Sight · Franconia Notch State Park
Five granite ledges shaped a face woven into New Hampshire's story.
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The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Franconia Notch Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Franconia Notch State Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Franconia Notch audio tourRecorded for this place
Cannon Tramway Base and New England Ski Museum“Cannon's tramway base is coming up, with the New England Ski Museum beside it. If ski history interests you, this is a compact indoor stop I'd give half an hour.”
Plays as you drive up to Old Man of the Mountain Museum in the Parkwolf Franconia Notch Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
The Old Man of the Mountain Museum is a small indoor exhibit in the Aerial Tramway Base Station at Cannon Mountain. Photographs, stories, relics and artwork trace the granite profile’s place in New Hampshire’s history. Pair it with the separate outdoor Profile Plaza by Profile Lake; the plaza is a memorial site, not the museum.
The face formed from five granite ledges. Conway Granite crystallized from magma about 180 million years ago; much later, freeze-thaw weathering in exposed rock helped split and shape the ledges after glacial ice retreated from Franconia Notch. The formation’s exact age is uncertain, so there is no reliable single date for when the profile first took shape.
People tried to keep the natural profile in place with iron rods and turnbuckles. It finally collapsed on May 3, 2003, after the lower ledge failed. Franconia surveyors Francis Whitcomb and Luke Brooks recorded seeing it in 1805; that is an early written record, not the formation’s origin date. The outdoor Profile Plaza memorial was completed in 2015 and later turned over to the state.
The exhibit is a short indoor complement to Profile Plaza, not a second view of the mountain. Its hours and current base-lodge access are not clearly stated, so check ahead before making this a dedicated stop.
Wildlife
66 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
38 sightingsMooseMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
19 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
19 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
13 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting map
23 sightingsRavenMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Franconia Notch. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingCannon Mountain via Kinsman Ridge Trail4.1 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.1 mi awayA hard climb earns a clear view across Franconia Ridge.
ChallengingKinsman Ridge Trail15.8 mi · 12 hr · 0.1 mi awayA full day across Cannon, the Cannon Balls, and both Kinsmans.
ChallengingMount Lafayette via Greenleaf Trail6.6 mi · 6.5 hr · 0.3 mi awayEagle Pass, Greenleaf Hut, and a hard climb to Lafayette.
EasyPemi Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · 0.3 mi awayA rough river trail connects Profile Lake with The Basin.
EasyProfile Lake via Pemi Trail1.3 mi · 45 min · 0.4 mi awayA short, rocky shore walk below Eagle Cliff
ModerateArtists Bluff and Bald Mountain Loop1.3 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.9 mi awayEcho Lake below, big peaks ahead, in a short two-viewpoint loop.
ModerateBald Mountain Trail0.7 mi · 30 min · 0.9 mi awayA short scramble to open rock and Franconia Notch views.EasyCannon Mountain Rim Trail Loop0.4 mi · 45 min · 0.9 mi awayA short summit loop with Franconia Notch views and exposed ledges.
Sight · At the trailheadCannon Mountain Aerial TramwayA 1938 lift that carried generations of skiers to the summit.
Sight · At the trailheadNew England Ski Museum (Franconia Branch)New England ski history, from vintage gear to the 10th Mountain Division.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayEcho Lake Boat LaunchA public put-in for your own boat on Echo Lake.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayOld Man of the Mountain Profile PlazaStand at the marker and line up the face that fell.
Beach · 0.6 mi awayEcho Lake BeachA mountain-framed swim beach with kayaks at the water’s edge.
Campground · 0.6 mi awayCannon Mountain RV ParkSeven RV sites beside Echo Lake Beach, close to Franconia Notch.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayArtists BluffA short, steep climb buys the Notch's best Echo Lake panorama.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayCannon Mountain Ski AreaA steep, old-school hill that puts skiing ahead of frills.Parkwolf’s Franconia Notch ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
