The Lafayette Loop is a 8.9-mile loop with 3,893 ft of elevation gain.
Submitted by rock_hopper
8.9 mi • 3,893 ft gain • 5-8 hours • Falling Water
Pemigewasset Wilderness Food Storage Requirement
Effective May 1st, 2026, all overnight campers in the Pemigewasset Wilderness must store all food, food containers, scented items (such as soap, lip balm, and toothpaste) and refuse in a cylindrical, hard-sided, non-pliable Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) certified bear resistant canister. Alternative methods, including bear hangs, for storing food and bear attractants in the Pemigewasset Wilderness will no longer be permitted as they have proven to be less effective than canisters. The only exceptions are the bear resistant food boxes located at the Thirteen Falls Tent Site.
Source: Forest Service
Feels like 31°F
Best Hiking Window
Saturday, August 29, early morning through early afternoon (roughly 6:30 AM to 2:00 PM) offers the clearest skies, lightest winds, and most daylight buffer before afternoon clouds and weekend crowds peak.
Conditions synthesized from: NWS Higher Summits Forecast, NOAA Open-Meteo, Mount Washington Observatory, NETC Trip Reports, NOHRSC Snow Depth, Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, USGS Stream Levels, OpenWeather Air Quality.
AI-generated from public data. Always verify conditions before heading out — backcountry weather can change quickly.
Summit-level conditions by time of day at 5,260' elevation
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Aug 29 | Tomorrow Aug 30 | Monday Aug 31 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | sunny | sunny | cloudy | cloudy | rain | drizzle | sunny | sunny | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 47° 46° | 49° 45° | 52° 50° | 51° 50° | 53° 51° | 51° 49° | 49° 48° | 53° 47° | 52° 51° |
| Chill °F | 40° | 38° | 41° | 41° | — | 41° | 41° | 42° | — |
| Wind mph | 13 | 17 | 38 | 40 | 32 | 31 | 18 | 12 | 14 |
| Gust mph est. | 21 | 27 | 61 | 56 | 51 | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | 0.2 | - | - | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 12,245 ft | 11,459 ft | 13,337 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 5% | 11% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 7% | 6% | 100% |
| Vis mi | 8 | clear | clear | clear | 3 | 7 | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 5 | 7 | — | 4 | 6 | — | 5 | 7 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Aug 29 | Tomorrow Aug 30 | Monday Aug 31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 5,260 ft | 46/47° 13 | 50/51° 40 | 48/49° 18 |
| 5,000 ft | 46/47° 13 | 51/52° 40 | 49/50° 17 |
| 4,100 ft | 47/47° 13 | 53/56° 38 | 50/52° 13 |
| 3,300 ft | 47/50° 15 | 57/59° 31 | 53/54° 8 |
| 2,500 ft | 49/54° 12 | 60/62° 21 | 55/57° 5 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 51/56° 10 | 61/64° 16 | 55/60° 5 |
4 more days of forecast — plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Full hourly summit forecasts: Mount Lafayette weather · Mount Lincoln weather
The classic Lafayette loop: up falling water, along Franconia Ridge, and down old bridle path past Greenleaf Hut. Note: Descend on Greenleaf Trail from summit of Lafayette to the hut, then Old Bridal Path back to the trailhead.
Distance
8.9 mi
Elevation Gain
3,893 ft
Duration
5-8 hours
Trailhead
Falling Water
The Lafayette Loop is 8.9 miles around the loop, starting at Falling Water. At AMC book time — half the distance in hours plus 30 minutes per 1,000 ft of climbing — that works out to roughly 5-8 hours. Most parties take longer than book time on rough or above-treeline terrain, in winter, or with a heavy pack.
The Lafayette Loop climbs about 3,893 ft over 8.9 miles — an average of roughly 437 ft of gain per mile. That figure is cumulative ascent across the whole loop, not the difference between the trailhead and the high point.
HikerNerd rates the Lafayette Loop Difficult, scored with the Shenandoah difficulty formula — √(elevation gain × 2 × distance) — applied to its 8.9 miles and 3,893 ft of gain. The score measures physical effort only. Above-treeline exposure, water crossings, and winter conditions can make a moderate-rated route the hardest day of your year, so check current conditions before committing.
The Lafayette Loop summits 2 named peaks: Mount Lafayette, Mount Lincoln.
The Lafayette Loop starts at Falling Water. Check the trail alerts on this page before you drive — trailhead access and parking in the White Mountains change with closures and construction.
Jonathan Q.
I’ve hiked this route over 50 times in my life. In every month of the year except for December. My favorite time of year to hike this loop - the best day hike east of the Mississippi! - is late winter. The days are a little longer, the snow is well packed, the air is generally clearer, and the views are the most spectacular!