Favorite Stops on the Kancamagus Highway with Kids

Looking for the best stops along the Kancamagus Highway to make with kids? Read on for my top recommendations!

The Kancamagus is a famous scenic highway in New Hampshire that has earned the designation of a National Scenic Byway, and it has a plethora of picturesque stops along the way.

While the Kancamagus (known as “the Kanc” to locals) is beautiful any time of year, it truly shines during the fall, as the vibrant leaves create a stunning tapestry of colors as you drive and explore.

Driving this highway and exploring the many beautiful, scenic areas was a highlight for our kids (12, 10, 8, and 6), as well as Matthew and me during our 5 day Vermont and New Hampshire autumn road trip.

I’d highly recommend making this a priority on your New England itinerary!

In this post, we’re sharing everything to know about driving and exploring the Kancamagus, including where it is, how long it takes, when to go, where to stop, and more!

Quick Tip: If you’re planning a New England road trip, I recommend reserving a rental car ASAP for the best prices and availability. I always book my car with this rental car aggregate site to find the best deals.

Where is the Kancamagus Highway?

The highway is part of New Hampshire Route 112 and is 34.5 miles (55 km) long, running east-west between the towns of Conway and Lincoln and going through the White Mountain National Forest.

The western quarter of the highway runs along the Pemigewasset River, but the majority of the way you’ll be driving along the beautiful Swift River as it comes down from the mountain heights running toward Conway in the east. There are numerous creeks and hills all along the way with dozens of trails you can use to explore these numerous features.

In this map, you can see exactly where the Kancamagus highway is. The red stars are the different stops you can make, which we’ll talk about in more detail, below.

Which Direction to Drive the Kanc

You really can start in Lincoln or Conway and have a good experience. However, most of the viewpoints were on the western end and most of the spots where you could go down to the river were on the eastern end of the highway.

Our kids loved going down to the river and it was nice to visit those earlier in the day when there were fewer people out.

For that reason, I’d give a preference to driving the Kancamagus east-west (from Conway to Lincoln), so that you are hitting the river spots first thing. But again, if it just works better for you to drive west-east, you’ll still be totally fine and I don’t think it’s worth going majorly out of your way to start in Conway.

When to Visit

The Kancamagus is gorgeous, especially during the fall, but it’s very popular and gets extremely busy. We were up and out early (we started driving the highway by 8am) and were able to hit a few spots before the crowds really got heavy, which certainly made the experience easier and more pleasant.

I’d recommend you prioritize an early start as well.

A Note About Fall Foliage

If you are visiting during fall time, know that you will probably experience different levels of fall colors between your start in Conway or Lincoln, and along the entire drive.

Higher elevations change colors faster than lower elevations. Since the Kancamagus goes through the White Mountains, you will be gaining elevation throughout the drive, and color change will be more advanced as you go along.

Parking Passes

While there are no entrance fees to drive along the Kancamagus, you do need a pass to park in any of the parking lots at the stops along the highway. While you can buy a pass at the Visitor Center in Conway, there are also machines in every parking lot where you can buy a parking pass.

The pass is just $5 and is good for parking along the entire highway. If you have a National Parks Pass, that is also valid here.

Where to Stay Nearby

Since you’ll ideally be starting first thing in the morning, I’d recommend you stay near the starting points for the Highway, no matter which direction you choose.

If you’re starting from Conway, these are some good places to stay:

• Adventure Suites
• Residence Inn (Marriot)
• North Conway Grand Hotel

If you’re starting from Lincoln, these are some good options:

• Launchpoint Lodge (highest rated)
• Hampton Inn
• White Mountain Motel and Cottages (inexpensive and high ratings)
• Lodge at Lincoln Station (right on river, kitchenettes)

Conway

Since we drove the Kancamagus from Conway to Lincoln, that’s how I’m going to order the stops in the rest of the post.

Before you start your journey, stop at Leavitt’s Country Bakery for some delicious homemade donuts. The apple cider donuts are extremely popular in fall and they sell out early!

Second, make sure you have enough gas in the tank to do the full highway, as there are no gas stations on the Kancamagus.

If you want to do another fun activity before you start driving the highway, the Conway Scenic Railroad is located right in the middle of the city and offers train rides in historic railway cars through the countryside.

Jr Ranger

The Kancamagus is part of the Junior Ranger program that you can find at all National Parks and many other sites in the National Parks System.

To participate, simply pick up a Jr Ranger booklet at the Visitor Center in Conway, complete a certain number of pages that are filled with fun and educational activities, and then get your completed book checked to receive a special badge.

Our kids have loved collecting these badges at National Park Sites all over the country – such as Capitol Reef, Mesa Verde, Arches, the Grand Canyon, and more.

You can pick up a Junior Ranger booklet for your kids to complete while driving on the Kancamagus, but you can only pick it up and then return it in Conway (there is no Visitor Center in Lincoln.)

