Parking
Use The Basin parking area off I-93 for road access. Follow Basin-Cascade Trail, then Cascade Brook Trail, to the Kinsman Pond Trail junction; the 2.2-mile named segment starts there. Lot capacity and fees were not verified.
Overview
About Kinsman Pond Trail
Why go
- A high mountain pond and backcountry shelter make a clear destination.
Heads up
- The road approach adds distance on two other trails before the named segment begins.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Franconia Notch map
Full mapElevation2,349–3,750 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 Kinsman Pond 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
A Chickadee’s Hidden Food0:00 / 0:26
“On a woodland walk, watch where a black-capped chickadee goes after picking up a seed. It may tuck it into a bark crevice to eat later. These little birds store food as well as eating it on the spot.”
Plays on the road 1.2 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Franconia Notch Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Basin’s Water-Carved Bowl
- Lonesome Lake and Its Shoreline Loop
- An Old Plant in a Small Cushion
- Mount Lafayette and Franconia Ridge
- 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 Kinsman Pond Trail
A high pond with a long approachKinsman Pond Trail is a 2.
Kinsman Pond Trail is a 2.2-mile point-to-point climb from its Cascade Brook Trail junction to Kinsman Pond. Allow about two hours for this named segment. Its lower junction is not a road trailhead: from The Basin parking area, approach on Basin-Cascade and Cascade Brook, then retrace the same trails. Published Basin-to-pond round-trip totals vary from 7.25 miles to about 8; measurements of the named segment itself range from 2.1 to 2.5 miles.
A rough, wet climbThe path crosses the brook soon after leaving Cascade Brook, then climbs steadily through lush…
The path crosses the brook soon after leaving Cascade Brook, then climbs steadily through lush forest. Expect rough, frequently wet tread and careful footing over uneven rock, with about 1,400 feet of climbing. Kinsman Falls and Rocky Glen Falls are on the Basin-Cascade approach below the junction, not on Kinsman Pond Trail itself.
Kinsman PondKinsman Pond sits around 3,750 feet, with a rocky shore and forested North Kinsman rising…
Kinsman Pond sits around 3,750 feet, with a rocky shore and forested North Kinsman rising across the water. The north-shore shelter is on White Mountain National Forest land beyond the state park boundary; it has a composting toilet, four tent platforms, a bear box and dishwashing area. There is no potable water at the shelter, so plan for a backcountry stop.
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.
