A couple of weeks ago Emily, Bug and I ventured up to Franconia Notch State Park early on a Saturday morning. We knew it would be a busy weekend to head north as the colors were at peak foliage in the notch, but that didn’t bother us. It was going to be our daughter’s first trip to Franconia Notch State Park and we were going to celebrate that by taking her up The Cannon Mountain Tram.
If you’ve never been on The Cannon Tram, it is an experience that I cannot recommend enough. The two cars, affectionately known as Ketchup and Mustard on account of their coloring, each hold 80 people and are on a single cable. That means as one is going up the mountain, the other is coming down. The Cannon Tram, constructed in 1938, was the first cable car system in North America and allows passengers to, on a clear day, see Maine, Vermont, New York and Canada! I know all this is old news to those who have ridden the tram before, but for those who haven’t, the views are a major selling point, especially during foliage season. *Note, the tram is closed as of October 16th and won’t open again until ski season. Plan for next year!
After winding our way through a truly ridiculous amount of traffic in the notch, we arrived at the state park parking lot, and I couldn’t help but think that maybe everyone from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island was moving north (so many out-of-state plates). We packed up Bug, checked out the gift shop, bought our tickets, and boarded the tram. The ride up was a little cramped, but not as bad as we thought it would be given the number of cars in the parking lot. Of course, it was hard to worry about the somewhat cramped conditions given how the view just got more awesome the higher we went.
At the top we took a light hike around the summit trail. At times, it felt more like shuffling through a line in an amusement park (did I mention it was busy?), but that didn’t diminish the experience of looking down on the peak foliage in the notch. In fact, in a way it almost enhanced it. Being up there with all those people was busy sure, but it was also a shared experience in the sheer beauty that Franconia Notch State Park has to offer. The cars and the crowds all seemed to melt away when people stopped to look out and take it all in.
The day ended at the base of Cannon on the shores of Echo Lake with a picnic of peanut butter sandwiches. By that time it had cooled off a bit and some clouds had rolled in, but looking up at the notch was still just as beautiful as looking down on it. I joked with Emily about going for a swim but thought better of it when I felt the water. I guess we’ll have to go back in the spring.
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