A hiking trip runs on more than trails. Somebody forgets the map, a boot sole lets go on the second day, a prescription runs out, the parking pass is cash-only and the cash is back at the lodge, or a knee needs looking at before the long drive home. Lincoln is a small town, but it is the service town for the western White Mountains, and nearly everything a hiker needs is on or near Main Street. This guide is the directory we keep for our guests, written down for the 2026 season.
Two changes matter more than the rest. The town's only chain pharmacy closed in 2025 when Rite Aid shut every store in New Hampshire, so filling a prescription now works differently, through a locker at the urgent care. And the Lincoln Woods Trail, the busiest trailhead in town, is closed for repairs from June 15 into November 2026, which changes where the shuttles stop and where people park. Both are covered below.
Everything here is a few minutes from the lodge. Hours shift with the seasons here, so a quick call ahead is always worth it, and we're happy to help you plan.
Maps and guidebooks
The Mountain Wanderer Map and Book Store at 57 Main Street in Lincoln is the shop hikers in the White Mountains know about. It stocks the Appalachian Mountain Club's White Mountain Guide and its trail maps, the waterproof map sets for the Franconia and Pemigewasset ranges, guidebooks to the waterfalls, the 4,000-footers and the history, and a wall of regional books you will not find elsewhere. It is open Saturdays, Sundays and most weekdays from about ten to five-thirty, and it sells online year round. If you carry one paper map on a trip here, buy it there.
The White Mountains Visitor Center at the foot of the Kancamagus, described below, also sells maps and books, and the AMC's Highland Center at Crawford Notch has a small shop. A phone app is not a substitute on the trails around Lincoln: the notch and the Kancamagus have little or no signal, and a paper map weighs an ounce.
Gear, boots and rentals
Lahout's, the family ski and outdoor business that started in Littleton in the 1920s and calls itself America's oldest ski shop, runs several shops along Main Street in Lincoln, including the ski and snowboard shop at 127 Main Street. Between them they carry outdoor clothing and footwear from the big names, rent skis and snowboards in winter, and can replace the rain jacket or the socks you forgot. Hours run roughly ten to five-thirty, a little longer at weekends, and change with the season.
For snowshoes and cross-country gear in winter, the Loon Mountain Adventure Center rents both and has groomed trails out its door; several Main Street shops rent snowshoes as well. Microspikes, headlamps, water filters and the small things sell out in town on holiday weekends, so buy them at home if you can. There is no full-service climbing or backpacking outfitter in Lincoln; the nearest are in North Conway, an hour east, and the AMC's Pinkham Notch center.
Fishing licenses and the fly shop
Mountain High Fly at 27 Main Street is Lincoln's fly shop, with gear, flies and the local word on the Pemigewasset, its East Branch, Profile Lake and the trout ponds along the Kancamagus. A New Hampshire fishing license is required for anyone sixteen and over and is sold online through New Hampshire Fish and Game and by licensed agents; nonresident one-day, three-day and seven-day licenses exist for visitors. Our paddling and fishing guide covers the waters.
Groceries, coffee and trail food
The Price Chopper at 10 Paper Mill Drive is the full supermarket, with everything for a trail lunch and a deli counter, and it is the place to stock up the night before a big day. For coffee and a real breakfast before an early start, and for the bakeries and cafes that pack a sandwich, see our coffee and provisioning guide; the town wakes early in hiking season. There is nothing to buy on the Kancamagus itself, no gas, food or water for 34 miles, so leave Lincoln with a full tank and a full pack.
Laundry
There is a coin laundromat in the plaza beside the Price Chopper in Lincoln for the muddy end of a multi-day trip. Hours vary; it is a self-service place, so bring quarters or a card and detergent. Guests at the lodge can hang wet gear in their suite and use the supply closet's iron; there is no guest laundry in the house.
Urgent care, hospitals and emergencies
For a twisted ankle, a bad blister, a tick bite that worries you or anything that needs a clinician but not an ambulance, Lincoln Urgent Care at 33 Railroad Street, a few minutes from the lodge, is open seven days a week from eight in the morning to eight at night. It has been owned and run by Littleton Regional Healthcare since April 2024 and handles X-rays and stitches. It is the single most useful address on this page.
The nearest emergency rooms are about half an hour away in two directions. South, Speare Memorial Hospital at 16 Hospital Road in Plymouth, off I-93 Exit 26, has a 24-hour emergency department; MedCheck Urgent Care in Plymouth is another walk-in option. North, Littleton Regional Healthcare at 600 St. Johnsbury Road in Littleton, off I-93 Exit 42, has a 24-hour emergency department reached at 603-444-9000, and ConvenientMD at 551 Meadow Street in Littleton is open eight to eight daily. For anything life-threatening, or for anyone hurt on a trail, call 911; New Hampshire Fish and Game coordinates backcountry rescue with volunteer teams, and the call goes out through the same dispatch.
Pharmacies, after Rite Aid
Lincoln's Rite Aid closed in August 2025 along with every other Rite Aid in New Hampshire when the chain went bankrupt, and the town has no walk-in chain pharmacy. Littleton Regional Healthcare filled the gap with its North Country Pharmacy, based in Littleton, which placed a secure prescription locker inside Lincoln Urgent Care: you call the pharmacy at 603-444-9024, they fill the prescription in Littleton and deliver it to the locker, and you collect it with a code. The pharmacy is open weekdays eight to six and Saturdays nine to two. For over-the-counter supplies, blister kits and insect repellent, the Price Chopper and the Main Street shops cover the basics. If you depend on a medication, bring the full supply with you.
