White Mountain Swimming Areas - Lower Falls - Kancamagus Highway

Lower Falls - Kancamagus Highway (Route 112)

lowerfalls Directions:

26 miles From Lincoln, take RT 112, Kancamagus Highway East 26 miles. Make a left turn into the lower falls parking lot. If lot is full, park along Kancamagus highway ¼ mile past parking lot. Watch signs for NO Parking areas. Plan on arriving early. This one is NOT to be missed.

Quite possibly, the best swimming area ever. If it’s a warm day, bring along a swimsuit and a bottle of sunscreen when you visit the lower falls swimming area. This spot is the closest thing to Coney Island that you will find in the White Mountains, complete with parking lot jams, changing rooms, picnic tables, and (small) sandy beaches. There are fast currents and foaming basins for thrill-seekers, as well as quiet eddy pools above and below the falls for tamer souls and small children. If you don’t like crowds lowerfalls2 you may have to visit Lower Falls when the weather is less inviting. Whatever the timing of your visit, Lower Falls is a compelling sight. Here the collected waters of the entire Swift River basin surge through a maze of channels, slides, chutes, curtains, and spouts arrayed across a broad band of polished ledges and boulders. Though the river drops only 10 feet, you have a front-row view of panoramic cataracts and colorful rock gardens, framed by birch and conifer. The view ranges from lovely to thrilling depending on the level of the river, which rises and falls quickly after heavy rains. Across the river, Moat Mountain rises more than 2000 feet above the valley floor.