New Hampshire’s Disappearing River
Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves in the White Mountains of NH
About 10,000 years ago, more than a mile of ice towered over New Hampshire’s White Mountains and when that glacier melted its water created fascinating natural wonders, including Lost River Gorge.
Now owned the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, Lost River is a huge and deep tumble of water-worn rock and boulders created when the great sheets of ice moved and melted, pulling loose giant chunks of the native granite and rolling them about like gigantic balls in a sluice.
Water, following the course of least resistance, roared down the valley carrying boulders, rocks and sand, scouring away the softer rock, creating huge potholes and breaking off immense chunks of rock. Over time the water created a vast channel of tumbled rock so big that for much of its course through the valley ithe river simply disappears, flowing through channels under the rock.
A trip through Lost River Gorge, while something that most people can easily do, is not for those who don’t handle stairs well. Hundreds of stairs lead down into the depths of the channel and back up through the many passages and tunnels.
Visitors can wiggle or even crawl through some of the more challenging passages but all have bypass routes for the faint of heart or stout of girth. The whole length of the walk is covered by wooden stairs and walkways and there is no danger of getting wet.
Immense boulders are carved in fantastic forms with rounded convex and concave surfaces so perfect they seem to be the work of a sculptor. Delicate ferns, mosses, lichens and stunted trees cling to stark rock walls that tower overhead, while from below comes the murmur of water flowing unendingly over solid granite.
Paradise Falls, at 35 feet, is the largest waterfall in the gorge. The water falls over a dam made of pegmatite, a rock that is harder than the surrounding granite so it better resists the wearing effect of the water. Look also for the Giant Pothole, which at 60’ deep is among the deepest in the United States.
Few places can combine a little bit of exercise with such natural beauty, and Lost River Gorge does it with a flourish. As a bit of frosting on the cake, be sure to see the wildflower garden on the way out.
Finding It: Lost River, www.findlostriver.comis on Route 112, west of North Woodstock, in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Follow Route 118 west from Exit 32 of I-93, turning north onto Route 112. It is open mid-May to late October. Admission is charged, and it is included in the White Mountains Pass
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