Franconia Notch State Park is home to a wide variety of hawks, owls, and other birds. Walking along Profile Lake you will usually notice a Great Blue Heron hanging out with the fly-fishers waiting for the opportune moment to steal a fish. While hiking on Franconia Ridge you might be able to hear some Peregrine […]
Author: Discover Power of Parks SCA Interpreters
Discover the Power of Parks is presented by New Hampshire State Parks in collaboration with the Student Conservation Association and AmeriCorps and made possible by generous financial support from Eversource. The program offers a look into the natural world through hands-on programming.
Interpretive programs focus on connecting participants with nature and building appreciation for New Hampshire's unmatched natural heritage. Programs include guided hikes, interpretive tours, and imaginative environmental workshops for children and families. Programs are offered free to guests with paid park admission fee. No pre-registration is required.
Salt Marshes of the NH Seacoast
Written by Interpretive Ranger Darren Lu: Drive down New Hampshire’s seacoast, and the first thing you’ll notice is the ocean. Take a moment to turn away from the beach, though, and you’ll spot one of the seacoast’s more overlooked ecosystems: New Hampshire’s salt marshes. A salt marsh is a type of coastal wetland that is […]
The Tracks of New Hampshire: Find Tracks or Try!
A huge part of being an Interpretive Ranger is putting on programs for park visitors. One of my programs is about the ways wildlife moves and their tracks. If you really look around yourself while you hike you’ll notice the signs of wildlife all around you. You can see vegetation pushed down, scat, and track […]
The Waterfalls of Franconia
Franconia Notch has no shortage of waterfalls. A short walk up Falling Waters Trail will bring you to three picturesque waterfalls: Stairs Falls, Swiftwater Falls and Cloudland Falls (the largest of the three). While the upper half of the Falling Waters Trail is strenuous, the 1.4-mile walk up to the three waterfalls is fairly family-friendly. […]
Frontcountry vs. Backcountry
Special post from the SCA NH Corps, Conservation Crew (by Annie Cohen): Greetings from another frontcountry carpentry hitch! This time my crew is working at the top of the Flume Gorge in Franconia Notch State Park. The rain shelter we are building will be appropriately titled: Top o’ Gorge. The sign is already made—all we […]
Fire Towers & Covered Bridges: Cultural Icons of New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s cultural history has been largely influenced by its natural history. Everything from ancient volcanoes and glaciers to modern day forest fires have helped to mold the mountains, rivers, and lakes that we know and love today. As a result, people have had to continuously adapt to the rough and rugged landscape. This has […]
The North Remembers
By Donny Palumbo, Interpretive Ranger at Umbagog Lake The winds up here in the North Country have begun to pick up. As I write, I notice some of the leaves have just barely started to turn. It may still be warm, but the smell of fall is not altogether indistinct blowing on the cool air. Autumn will […]
Extreme Makeover: Arethusa Falls Bridge Edition
Special post from the SCA NH Corps, Conservation Crew (by Megan Guy): On our last hitch, we were lucky enough to head up to Crawford Notch State Park to build a new bridge on the Arethusa Falls Trail to help users cross a brook getting up to the falls. Before our crews came onto the […]
Nightlife of the Notch
After my night programs, it is usually dark. As I walk home to our humble abode (the hiker cabin), I can’t help but notice the starry sky on a clear night. The constellations are so visible, it is unreal. Franconia Notch is just over 1,000ft above sea level. You don’t even have to climb a […]
Reliving the Flood: Clough State Park’s Lost Trail (And How to Find It)
Written by Interpretive Ranger Darren Lu: In 2006, Clough State Park experienced two consecutive seasons of heavy rains – enough so that by the summer of 2006, the entire park was underwater. Continued rain and snowfall the following year forced the park to close until 2008, and remnants of the deluge can still be seen […]