Driving the Kancamagus Highway in Winter
Long admired for its beauty in the summer and fall, the Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire can be equally beautiful in the winter.
By Jim Salge|Jan 04 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine KeenanThe Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is famed for its striking scenery, impressive elevation, and endless views. The east-west road winds its way from Conway to Lincoln along rivers, up valleys and over the highest paved point on a through-road in the state.
The Kanc, as its locally known, is very popular in the summer, with numerous swimming holes, waterfalls, hiking trails and campgrounds along the marathon-lengthed highway. Its fame, though, is garnered from the autumn colors which concentrate along the corridor, and visitors come from all over the world to leaf-peep along the route.
Photo Credit : Jim Salge
I vividly remember my first trip across the Kancamagus Highway shortly after moving to New Hampshire. It wasn’t in summer or autumn, though I’ve since spent a great deal of time exploring its length during those seasons as well. It was spring, on a warm day in mid-May, right in the heart of the unheralded season of mud and bugs, and even though flowers were in bloom at low elevations, I was amazed to find an impressive pack of snow at the 2850 ft Kancamagus Pass. For someone in the process of moving up from New Jersey, this was quite the novelty.
The Kancamagus Highway receives a lot of snow each year. The first snowfall usually occurs before the leaves have fully fallen, and the last snowfall may not occur until Memorial Day. Winter is long along this road, but it is well maintained, and opportunities for winter recreation abound for cross country skiers, snowshoers, hikers, photographers, as well as the casual visitor.
A recommended first stop on your journey across the Kanc in winter is the US Forest Service Ranger station just west of the town of Conway, where you can get information on the latest conditions along the road, as well as maps highlighting the many sites to explore on your journey.
From there, heading west, the first stretch of the Kanc is low and level and follows the boulder-strewn Swift River, choked with green and blue ice. After a few miles, you come to the first must-see site at the Albany Covered Bridge. In all other seasons, the bridge is open for traffic, allowing travelers to connect to the Passaconaway Road, which would take you back east to North Conway. In winter though, the road is closed and the bridge is gated to cars, leaving it snow-covered and quintessentially quaint.
Across the bridge lies the eastern terminus of the Nanomocomuck Cross Country Ski Trail, which follows the Swift River upstream on the opposite bank of the Kanc for seven miles to Bear Notch Road. The trail is quite popular, easy to follow and well tracked out by skiers and snowshoers there to take in the fantastic views of the mountains over the river.
There are many other great places to strap on the snowshoes and cross country skis before the road begins to climb in elevation at around the halfway point. Another scenic and popular ski trail loops from the Oliverian Brook Trailhead, and at scenic Rocky Gorge, you can find another access to the Nanomocomuck.
Other areas to explore on the eastern Kanc include Lower Falls, a popular summer swimming hole that offers amazing opportunities for icy roadside exploration in winter, and further west, at the Sabbaday Trailhead begins an easy one mile round trip trek to a short gorge, beautiful blue pool, and unbelievable ice formations. And for those looking for a real challenge and a full day’s hike, the Champney Falls Trail will take you all the way to the top of popular Mount Chocorua.
Just beyond the entrance to Sabbaday Falls, the highway begins to climb in elevation and the views from the road become more distant. Not all of the overlooks are plowed in winter, and that may be just as well. The weather at the pass is often blustery, even on the calmest days at lower elevations, and snow showers can develop even on sunny days in the valleys.
The trip down from the pass puts you in the heart of a rugged area of the White Mountains, as high peaks tower above the winding road for a few miles back down to the level. Just before the Kanc leaves the National Forest, the large, Lincoln-Woods Trailhead, just outside of the town of Lincoln allows access to much of this great wilderness surrounding you.
The trip across the Kancamagus Highway in winter can take as little as 45 minutes, or you could spend a whole day exploring its hidden treasures. The trailheads along the highway offer access to hundreds of miles of hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country ski trails that take you to viewpoints and waterfalls. There are opportunities for activities for anyone willing to brave a winter day to explore.
But my favorite part about the Kanc?
Ending in either the towns of Conway and Lincoln or North Conway and North Woodstock and enjoying the charms of these mountain towns after a wonderful day in the New England wilderness!
Have you ever driven the Kancamagus Highway? How about in winter?
This post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
SEE MORE:
How the Kancamagus Highway Got Its Name and How to Pronounce It
The Kancamagus Highway | The Ultimate New Hampshire Fall Foliage Drive
Best of the New Hampshire White Mountains | Editors’ Choice Awards
GREAT work and thanks for the tips on where and when to try to shoot the Kanc!
I would highly recommend only driving it with a four wheel drive vehicle with winter tires if you choose to drive it in the heart of the winter. As I’ve been on it plenty of times when it hasn’t been plowed and most cars would not be able to make the whole drive.
Be aware that weather conditions at the highest elevations on the Kanc can be different than those in either Lincoln or Conway. You can start out on a cloudy day with no precip only to find it snowing heavily on the Kanc’s heights.
Love the Kanc…can remember when it wasn’t open in the winter for there was too much snow to keep it plowed. Miss those snowy winters. Thanks for your great description.
This is the first time that I have heard about this highway being OPEN ALL winter !! There were always signs at each end of the Kanc warning that the highway was closed off to traffic frrm Oct. till Spring They just did not plow it at all. This opens new possibilities !
