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The Liberty Spring Trail runs from the Franconia Notch bike path at the Pemigewasset River bridge to the Franconia Ridge Trail near the summit of Mount Liberty, passing the Liberty Spring Campsite (fee). The entire trail is part of the Appalachian Trail. The upper part of the trail is very rocky and care must be used in slippery conditions. The trail provides the shortest access from a road to the summits of Mounts Liberty and Flume.
Construction of the Franconia Notch Parkway eliminated the former trailhead parking lot, so hikers must walk from either The Flume or The Basin parking lot. Hikers may also choose between hiking the Pemi Trail (woodsy path, unbridged brook crossing below The Basin), the Whitehouse Trail, or the bike path (paved).
Distance: To Franconia Ridge Trail, about 2.8 miles one-way
Elevation gain: About 2900 feet on the ascent, minor on descent
Maps:
USGS Lincoln
AMC Franconia-Pemigewasset or Moosilauke-Kinsman
Franconia Notch State Park hiking map
Location: White Mountains Region
NH 2003-2004 map H-6
DeLorme NHA&G 43-G11/12 - Lincoln
The trail is NE of I-93 exit 33
Lower End: Franconia Notch bike path about .8 miles N of Flume parking lot, elevation about 1420 feet
Upper End: Franconia Ridge Trail about .3 miles N of Mount Liberty, elevation about 4260 feet
Owner: About up to the lowest brook crossing in Franconia Notch State Park, remainder in WMNF
Maintainer: Appalachian Mountain Club
Special regulations: No fires or camping in state park or along trail in WMNF, distance affected varies
No pets in state park
The Liberty Spring Trail leaves the bike path (here also the Whitehouse Trail) at the N end of the lowest Pemigewasset River bridge, about .8 miles N of the hikers parking lot at The Flume. (The Pemi Trail and the Cascade Brook Trail leave the bike path at the S end of the bridge.) The trail ascends to an old woods road and turns R on it, passing the junction with the Flume Slide Trail at .5 miles.
Bike path used by snowmobiles in winter. Flume and Basin parking lots plowed in winter, but not first priority after storms.
Map Notes: The USGS map was made before parkway construction: the present trail roughly follows where the map shows the Whitehouse Trail and then the upper portion of the Liberty Spring Trail. There is no longer a shelter at Liberty Spring Campsite.
Franconia Notch State Park hiking map (online version)
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