Sabbaday Falls Trail — Attraction in Waterville Valley

Sabbaday Falls is conveniently located right off the Kancamagus Highway. There is a parking lot and while there are a couple of inclines/declines it is a relatively flat and short walk in (0.3 miles) as compared to many other falls. It is also more wheelchair/handicap accessible. There are some stairs and/or a step decline near the base but a loop will also take you to the top with man made boardwalk going around the gorge/falls.

In the Spring, the water is really rushing through the falls and subsequent stream below. Unlike other areas, rock hopping is not really a good option here, at least at this time of year. Fortunately, Lower Falls is maybe a 10-15 minute drive away and much more suited to that type of activity.

My daughters were fascinated by how the water had cut through the rock and under cut some of the cliff edges as opposed to other falls that tend to flow down over the rocks. It is also a lot less busy than some of the other more popular falls. That said it should be added to your to do list if in the area. As an added bonus, Rocky Gorge, and Lower Falls are both within a 10-15 minute drive making it easy to hit 3 very easily accessible falls in one...

Sabbaday Falls is one of the most popular stops on the Kancamagus, and for good reason. It’s a short 0.3 mile walk in the woods for a very scenic waterfall.

The path is mostly flat, and a moderate uphill climb. By hiking standards a very easy walk, and the vast majority of people will have no problem. Parking on weekends will be your biggest problem as the lot is far to small for how many people are here at any given time. Parking on the side of the highway and walking back to the trailhead may be your only option during peak foliage.

After a short walk along the river, you’ll come to a green and beautiful pool at the bottom of the falls. There’s a view from the rocks here but be careful it’s almost always wet and slippery.

From there, a set of staircases will bring you up three levels around the falls, you’ll have a great view from anywhere along the stairs.

When you reach the top, the trail to the right loops around and will take you back to the parking lot.

I’d consider Sabbaday Falls & Rocky Gorge the two “must sees” on...

This is a beautiful and pretty impressive waterfall. It's very easily accessed from the kankamangus highway between Conway and Lincoln NH. It is a US national park party site (a day pass is $5 a day and good for any of the fee day use areas in the national forest, and you can buy a pass at a national park visitor center or on site) so there are trash cans and pit toilets available. The walk there is quite easy. It's a smooth, wide, and well maintained path, there is some uphill walking though. There are stairs to reach the upper portion of the falls. It's less than a 15 minute walk from the parking lot to the falls at a moderate pace. It can get a little crowded in peak season, but head up in the spring when it's less busy and you'll be rewarded with a heavy flow from the spring melt. Of your driving across the kankamangus, there are many great places to hike but this is an easy trip you can even make...