The White Mountains above Lincoln, New Hampshire

Plan your stay

Itineraries for a stay in the White Mountains

Fourteen ready-made plans for Lincoln — a weekend, a full week, foliage and winter, hikers and non-hikers, budget and midweek — each built around how close you are to everything.

Check dates The six suites

Photo: “Kancamagus Highway October 2021 HDR” by King of Hearts, CC BY-SA 4.0. Enhanced by Cavmir (light, sky and colour changed; cropped). This enhanced version is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where to start

Pick a plan, or steal from all of them

The whole argument for staying in the middle of Lincoln is that the driving all but disappears — Loon is 6 min east, Franconia Notch 10 min north, and the Kancamagus starts just down the road. Every plan below is built on that. Take one as written, or lift a day from each.

The itineraries

Fourteen ways to spend the time

2 nights, Friday to Sunday

A Weekend in Lincoln, NH

Two nights is enough to feel like you left. Here's how a first weekend in the White Mountains unfolds when you're staying right in the middle of it.

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3 nights

Three Days in the White Mountains

A hike, a scenic drive, and a slow day — the version of a White Mountains trip that fits when you have a third night to spend.

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2 nights

A Romantic Weekend

Quiet suites, an adults-only house, and a two-night weekend built for two people who came here to be with each other.

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2 nights, 3 days

Peak Fall Foliage

Peak color in Lincoln lands around the second week of October — a narrow, glorious window. Here is how to catch it, and how to book so you do.

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Mount Lafayette and Eagle Cliff above Franconia Notch in October color, seen from Bald Mountain

3 nights

A First-Timer's Long Weekend

The greatest hits, in the right order, with nothing that requires knowing the area already. Three nights, no wrong turns.

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Avalanche Falls cascading through the granite walls of Flume Gorge, Franconia Notch State Park

One flexible day

A Rainy-Day Plan

Weather happens in the mountains. A rainy day here is not a lost day — some of the best of the region is better wet, and the rest is a good excuse to slow down.

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One day, as a day trip or a one-night stay

One Perfect Day in the White Mountains

The tightest greatest-hits loop we know — a gorge, a glacial pothole, and the finest half hour of driving in the state, all before dinner. Ideal as a day trip or a single night.

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Skiers on the slopes at Loon Mountain ski resort, Lincoln, New Hampshire

Five to seven nights, unpack once

A Week in the White Mountains

Unpack once and let the region unfold at its own pace — big days and slow days in the same week, with rest built in and everything a short drive from one room.

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A visitor standing before the lit ice towers of Ice Castles in North Woodstock under a starry winter sky

2-3 nights, a ski-and-fireside weekend

Winter in Lincoln, NH

Loon is 6 min away, the Ice Castles glow about 5 min from the door, and the evening ends by the electric fireplace in the sitting room. A White Mountains winter, without the long cold drive between the two.

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A tamarack turning gold in the bog on the shore of Lonesome Lake in October

2–3 nights in the quiet shoulder season

Spring in the White Mountains

Snowmelt makes the waterfalls roar, the crowds have not arrived, and the rates are the year's kindest. Spring here is underrated, and this plan shows you what's open and where to go.

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3 nights

A Hiker's Long Weekend

A warm-up, a big objective, and a recovery day — three nights of real trails from a base that puts the trailheads minutes away instead of an hour.

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2–3 nights

The White Mountains Without a Hike

You do not have to climb anything to see the best of it. A gondola, a glacial pothole, and the finest scenic drive in the state — this is the region for people who would rather ride than hike.

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The Basin, a granite pothole on the Pemigewasset River, Franconia Notch

2 nights, 3 days

A Weekend of Free Favorites

Some of the best of this region is free — the Basin, the overlooks, the trails. Here is how to fill two great days in the White Mountains with the region's free favorites.

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