carries the directory’s waterfall tag. The tag identifies the recorded theme; it does not report current water flow or access. Within this set, 1 routes (13%) are rated easy, 0 (0%) are rated hard or expert, and 0 (0%) are recorded as loops. Ratings are computed from available distance and elevation data and do not establish current terrain or access.

Data refreshed September 2026

Choose by the details

How do these routes differ?

A closer look at the first 6 routes in this page’s default ordering. These comparisons describe this sample, not the entire destination or a field-tested recommendation.

Shortest mapped distance in this sample

0.5 km

Falls Trail

Compare the climbing too; shortest does not necessarily mean easiest.

Lowest recorded ascent in this sample

0 m

Arethusa Falls Trail

6 of 6 have ascent data. Missing measurements are excluded.

Return logistics

0 recorded loops

Check start and finish for every option. An unknown shape does not mean a loop, and a loop does not establish access to its start.

Plan the return journey →

Distances follow stored route lines; ascent and time are estimates. Current access, surface and technical difficulty need separate checks. How to turn a comparison into a shortlist.

Trails

Arethusa Falls, Arethusa Falls Trail, Hart's Location
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.8 km
/ 2.4 mi
Elevation gain
204 m
Typical duration
1 hr 6 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
Conway Scenic Railway, Arethusa Falls Trail, Hart's Location, New Hampshire, United States
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.0 km
/ 1.2 mi
Typical duration
25 min
  • Waterfall
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.1 km
/ 1.3 mi
Elevation gain
10 m
Typical duration
27 min
  • Waterfall
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.7 km
/ 1.0 mi
Elevation gain
61 m
Typical duration
26 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.5 km
/ 0.3 mi
Typical duration
7 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.7 km
/ 4.8 mi
Elevation gain
36 m
Typical duration
1 hr 40 min
  • Waterfall
  • Lake
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.4 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
129 m
Typical duration
29 min
  • Waterfall
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.0 km
/ 0.6 mi
Typical duration
12 min
  • Waterfall

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Arethusa-Ripley Falls TrailNew Hampshire3.8 km204 m1 hr 6 minModerateApril to October
Arethusa Falls TrailNew Hampshire2.0 km0 m25 minModerateApril to October
Cascade LinkNew Hampshire2.1 km10 m27 minModerateApril to October
Cascade TrailNew Hampshire1.7 km61 m26 minModerateApril to October
Falls TrailNew Hampshire0.5 km0 m7 minEasyApril to October
Thoreau Falls TrailNew Hampshire7.7 km36 m1 hr 40 minModerateApril to October
Cabin-Cascades TrailNew Hampshire1.4 km129 m29 minModerateApril to October
Garfield FallsNew Hampshire1.0 km0 m12 minModerateApril to October

Arethusa-Ripley Falls Trail, Cascade Link, Arethusa Falls Trail currently rank highest in this filtered set according to the directory score. Open an individual route to inspect its mapped line, elevation profile, data source and planning caveats. Check live access, conditions and local rules with an official source before travelling.

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