The White Mountains are famous for their trails, but the water is half the summer here. The Pemigewasset River runs down the middle of Lincoln and North Woodstock, cold and clear and shallow enough to float in an inner tube in August. Echo Lake lies in the throat of Franconia Notch with Cannon Cliff for a backdrop and a boat rental on its beach. A dozen mountain ponds within an hour hold wild brook trout for anyone willing to walk to them. And 40 min south the Lakes Region begins with Squam Lake, the quiet, island-scattered lake where On Golden Pond was filmed, with kayaks for rent and a nature center that runs boat tours.
None of this needs a boat on the roof. Rentals exist in North Woodstock, at Echo Lake, in Holderness and along the river, and the fly shop on Main Street sells what an angler forgot. What a visitor does need is a plan and a few rules: which waters are fly-fishing only, what a nonresident license costs and where it is sold, where the river is gentle and where it is not, and when the mountain ponds are worth the walk.
This guide covers all of it, in the order a guest usually asks: the river through town, Echo Lake and the notch, the brook trout ponds reached on foot, the Squam and Newfound lakes to the south, the licenses and regulations, and the rentals and outfitters, with the swimming holes handled in their own guide. Rental hours and prices move with the season, so a quick call before you drive is always worth it.
The Pemigewasset River through town: floating and paddling
The Pemigewasset, the Pemi to everyone here, is born at Profile Lake in Franconia Notch and comes through Lincoln and North Woodstock as a wide, shallow, boulder-strewn mountain river. In the low water of July and August it is a tubing and wading river, cold and clear, with sandy bars and deep pools where the local kids have always swum; in spring and after rain it is a fast, cold, technical river that experienced whitewater paddlers run and nobody else should. The section through North Woodstock and Woodstock is listed as a whitewater run for a reason.
For a gentle float, the river below Woodstock toward Thornton and Campton is where the outfitters put in. Pemi River Campground in Thornton runs canoe, kayak and inner-tube trips on the river in summer, with the shuttle included, and Out Back Kayak in North Woodstock rents kayaks and canoes by the day. Wear the life jacket, go in low water, and remember that the river rises fast after a mountain thunderstorm; the USGS gauge at Woodstock, which our trail-conditions guide explains, tells you how much water is moving.
Echo Lake: the boat rental at the top of the notch
Echo Lake, at the north end of Franconia Notch beside Exit 34C, is the prettiest paddling water within 15 min of the lodge: a small, clear lake with a state park beach, Cannon Cliff rising on one side and Mount Lafayette and Artist Bluff on the other. Franconia Notch State Park runs a boat rental on the beach in summer with canoes, kayaks and pedal boats by the hour, around twenty dollars an hour for a canoe or kayak at last check, so you can paddle out under the cliffs with nothing on your car but a bathing suit. The beach has changing rooms, a snack bar and a day-use fee for swimmers; parking is in the beach lot off the exit.
The lake is small enough that an hour covers it, which is the point. It is a paddle for the view and the cold water, not for distance, and in the evening light after the beach crowd has gone it is one of the better hours in the notch. Profile Lake, a mile south at the Old Man plaza, is the other notch lake, and it is for anglers rather than paddlers: fly-fishing only, no beach, and a rough shore path.
Brook trout in the mountain ponds
New Hampshire's state fish is the brook trout, and the ponds tucked into the mountains around Lincoln hold wild and stocked populations that reward a walk. Greeley Ponds, a mile and a half up an easy trail off the Kancamagus, is the classic, fished from the shore rocks of the upper pond by fly anglers in June and on summer evenings. East Pond off Tripoli Road is 15 min from the lodge and a mile and a half from the car. Lonesome Lake above Franconia Notch holds trout below the hut. Each of those has a guide of its own on this site, with the trail and the parking.
Pond fishing here is shore fishing; there is no launch and no reason to carry a boat up a mountain. The season, the limits and the tackle rules differ from the rivers and from pond to pond, and the state's trout pond regulations are the reference; some designated trout ponds are fly-fishing only and some close early in the fall. Read the current rules for the pond you are walking to before you go.
Profile Lake and the fly-fishing-only rule
Profile Lake, the small lake at the foot of Cannon Cliff where the Old Man of the Mountain used to look down, is the source of the Pemigewasset and one of the state's best-known fly-fishing-only waters. Brook trout are stocked and hold there through the season; anglers wade the shallows and work the shore path with fly rods, and spinning gear and bait are not allowed. Parking is at the Old Man of the Mountain Historic Site at Exit 34B, and the shore path doubles as the start of the Pemi Trail south through the notch. Mountain High Fly on Main Street in Lincoln sells flies tied for it and knows what is hatching.
The Kancamagus rivers
East of Lincoln the Kancamagus follows two rivers, the Hancock Branch and the East Branch of the Pemigewasset on the Lincoln side of the pass and the Swift River on the Conway side. Both are trout water, stocked in spring by Fish and Game along the roadside stretches and wild in the headwaters, and both are fished from the many pull-offs along the highway. The Swift below the pass has famous pools and ledges, some of which, like Rocky Gorge, are closed to swimming and best enjoyed from the bank; our Rocky Gorge and Lower Falls guides cover the rules. Fishing the Kancamagus is also a fine excuse to drive it slowly with the windows down.