Visitor centers and ranger stations
The White Mountains Visitor Center at 200 Kancamagus Highway in North Woodstock, right at I-93 Exit 32, is open daily from 8:30 to 5 and staffed by the regional attractions association; it has restrooms, maps, brochures and helpful answers to most questions, and it is the start and end point of the 100-mile White Mountains Trail scenic byway. The Forest Service's Lincoln Woods Visitor Center on the Kancamagus, five miles east, is staffed intermittently by volunteers and does not sell annual passes; its restrooms are open and the kiosk takes the daily parking fee.
For the Forest Service itself, the Pemigewasset Ranger Station shares the White Mountain National Forest headquarters at 71 White Mountain Drive in Campton, off I-93 about 15 min south, open Tuesday to Friday from nine to four. It sells the annual recreation pass, answers trail and road-status questions from the source, and has the current alerts. The Saco Ranger Station in Conway covers the eastern end of the Kancamagus.
Parking passes: what to have in the car
Most Forest Service trailheads around Lincoln, including the whole Kancamagus and Zealand Road, charge a daily parking fee of about five dollars, paid by cash or check in an envelope at the kiosk, with no change given. A thirty-dollar annual pass covers a year and pays for itself in a week, and the America the Beautiful interagency pass covers it too. Buy the annual pass at the Campton ranger station or a local vendor before your first trail day, or carry small bills. Franconia Notch State Park's trailheads and lots are free, though the Flume Gorge is a ticketed attraction, and the Squam Lakes trails to the south are free.
The voluntary hikeSafe card, twenty-five dollars for an individual or thirty-five for a family for 2026, is sold online by New Hampshire Fish and Game and protects you from being billed for a rescue unless you were reckless. Our answer page on permits and fees goes into the details.
Getting around without a car
You need a car for the trailheads, but a few pieces of transit exist. Concord Coach Lines runs buses between Boston, Manchester and Lincoln, stopping at the 7-Eleven at 36 Main Street, which makes a car-free arrival possible for a stay based on the notch. The AMC's hiker shuttle runs its White Mountains loop from June into October at twenty dollars a ride for members and twenty-four for others, by reservation at 603-466-2727; in 2026 it does not stop at Lincoln Woods because of the trail closure, so check the current stop list. Franconia Notch State Park runs a five-dollar weekend hiker shuttle between Lafayette Place and the Falling Waters trailhead from May 23 to October 18, 2026.
Ride-hailing services are unreliable in the mountains and often absent at dawn. If you arrive without a car, plan your days around the notch and the town and use the shuttles for the rest; our getting-here guide explains the options from each airport.
Water, showers and the small comforts
Fill your bottles at the lodge before you leave; trailhead kiosks have no water, and the Lincoln Woods and Kancamagus restrooms are vault toilets without taps. The AMC huts sell water to day visitors and the Highland Center has restrooms. After the hike, the lodge is the shower, and the back deck is where boots dry. For a swim instead, our swimming holes guide lists the pools within 15 min.
The Lincoln Woods closure and what it changes in 2026
The Lincoln Woods Trail, the flat old railbed that is the gateway to the Pemigewasset Wilderness and the busiest trailhead in Lincoln, is closed from June to November 2026 between the Kancamagus and the Osseo Trail junction for repairs to an eroding riverbank, with heavy equipment on the trail and stiff penalties for walking through. The Pemi Loop, Owl's Head, the Bonds and Franconia Falls are all reached by longer detours from Zealand Road, the Gale River Trail or the North Twin Trail for the season, and the AMC shuttle skips the stop. Our journal post on the closure has the details and the alternatives; the Forest Service's alert page has the current status.
Where to stay
Every address on this page is within a few minutes of 191 Pollard Road, and most are on Main Street, a short walk or a 2 min drive away. The urgent care on Railroad Street is closest; the supermarket is at the Paper Mill Drive plaza on the way to Loon; the visitor center is at the interstate exit on the way to everything else.
We keep a current copy of this list in the digital guidebook every guest receives with the door code, and we add what guests tell us. If a shop has moved or a service has changed, message us and we will fix it the same day.
Useful links
- White Mountain National Forest: alerts, closures and passes
The Lincoln Woods closure status, road gates and the current recreation-pass prices. - Lincoln Urgent Care (Littleton Regional Healthcare)
Hours and services for the walk-in clinic at 33 Railroad Street, and the prescription locker. - Speare Memorial Hospital, Plymouth
The nearest emergency department to the south, at 16 Hospital Road. - Littleton Regional Healthcare emergency department
The nearest emergency department to the north, at 600 St. Johnsbury Road. - Mountain Wanderer Map & Book Store
The hiker's bookshop at 57 Main Street; orders ship year round. - White Mountains Visitor Center, North Woodstock
Daily 8:30 to 5 at Exit 32, with restrooms, maps and the regional attractions desk. - AMC White Mountains hiker shuttle
Routes, stops, fares and reservations; Lincoln Woods is not served in 2026. - New Hampshire Fish and Game: hikeSafe card and licenses
The $25 / $35 card, the hiker responsibility code, and fishing licenses. - Our trail conditions and mountain weather guide
Where to check forecasts, closures and river levels before you leave the lodge.
Sources & official info: littletonhealthcare.org · visitwhitemountains.com · fs.usda.gov · visitwhitemountains.com · outdoors.org · wildlife.nh.gov
— Launchpoint Lodge, From the lodge
