NH White Mountains – N. & S. Kinsman & Cannon – Adventuring with Mel and John

Saturday, August 1, 2026

Lonesome Lake from Cannon

John and I are ticking off 4,000-footers for our second GRID. Since I don’t need any for August, it was his choice. He decided on North and South Kinsman and Cannon by going over the Cannonballs. We easily got a spot in the southbound parking lot for the Basin at 8:45AM; later in the day it will be swamped by tourists.

The Franconia Notch Recreation Path is 8.7 paved miles that connects the Skookumchuck Trailhead to the Flume Visitor Center. It goes right through this area.

Two of my favorite trails in all of the White Mountain National Forest are the Basin Cascade and Kinsman Pond trails. For miles you are walking along Cascade Brook and are treated with cascades and waterfalls.

The Basin, a glacial pothole. Henry David Thoreau once stood here.

We’ve hiked this trail so many times that we had to change it up to make it more interesting. Instead of following the actual trail in the woods, we walked up the brook as far as we could. We agreed that rock hopping this section was our favorite part of the day.

This is a popular place for folks to lounge around and swim.

Kinsman Falls

Eventually we got back into the woods, where we would stay for about 7 hours. Very different than last week’s hike. It’s a pretty steady climb over rocks and roots.

You get to this last waterfall, then take a left, and BOOM: a gorge-ous stairway treat.

We take a left here. You can do the same thing that we’re doing by continuing on Cascade Brook Trail, then taking Fishin’ Jimmy to the Kinsman Pond shelter and campsite. It makes the hike .3 of a mile longer, though, AND you miss unicorn land.

Our last water crossing.

You can tell you’re getting close to Kinsman Pond when you start seeing more and more moss everywhere. It’s a pretty magical spot for me.

Once John and I were talking to a guy working at Lonesome Lake Hut, and he told us about a time that he witnessed a moose fall to its death off of one of these cliffs. Tragic if it happened, but should we believe him?

You continue the length of the Pond, then turn left at the junction and begin the steady climb up to North Kinsman.

Shelter at Kinsman Pond, before the junction of Kinsman Pond, Fishin’ Jimmy, and Kinsman Ridge trails. We’ll be taking the Kinsman Ridge Trail up to North and South Kinsman, then heading back here to continue taking it over the Cannonballs.

There’s steep ledge heading up to North Kinsman. We came up to what I’m assuming was a family (a dad with a male and two female adolescents) who were stopped. As soon as we passed, they started hiking again, and they were speedy. I was determined not to let them pass us. And they didn’t. I certainly got my heart rate up.

When you get to the summit of North Kinsman, you have the option of climbing down some ledge to be rewarded with views of Franconia Ridge, the highway leading to Lincoln/Woodstock, and Loon Mountain. I could see the Tripyramids, Hancocks and Carrigain in the distance, as well.

The hike between North and South Kinsman is one of the easiest (in my opinion). It’s a quick .9 of a mile, each way.

On the summit of South Kinsman. There’s a “throne” on the summit, so we had to get the obligatory pictures.

If we were to continue going south (part of the Appalachian Trail), we’d come up to a pretty gnarly section of steep descent down big boulders and slick ledge. I think it’s fun, but that’s with my small pack; kudos to the thru hikers who do it carrying their house on their back.

Heading back over North Kinsman.

Once back at the Kinsman Pond shelter and campsite, we continue on the Kinsman Ridge Trail. Now we’re in for a roller-coaster hike, as we go over three and skirt around one of the Cannonballs. The trail has plenty of obstacles.

View of Cannon from one of the Cannonballs.

View of Cannon from the final Cannonball.

Time for a steep descent to the col.

The climb from the col of the final Cannonball to Cannon is rugged. It’s fun to go up or down, as long as it’s not wet or icy. (We’ve descended when it was icy, and it was not my favorite.) When we’re in the middle of the hardest parts of a hike, we’re not really taking pictures, so we don’t have any of the really fun stuff.

It’s .4 of a mile of steep climb, then .4 of a mile of a walk in the park to get to the summit of Cannon.

The communications and observation tower on the summit of Cannon. Since this is also a ski area, there’s a building on the summit with a bathroom and a place to get some food (if it’s open). Usually there’s a tram that brings people up and down, but it’s closed this summer to install the third-generation tram.

From the observation tower. Franconia Ridge is in the background.

We descended Cannon via the Hi-Cannon Trail. It’s steep and ledge-y and especially treacherous when wet and icy. The last time we hiked Cannon via this trail, I hated my life going down the ladder, even with my K-10s. It was basically a long, steep, snowy slide. Luckily, the snow was soft enough to kick in steps, but there’s nothing to grab onto, and a big boulder is awaiting you at the bottom, should you slip. But on this day it was all good.

Once beyond the ledge, you reach an eroded trail of sand. It’s the same if you ascend Cannon from the north on the Kinsman Ridge Trail starting at Cannon Mountain Ski Area. There’s no way to get around it, unless you access it the way we did. Choose your adventure.

We crossed this log to get from the Pemi Trail to the Rec Path.

We reached Lafayette Campground and headed back to the Basin, first on the Pemi Trail, then on the Recreation Path. We walked on this for about 2 miles, making a nice loop.

Our “swimming” spot.

Back at the car, we changed into our swim suits, then found a spot to rinse off. I originally thought I’d be able to spend more than 10 seconds in the water, but it was way too cold. I needed John to help me out of the water because my legs wouldn’t work right. Despite this, it was a great way to end our day.

Other hikes you might like:

NH White Mountains: Adams and Madison via Great Gully

NH White Mountains: Owl’s Head

NH White Mountains: Wildcat D, Wildcat, Carter Dome, South Carter, and Middle Carter

NH White Mountains – N. & S. Kinsman & Cannon

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