White Mountain National Forest — Attraction in New England

I parked at the Ammonoosuc Ravine trailhead parking lot because I was hiking up Mount Washington via Jewell Trail and Gulfside Trail. Refer to my review on Mount Washington regarding this trails. I had called Park headquarters ahead of time to see if they took my access pass at that parking lot. They returned my call and assured me that they did and all I had to do was hanging in my rearview mirror. Which I did. However, when I came back from my hike I had a pink ticket type thing on my windshield telling me I had to pay $5 or I would be fined $60 for non-payment. I wrote all over that envelope that I had an access pass and I didn't have to pay, and I wrote my access pass number on it and put it in the Dropbox. I did keep the stub and the next day I called Park headquarters again to let them know what happened and they said not to worry about it, that by putting my number on the pink envelope it would take care of it. But I don't like to run into surprises down the road so I gave the gentleman on the other end of the phone the number that was on the stub just in case there was a problem. The people at the park service were very friendly on the phone and he assured me that I do not have to fill out an envelope in the future, that sometimes they just don't see the tags hanging from the rear view mirrors and put these pink envelopes on cars. I was gone a long time, about 14 hours, and I felt safe leaving my car there. Also, there are pit toilets at that parking lot which come in handy before and...

We enjoyed our time in the White Mountain National Forest because of the beautiful landscapes and trail system. We came at the end of October so most of the fall colours had wrapped up but there were also significantly less crowds so we could really enjoy the park and the remaining warm days. The Kancamagus highway offers amazing views and many scenic vistas that are accessible via car. It is valuable to know that the visitor centre is located in the town of Lincoln off of highway 93 and 112 so if you are looking for maps/information or souvenirs, you need to stop there ahead of your visit. There were very limited outhouses and parking at most trail heads but you can park along the road in some areas (watch for signage). As others have mentioned, you do need to be a lot more aware when navigating the trail system because it isn’t always clearly marked and some of the (limited) signage are way point markers rather than the beginning of the actual new trail. We aren’t sure if this is the norm across all national forests but as tourists, it was good to learn that quickly haha. We also recommend bringing cash as there is a fee of $5 per vehicle...

Hiked up to Liberty Springs. Quite honestly almost didn't make it, but we did. It was a far harder hike than I anticipated, with a large part of that being mental - it is steep, very rocky, and then for good measure it seems someone decided to add even more rocks and make it steeper. We didn't leave enough time, thinking how could three miles take us much longer than three hours or so? But, it did. As darkness fell, the younger in our group (15 & 20) took off ahead to at least find the campsite and get us set up, while my wife and I (52 & 53) proceeded to hike by flashlight. Thankfully we weren't one day later or it would be have been pouring.

We used Liberty Springs as a base camp, having a very short day hike the next day to the most stunning views we'd seen in a long long time. So beautiful and so expansive.

One last practical thing: I, personally, totally botched my clothes packing, somehow leaving my cold weather gear back home. It rained and was in the high 40s (F) at night. I had to hunker down in my sleeping bag for warmth, while the others enjoyed time outside the tent.

To summarize: hard hike, amazing views, pack for cold and...