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This trail begins at the Lafayette Place parking lots (located on each side of the Franconia Notch Parkway) and climbs to the Franconia Ridge Trail at the summit of Little Haystack Mtn., passing numerous waterfalls in its lower part. It is steep and rough in parts and better for ascent than descent, but not normally dangerous...
The trail leaves the parking lot on the east side of the parkway (reached from the west side by a paved path...) near the hiker information booth, in common with the Old Bridle Path, and passes through a clearing into the woods. In 0.2 mi. it turns sharp right from the Old Bridle Path and immediately crosses Walker Brook on a bridge, then leads away from the brook heading southeast and follows up the south bank to a beautiful cascade known as Stairs Falls. Above the falls the trail passes beneath Sawteeth Ledges and crosses the brook to the north bank just below Swiftwater Falls, which descends 60 fr. in a shady glen, then climbs a steep gravelly pitch to the north bank and follows an old logging road that rises gradually in the narrow gorge of Dry Brook. The trail leaves the old road at a steep embankment, ascends in graded sections to Cloudland Falls (80 ft.) at 1.3 mi., and then climbs steeply to a viewpoint overlooking the head of the falls and out over the valley toward Mt. Moosilauke on the skyline.
At the head of Cloudland Falls are two small (25ft.) falls practically facing each other. The one to the south, which emerges from the woods, is on the branch of Dry Brook that runs down from Little Haystack, while the other is on the Mt. Lincoln branch. The trail continues steeply on the north bank of the Mt. Lincoln branch, soon crosses to the south bank, crosses back to the north side, climbs to and follows an old logging road, and recrosses to the south bank at 1.6mi. Here it swings to the right, away from the brook, and angles uphill on an old logging raod. Soon the trail takes the left fork of the old road, then diverges to the left off the road and ascends the ridge via a series of switchbacks.
At the south end of the last switchback, at 2.8 mi., a side trail leads south downhill about 100 yd. to the northeast corner of Shining Rock, where there are springs in the woods above and, seen from the mountains across the notch, shines like a mirror in the sunlight. Caution: Climbing Shining Rock without rock-climbing equipment and training is extremely dangerous. This steep ledge is wet and slippery; several accidents involving serious injuries have occurred here to hikers who tried to scramble up the rock.
From Shining Rock spur junction, the main trail continues north for a short distance, then turns right and climbs in a nearly straight line [out above the timberline and up] to the Franconia Ridge Trail at the summit of Little Haystack.
Above timberline, the trail is marked sometimes by paint, but sometimes only by piles of rocks. In the event of a storm, take cover, and especially stay low in the event of electrical activity. For this trail, if the weather is bad, turn back. Even in relatively good weather, it is often very windy, rainy, and cold above the timberline. A windbreaker or jacket is indispensible, and a hat useful. Consider wearing (or at least carrying) wool or synthetic clothing, as cotton dries slowly and can drain a lot of body heat.