page_title: Mount Lafayette
section_title: Trails
hierarchical_section_title: Mount Lafayette / The mountain / Trails
caption_attribution_description: English: This is an image of a painting by Thomas Hill dated 1870 which is in the public domain.
context_page_description: Mount Lafayette is a 5,249-foot mountain at the northern end of the Franconia Range in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, United States. It lies in the town of Franconia in Grafton County, and appears on the New England Fifty Finest list of the most topographically prominent peaks in New England. The mountain's upper reaches are located in the alpine zone, an area where only dwarf vegetation exists due to the harsh climate.
context_section_description: A variety of trails lead up over 3,000 vertical feet (900 m) to its exposed summit. The Greenleaf Trail begins at the parking lot for the Cannon Mountain tramway and ascends to the Appalachian Mountain Club's Greenleaf Hut, then continues to the summit. The Bridle Path trail follows a western spur ridge of Lafayette from Lafayette Place Campground on Interstate 93 past Greenleaf Hut and joins the Greenleaf Trail, reaching the summit 1.1 miles (1.8 km) after the hut. The peak is at the junction of the Garfield Ridge Trail, which follows the ridge northeast to Mount Garfield, and the Franconia Ridge Trail, which leads south to Mounts Lincoln, Liberty, and Flume.  Both the Garfield Ridge Trail and the Franconia Ridge Trail form part of the Appalachian Trail.  
  A very popular hike is to make a loop combining the three most notable summits of the Franconia Range.  The loop starts with the Old Bridle Path to the AMC Greenleaf Hut.  From there, one takes the Greenleaf Trail to the summit of Mt. Lafayette.  Turning south along the Franconia Ridge Trail, one passes over Mount Lincoln and Little Haystack, then descends via the Falling Waters Trail, which connects back with the beginning of the Old Bridle Path.  This loop is 8.9 miles (14.3 km) long, with a cumulative elevation gain of about 3,900 feet (1,200 m).
caption: Mount Lafayette in Winter, by Thomas Hill, 1870
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