Squam Lake: rentals, cruises and Golden Pond
40 min south by I-93, Squam Lake is the Lakes Region's quiet lake, big enough for a full day's paddle and scattered with islands and coves. The Squam Lakes Association rents canoes, kayaks and paddleboards to the public from its headquarters at 534 Route 3 in Holderness from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend, by the hour or for several days, with life jackets and paddles included; Little Squam and the near coves are calm water for a beginner. The association also maintains the Rattlesnake and Squam Range hiking trails above the lake, so a hike and a paddle make a natural day.
For the story of the lake, the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness runs 90 min guided pontoon cruises through the season, from mid-May in 2026, covering the loons, the natural history and the locations where On Golden Pond was filmed in 1981; a private operator runs tours that pass the film's house. Our Squam Lake guide covers the center and the town.
Newfound Lake and Wellington State Park
A little farther south and west, off Exit 23, Newfound Lake in Bristol is one of the clearest lakes in the state, and Wellington State Park on its western shore has the largest freshwater swimming beach in the New Hampshire state park system, 204 acres of park with picnic grounds, a boat launch, fishing areas and a peninsula nature trail. It is about 50 min from the lodge and the right lake day for anyone who wants a big beach and warm shallows rather than a mountain pond; bring your own boat or paddleboard, or rent nearby in Bristol.
Licenses: what a visitor needs
Anyone sixteen and over needs a New Hampshire fishing license, resident or not, for every water in this guide. Nonresidents can buy short-term licenses, listed for 2026 at fifteen dollars for one day, twenty-eight for three days and thirty-five for seven, or a season license at sixty-three; residents pay less. Licenses are sold online through New Hampshire Fish and Game and its mobile app, printable at once, and by licensed agents around the state. Confirm the current prices on the Fish and Game site, because they change, and carry the license on the water; wardens check the popular pools.
The rules that trip up visitors: some ponds and stretches are fly-fishing only, Profile Lake among them; trout ponds have their own seasons and daily limits; and live bait is restricted in many waters. The state's freshwater digest, free online, has every water by name. The fly shop in Lincoln will tell you the rest.
Rentals and outfitters, in one place
Out Back Kayak at 159C Main Street in North Woodstock rents kayaks and canoes, and in other seasons ATVs and snowmobiles, daily from nine to five in season. Pemi River Campground in Thornton runs shuttled canoe, kayak and tube trips on the Pemigewasset. Franconia Notch State Park rents canoes, kayaks and pedal boats at Echo Lake Beach by the hour in summer. The Squam Lakes Association in Holderness rents canoes, kayaks and paddleboards from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. Mountain High Fly at 27 Main Street in Lincoln is the fly shop. Hours and prices shift with the season; call before you drive.
Safety on cold mountain water
Every water in this guide is cold. Mountain rivers and ponds fed by snowmelt stay in the fifties and low sixties well into summer, and cold-water shock, the involuntary gasp and loss of control on sudden immersion, drowns strong swimmers within reach of shore every year in New England. Wear the life jacket in any boat, ease into the water rather than jumping, keep children within arm's reach, and stay off the river in high water. Afternoon thunderstorms build over the ridges in July and August; be off the lake by early afternoon on a stormy forecast. And the Kancamagus and the notch have no cell service to call for help.
Where to stay
The river is a 5 min walk from the lodge and Echo Lake is 17 min up the notch, which makes a paddle or a cast an easy half day on either side of a hike. Guests keep rods in the supply closet and wet gear on the back deck; tubes and paddleboards fit in the sunroom overnight.
Our usual shape for a water day: Echo Lake in the morning before the beach fills, lunch in Franconia or back in town, and an evening walk along the Pemi. For Squam, leave after your morning coffee, paddle from Holderness, take the afternoon cruise or climb West Rattlesnake, and come home up the interstate. Tell us if you are fishing; we will point you at the shop and the gauge.
Useful links
- New Hampshire Fish and Game: fishing licenses and regulations
Buy a nonresident license online and read the freshwater digest for the fly-only waters and trout pond rules. - Franconia Notch State Park: Echo Lake Beach
Beach hours, the day-use fee and the boat rental at the top of the notch. - Squam Lakes Association: boat rentals
Canoes, kayaks and paddleboards from Holderness, Memorial Day to Columbus Day. - Squam Lakes Natural Science Center: lake cruises
90 min guided pontoon cruises, including the On Golden Pond locations. - Wellington State Park, Newfound Lake
The largest freshwater beach in the state park system, about 50 min south. - USGS gauge: Pemigewasset River at Woodstock
Check the river level before a float; high above the median means stay out. - Our swimming holes guide
Where to get in the water safely, from the Pemi pools to Echo Lake. - Our Greeley Ponds guide
The easy walk to the best trout pond on the Kancamagus.
Sources & official info: wildlife.nh.gov · nhstateparks.org · squamlakes.org · nhnature.org · nhstateparks.org
— Launchpoint Lodge, From the lodge
