Bald Mountain and Artist Bluff

View from Bald Mountain with Cannon Mountain at center and Mount Lafayette at left

The Bald Mountain-Artist Bluff hike is a fairly easy 1.5-mile loop that provides great views of Cannon Mountain and Mount Lafayette in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire.

The trail to the summit of Bald Mountain

I made this short hike on the afternoon of May 26, 2016 beginning at the trailhead roughly a half mile from Interstate 93. If you go clockwise, the trail quickly ascends the small mountain and you reach a fork. The trail to the left goes to the summit of Bald Mountain, and the trail to the left goes to Artist Bluff and then back to the trailhead. The climb up Bald Mountain is fairly steep and rocky in many parts, but the views from the top are the best of the entire hike.


After climbing back down Bald Mountain, I continued on the trail up towards Artist Bluff. This is the main loop part of the hike, and the trail traverses mostly forested hill tops until you reach a short spur trail that takes you to Artist Bluff. The views from Artist Bluff were not nearly as great as from Bald Mountain, but still good nonetheless.

View from Artist Bluff

From Artist Bluff the trail descends the small mountain and parallels the road back to the trailhead. Overall, it was a nice short hike for an afternoon.


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