So, unless you are planning on starting and ending at some point back in Conway, you won’t be able to redeem for the badge unless you mail it in (although you certainly could just pick it up for the activities).

Favorite Stops Along the Kancamagus Perfect for Kids

Scenic Stop

This is literally just a side-of-the-road pull-off area, with no official parking lot, and a short path through trees to river. However, it is labeled on Google Maps and we decided to stop. There were tons of rocks along the riverbanks to climb and play on which our girls loved.

There were also just pretty views of the river and foliage, and since there’s not an official “stop”, it’ll be much less crowded during the day.

Albany Covered Bridge

This stop has a charming covered bridge which was built in 1859. You can walk across the bridge, and then walk down to the river for great views of the water, looking back at the bridge.

Covered bridges are an iconic part of New England, and you can find them throughout New Hampshire and Vermont. They were constructed because the roofs protected the bridge from rot, significantly extending the life of the bridge.

Lower Falls

I think this was my kids’ favorite spot on the whole highway. This is an extremely rocky section of the river, with multiple small cascades.

There are a ton of rocks and boulders that stick above the water, and you can explore and hop between rocks all up and down the riverbank and in the middle of the water.

There’s also a viewing platform where you can get a great view of all the cascades (this is where we took the picture above).

Overall, this is an incredibly scenic area that is fun to play on and explore. If you have kids, you could spend *a lot* of time here.

Rocky Gorge Scenic Area

Like Lower Falls, this spot in the Swift River is filled with rocks you can walk on. The river is forced into a narrow, deep gorge, with a pretty waterfall leading into it.

There is a large rocky area for scrambling and exploring, and you can get right up next to the falls. Alternatively, you can go up on the bridge spanning the river which gives a great view of the little gorge and waterfall. Both give a beautiful yet unique vantage point to the river.

Rocky Gorge also has one of the largest parking lots along the entire highway.

Sabbaday Falls

Sabbaday Falls is a beautiful waterfall located an easy 0.6-mile round trip walk from the parking lot. After a short walk through the forest, you’ll arrive at this pretty, multi-tiered waterfall. Because the falls follow a fault line, the stream actually makes a sharp, 90-degree turn in the middle of the falls.

There is a wooden boardwalk right along the falls where you can admire the views from all angles, as well as some rocky areas at the bottom of the falls you can walk on.

This was a really fun stop at a very cool waterfall, and was a favorite stop for our kids. Be aware that this is a popular stop in general along the Kancamagus, and you will likely encounter pretty high crowds (and possibly some difficulty finding a parking spot).

This ended up being the only “hike” we did on the highway, but there are so many more you can choose from (for example, the trail to Sabbaday continues for several miles deeper into the mountains) and you can make this a full-day or even multi-day experience if you want to explore these trails. There are plenty of campsites if you do want to extend your stay.

Sugar Hill Scenic Vista

Starting from here at Sugar Hill Scenic Vista, the rest of the stops along the Kancamagus are viewpoints, and no longer at the river. You’re much higher up in the White Mountains, and you’ll get a variety of different viewpoints.

Sugar Hill was one of our favorite viewpoints along the Kancamagus – we really liked the view over the valley with the mountains in the distance

CL Graham Wangan Scenic Overlook & Pemigewasset Overlook

These two viewpoints are fairly close to each other, and were both just so-so for us. We thought the views weren’t as good here as at other stops on the Kanc. If you’re going to skip a stop, these would be the ones I would pass on.

Panoramic Overlook (Unnamed Pullover)

The final stop on the Kancamagus is actually technically named “Unnamed Pullover” on the highway (although it’s called Panoramic Overlook on Google Maps) but it’s definitely pretty official – there were parking areas and plenty of people congregating for what I think is one of the best views on the whole highway!

This is actually the same mountains and general view as Pemigewasset Overlook, but just from a different angle, and we liked this one a lot more than Pemigewasset.

Final Tip: Download Offline Maps

You will have zero cell reception along the Kancamagus (and if you are traveling around New England, you’ll often lose data and service). Because of this, I’d highly recommend downloading offline maps so that you can navigate even when you are in a dead zone.

Most of the stops along the Kanc will show up on your regular Google map, so you can see where you are in relation to the next stop.

It’s super easy to download maps and only takes a couple of minutes – here are my directions for how to download offline maps.

Favorite Stops Along the Kancamagus Highway with Kids – The Wrap Up

Driving the Kancamagus Highway with kids is a great activity to do during your trip to New Hampshire. There is a wide variety of things to see and places to explore, and it’s interesting and exciting for both children and adults.

This ended up being a highlight of our New England trip, and I think it will be for you, too!

When you’re done, consider visiting stops like Flume Gorge, Mount Washington, or Table Rock in New Hampshire, and Stowe, Woodstock, or Weston in Vermont.

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