Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway

Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway is the base station for a cable lift that linked Franconia Notch with Cannon Mountain’s 4,080-foot summit. It opened in 1938 to get skiers onto upper-mountain runs; the ride and summit became a draw in their own right.

In its final form, Tram II carried up to 80 people at a time up the mountain in under seven minutes. The route carried cars over forest, with Echo Lake and I-93 below. When service resumes, frame a cable tower and the lake together to show the drop. At the summit, riders could take a short walk to the observation tower and a broad White Mountains panorama. The path could be rocky and steep, and cloud can hide the view.

An Olympic skier proposed the tram in 1933. State approval and funding followed, and the first cars opened in 1938 to make Cannon’s upper runs easier to reach. The resort’s early tram guides worked as ski patrol in winter; that arrangement became the country’s first paid professional ski patrol. The tram helped shape Cannon’s ski area, rather than arriving as a sightseeing add-on.

In 1980, Tram II replaced the original system and increased car capacity from 27 to 80. It carried more than nine million passengers across 45 years before its last public run on October 26, 2025. A third-generation replacement is in planning.

The station is at 260 Tramway Drive, just off I-93 Exit 34B. Its parking area also serves as overflow parking for Franconia Notch trailheads when those lots fill; that hiker-parking use is separate from tram service.