Mount Liberty and Mount Flume via Liberty Springs Trail
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Mount Liberty and Mount Flume Hike Details
Trail: Liberty Springs Trail > Franconia Ridge Trail
Miles: 10.6
Hours: 5:30 hiking; 7:15 total
Level: Difficult
Mount Liberty and Mount Flume Hike Overview
Mount Liberty (4,459’) and Mount Flume (4,327’) are two 4,000-footers usually hiked together. It can be hiked as a loop or out and back, and both are about the same mileage. Park at the Flume visitor center in the furthest parking lot and get ready to hike!
NOTE: If you want to hike this as a loop, go up Flume Slide Trail and down Liberty Springs Trail. Flume Slide Trail is a VERY difficult trail with incredibly steep rock scrambles, so I do not recommend descending it. We avoided Flume Slide Trail altogether and ascended and descended Liberty Springs Trail. Either way you decide to hike Mount Liberty and Mount Flume, the hike gains about 3,600 feet of elevation, so prepare your legs for some climbing!!
Mount Liberty and Mount Flume Hike via Liberty Springs Trail
August 11, 2018
**Always remember to leave no trace. It is crucial to pack out what you pack in and throw away your trash properly.
My wonderful friend Chelsea and I started the hike to Mount Liberty and Mount Flume at 8:00 AM on a beautiful Saturday morning. Although it was humid, it was a low 70-degree day, so it was perfect for hiking! We wanted to get on the trail early because the forecast showed rain later in the day.
The first 0.9 miles of Liberty Springs Trail was along a bike path, so we had to watch out for bikers. Bikers flew on this path, so we had to make sure we were paying attention. Most people let us know when they were approaching, but others came out of nowhere. After we crossed a bridge and walked another 0.6 miles, we came to the junction of the Liberty Springs Trail and the Flume Slide Trail. If you want to do the loop, this is where you will want to keep right and ascend up Flume Slide Trail. Like I said above, we avoided that trail altogether, so we kept to the left and started on Liberty Springs Trail.
Liberty Springs Trail started off as a nice walk through the woods, but I hate to break it to you, it does not last long. After the first 0.5 miles, the stair climb began! The worst part of this trail was the tricks it played on us! While we were climbing up with our butts burning, we kept seeing clearings and thought THERE’S A BREAK COMING!! But don’t you worry, once we turned the corner, the Stairmaster climb continued. This happened to us a few times on Liberty Springs Trail. Eventually, we knew not to get our hopes up. We also met a woman completing the Appalachian Trail, who was going up this trail like a boss!! She was awesome and meeting her definitely motivated us to not complain.
Liberty Springs trail felt as if it would never end! I promise you will reach Mount Liberty’s summit eventually, so keep going! Eventually, we reached the Franconia Ridge Trail junction. If we hiked to the left, we could have hiked to Mount Lafayette, but we continued on the trail to the right for 0.3 miles to the summit of Mount Liberty. There was only a small section of rock scrambling to Mount Liberty’s summit that went by quickly. Once we reached the summit, we knew the steep climb was worth it for the views! We had views of Franconia Notch, the Kancamagus Highway, and the Presidentials from Mount Liberty’s summit. This was one of the best views I have seen.
We reached Mount Liberty’s summit at 10:30 AM and stayed for about 45 minutes before continuing on the Franconia Ridge Trail for 1.2 miles to Mount Flume’s summit. The first part of the trail descended with some rock scrambles and then seemed to continue to descend forever. This was the time where we needed to mentally prepare ourselves for some more stair stepping. About halfway through the trail, our ascent to Mount Flume finally began! By the time we got to this part though, our legs wanted to fall off and run away. Our butts were on FIRE. It seemed like the 0.7-mile ascent to Mount Flume was never-ending! This hike was a tough one, but well worth it for the views. We eventually saw the end of the treeline and knew we made it to Mount Flume’s summit! The views from Mount Flume weren’t as spectacular as the ones from Mount Liberty, but they were still beautiful. We arrived at the summit around 12:00 PM and hung out for a half hour to give our legs a rest and fuel our body for the descent.
After enjoying Mount Flume’s views and the nice breeze, we began to make our way back to Mount Liberty. The rock scrambles to Mount Liberty’s summit seemed like a breeze after all of the stair-stepping we conquered. We returned to Mount Liberty’s summit around 1:15 PM and decided to enjoy another half hour there to take in the amazing views again. Of course, someone had a drone that was as loud as an airplane taking off, so it took away from the peacefulness. We also noticed the dark clouds moving in from the south, so we decided to start our descent.
The descent always seems easier than the ascent, so we were flying down Liberty Springs Trail. We met an awesome couple who became our descent partners! Chatting with them while hiking down made the time fly by. We made it back to our car around 3:15 PM.
The hike to Mount Liberty and Mount Flume was challenging but so rewarding. I can’t complain because we had AMAZING views on Mount Liberty and Mount Flume. In my opinion, Mount Liberty’s summit had the best views I have seen thus far. It may have also helped that the day was absolutely perfect (thank you Mother Nature).
Have you hiked Mount Liberty and Mount Flume? Did you hike up the Flume Slide Trail or avoid it like we did?
Hey, I’m Nichole!
I am the creator behind Nichole the Nomad, the home of my explorations around the world, mountain hikes, and beautiful pictures taken along the way. I have a deep passion for capturing the world in a beautiful light and sharing my experiences.
I created this blog to share my travels, show how beautiful the world is, provide tips and tricks for traveling, and encourage you to explore. Whether you want to travel across the world or explore what’s in your backyard, I hope this blog inspires you to get outside and find your adventure!