10 Best Day Hikes Throughout New England

New England is famous for its beautiful scenery, diverse landscapes, and gorgeous fall foliage. It’s an area that offers year-round adventure, from the picturesque mountains to the sandy beaches, with hiking trails, flowing rivers, and towering trees everywhere.

New England is a treasure trove of hiking trails. Ask anyone who’s ever taken a walk-through in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Connecticut. And while many great trails encompass the entire region, there is a handful of them that are especially worthy of a day trip. Want to spend your day in nature? Here we’ve put together a list of 10 best day hikes in New England, ranging from easy to strenuous and from short to all day. Make a plan, pack your water, and hit the trails!

Acadia National Park

Precipice Trail 

Acadia National Park’s Precipice Trail is a steep, rocky hike with gorgeous views of the park’s oceanside cliffs and rocky inlets. The Precipice Trail’s rugged terrain makes it a popular spot with seasoned hikers, but it’s also accessible for families with children and dogs.

Beehive Trail

The trail starts at the Beehive Loop picnic area and heads south through the dense forest. The Beehive Trail climbs nearly 1,000 feet over one mile, gaining about 360 feet in elevation. It is muddy and rocky and may be difficult for some to navigate, but the scenery is well worth it. The Beehive Trail is popular during Acadia National Park’s busy season.

Bubble Rock Overlook

Bubble Rock Overlook is one of the most iconic landscapes in Acadia National Park, and it’s easy to understand why. The setting is as stunning as the view and is especially beautiful in the early morning and late afternoon. The clouds play with the rocks to create a bubble effect that appears both like a giant bubble and a floating rock.

Cadillac Mountain

Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain in the northeastern United States, is in Acadia National Park in Maine. Named for French explorer Jacques Cartier, the mountain is the centrepiece of a 45-mile-long loop that wraps around Acadia’s coast and is visited by over seven million people a year.

Ocean Path

Abundant, serene, and vast, Acadia National Park is the state’s most visited attraction. With 235 miles of coastline, it is home to Acadia Mountain, the highest point on Mount Desert Island. The park’s beauty is best appreciated when hiked or biked, and many trails are relatively easy to hike. To plan your next Acadia hiking adventure, start with Ocean Path. The trails are located mostly along Acadia’s saltwater coastline, and seacoast paths, such as Ocean Path, allow hikers to travel along the water’s edge. Ocean Path is a moderate, 4.1-mile hike and can be completed in one to three hours.

Franconia Notch State Park

Flume Gorge

Perhaps no state park in New England has as interesting a history as Flume Gorge, which lies east of Franconia Notch State Park. During the winter of 1943, the Civilian Conservation Corps built and maintained the gorge as a roadway for heavy equipment. It served as an emergency evacuation route for troops and civilians during WWII. Today, visitors can hike the gorge or picnic by the waterfall, rock outcroppings, and 7-mile flume trail.

Artist’s Bluff Lookout

Franconia Notch State Park is a sprawling playground in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The Franconia Notch is a prominent notch in the Appalachian Mountains that serves as a passageway between North and South Carolina via Route 3. Franconia Notch State Park is within the Franconia Notch State Park, and the park features multiple hiking trails, along with musicians and artists performing throughout the year.

Cannon Mountain

Cannon Mountain, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is home to the highest lift-served point in the state. Visitors can hike to the summit, ride the aerial tramway, or take the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway Adventure Ride to the top of the mountain. With breathtaking views of the surrounding White Mountains and Franconia Notch State Park, Cannon Mountain is New Hampshire’s most popular tourist attraction.

White Mountains

Diana’s Baths

Diana’s Baths was named one of the 20 most beautiful spas in the world by Condé Nast Traveler readers, and it’s easy to see why. Built into the side of a mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the spa is built into the side of the mountain, offering expansive views of Mount Washington, Mt. Chocorua, Mt. Jefferson, and the Presidential Range. Each treatment room overlooks the landscape, and guests are invited to soak in the outdoor geothermal whirlpools during the day and curl up in front of a fire in one of the Adirondack chairs by the firepits.

The White Mountains in New Hampshire is the largest and most secluded state park. It’s the state’s largest body of fresh water, with 38 miles of hiking trails and 2,200-foot peaks towering above. But perhaps what’s most interesting about the park is its history. Here, 38 survivors of the doomed French ship La Belle, which was wrecked off Maine in 1755, spent the harsh winter of 1755-56. Their story is one of the state’s most intriguing maritime legends.

England is a hiking paradise and these 10 best day hikes are just the beginning. Whether you’re looking to explore a rocky coastline, climb the slopes of Mount Monadnock, or walk through a scenic forest, New England promises an endless variety of trails.