Parking
The trail starts at roadside parking on the left as you head north on Route 3, just south of Indian Head Resort. The lot size, fee and ownership are not clearly documented; the Flume parking area serves a different Mount Pemigewasset route.
Overview
About Indian Head Trail
Why go
- Broad views from open summit ledges.
Heads up
- The upper climb is steep and rocky.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Franconia Notch map
Full mapElevation1,073–2,536 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
2 active Franconia Notch alerts
- ClosureFlume Gorge Short Trail closed; seasonal closure Oct 26The Flume Gorge Short Trail/Rim Path is closed; before the seasonal closure, visitors must use the full 2-mile loop.Official details
- ClosureCannon Mountain Aerial Tramway closed and retiredThe Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway (Tram II) is closed and retired; do not plan on a tram ride.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Franconia Notch Tour Guide
Your drive to Indian Head Trail, narrated.
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 area
The Trees That Grow Sideways0:00 / 0:32
“On a hike toward treeline, watch for spruce and fir that spread sideways in a low, tangled thicket. This stunted forest is called krummholz, meaning crooked wood.”
Plays on the road 0.3 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Franconia Notch Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Ice That Widened the Notch
- A Hare Built for Snow
- The Frog That Freezes
- Flume Gorge and the Full Loop
- 32 audio storiesacross Franconia Notch’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Moose, Wild Turkey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 29 trails, 33 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Indian Head Trail
What you're signing up forIndian Head Trail is a 3.
Indian Head Trail is a 3.8-mile out-and-back from Route 3 to the open ledges at Mount Pemigewasset's summit, then back the same way. Published round-trip totals vary from about 3.2 to 3.8 miles; the upper figure fits the Route 3 route reports and is the safer plan. Allow about three hours for roughly 1,450 feet of climbing. The first quarter-mile follows an old logging road through the woods; after that, the route heads north and climbs more steeply beneath the cliffs.
The climb and the viewThe roughest, rockiest footing is near the top.
The roughest, rockiest footing is near the top. Summit ledges open to a long view south over Route 3, Franconia Notch and the Pemigewasset River valley. To the east, Loon Mountain, Scar Ridge and Mount Osceola show through the trees. Keep some granite in the foreground for a photo; it gives the view its sense of height. The ledges are exposed, so watch your footing on top and take care on the rocky descent.
Start at Route 3Use the roadside trailhead lot on the left as you head north on Route 3, just south of Indian…
Use the roadside trailhead lot on the left as you head north on Route 3, just south of Indian Head Resort. Its size, fee and ownership aren't clearly documented. This is the Indian Head approach, not the separate Mount Pemigewasset Trail that starts by the Flume parking area. Dogs aren't allowed on this route: pets are limited to designated dog walks near the Tramway and Flume lots.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Franconia Notch
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.