The kanc is open year round. Bear Notch road is closed Durning winter months. Still available to snowmobiles etc. Bear notch connects bartlett to the kanc and vice versa
Back in the early to mid 1970s the Kanc was closed in the winter – I remember it clearly since I was going to college in Plymouth at that time. I believe it opened to year-round travel around 1978 or so
Very interesting and very informative
I think you are referring to Bear Notch Road…it runs from the Kanc up to route 302 in Bartlett…it is not plowed in the winter…
We drive the Kanc everytime we’re in the area, mostly in the fall as we vacation in N. Conway / Bartlett every year. But years ago, with friends, I was on a day trip north (from Mass), either late November or early December when they closed the Kanc while we were on it. Very scary trip back down. Park Rangers came, told us we had to leave, road was closing due to ice. It was a very scary trip down to Lincoln, if I remember correctly, it had started raining and it was freezing on the road. This was like 40 yrs ago.
Have driven the Kank at least once a year over the past 40, luv it! Best memory was seeing a huge moose, no more than 5 feet away on shoulder, with an incredible rack, it towered over my little Subaru hatchback.
We drive the Kanc at least once a year, but usually several times when we visit in the spring and fall. I’ve only driven it once in winter, many years ago. But, they ended up closing it due to weather and ice, we were halfway across when it was closed and it was a hairy ride the other half with icy patches going out.
Excellent and comprehensive write up. Thank you.
I drove the Kanc twice this winter, and most of the stops were closed because they weren’t plowed out. There were two scenic viewpoints (the hairpin turn and CL Graham Wangan Overlook).
Definitely best to do this in the Fall or Summer.
Did drive it many years ago in early spring. Ride was pretty and peaceful except for the not finding any facilities. Having a pregnant lady on board made this situation rather awkward. We did find what looked like a small restaurant and hurried inside to find “no restrooms”. We laugh about it now, but at the time we had no choice but to leave that restaurant in a hurry and find the woods. Guys one one side of the road and ladies on the other! Sorry we never found another stop for breakfast. We were on our way from Providence, RI to Deer Island, Canada that day. Don’t remember that we went home that way. Any reader know how the Kanc upgraded facilities? Nothing was mentioned in comments and article above. Thanks
The signs at both ends state “no gas for the next 32 miles” so assume there would be no facilities. Some turnouts have facilities but not opened in winter as those areas are not plowed. The kanc is a natures paradise hopefully never to have upgraded facilities. I can hear my mother from many many years ago to make sure we went to the bathroom before we went on a ride. Great advice !
Due to the recent pandemic some people are trashing the trailheads, parking lots and the roadway. So sad. I wish people would be more aware and keep their own trash. The kanc snowplow people are doing a great job with plowing and sanding. Keep up the great work
I drove the KANC in deep snow (15 inches) with my 76 Cadillac and I just prayed I wouldn’t stop, if I did I would never have been able to get started again with no snow tires on the car. My dear wife was really concerned we would be stuck there all night until help came, but that was almost an impossibility because of all the snow drifts, etc. Fortunately, I wasn’t forced to stop and my Caddy (5025 lbs) just kept on spinning its wheels until we got to Piermont or wherever. It sure is dangerous driving when the snow is deep; when we started out from Conway it was just a very light sprinkle of snow so I took the chance and was quite lucky.
My family and I drove the Kanc on July 4th, 2019 which was one of the hottest days that summer. We stopped at a turnout and my family went for a dip in the river. What a fun memory, we hope to do it again someday!
INCREDIBLE BEAUTY
Great article. I have driven across in the winter during a white out storm with my 4×4 at 10 miles an hour. It was an adventure. Love it in the summer it’s the most beautiful ride.
I have driven the Kanc spring, summer, fall and winter. Each season has its’ own special beauty. I love stopping by the water, listening to nature and hoping I will see some wildlife. I have seen deer and bear.
Yes I agree, spectacular drive. But there should be warnings to drivers during the winter. We left North Conway late afternoon after it had been snowing on and off all day. Extremely cold. We followed our GPS, which took us to Kancamangus. What the author of this article should have said is don’t drive this highway in the winter. It should have taken us a half to do the drive to our hotel, but took us 2 1/2! It was treacherous and icy. No cell service at highest elevations, no open rest areas, no snow plows. It was the scariest ride of our lives. None of the cars had any control because of the snow and ice and we have an SUV. We almost hit a guard rail as the ice was so bad. No one had control of their cars. By the time we finally got to our destination, we breathed a huge sigh of relief and we’re happy to be alive. We stopped at a restaurant and told the hostess of our terrifying drive and she said, “oh they never plow up there .” My advice is wait for warm weather and and drive it during daylight hours.
As to winter opening: a recent Yankee article stated: “Bob Henderson has plowed it ever since the road was opened to winter traffic in 1966.”
We drove this [east to west] on Jan. 31, 2023 and the only snow squall was over in lower elevations of Maine that day and by the time we entered New Hampshire, it turned out to be a sunny day. We sa zero cars going in our direction and I was traveling at a ‘site-seer’s pace’ – lots and lots of snow and great views. I did not stop and take any photographs, the the surroundings were breath-taking.