Start from 30 curated places around Lincoln, NH, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Gypsy Cafe
A beloved Lincoln institution on Main Street serving a genuinely global menu that wanders from Egyptian Brussels sprouts and Navajo pumpkin pasta to lamb, duck, and tiger salmon. The art-filled dining room and flower-draped patio feel unlike anything else in the White Mountains, and the kitchen executes with care. One of the most consistently praised restaurants in the region.
Woodstock Inn Brewery
A sprawling brewpub anchoring the center of North Woodstock in a converted Victorian inn, with nearly 20 house-brewed beers on tap alongside hearty pub fare — wings, beer-battered fish and chips, burgers, and classic New England chowder. The rambling dining rooms fill with hikers, skiers, and families year-round. Ranked the top restaurant in Woodstock on TripAdvisor.
Trails & outdoors
Franconia Ridge Loop (Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln)
The signature White Mountains hike — an 8.6-mile loop ascending to an open alpine ridge connecting Mount Lafayette (5,260 ft) and Mount Lincoln (5,089 ft) with a mile of above-treeline walking between them. Views extend across the Pemigewasset Wilderness, the Presidential Range, and into Vermont and Maine on clear days. The loop is among the most celebrated day hikes in New England and justifiably so.
Lonesome Lake Trail
A 3.1-mile loop from the Lafayette Campground up to a high mountain lake at 2,734 feet, with a well-maintained AMC hut on the shore and stunning views of Franconia Ridge across the water. It is the ideal moderate hike in the area — enough elevation gain to feel earned, a clear destination, and one of the best mountain-lake views in New Hampshire at the top.
Things to do
Loon Mountain Resort
The four-season hub of Lincoln — a full-service ski mountain in winter with 61 trails and the longest gondola in New Hampshire, and in summer an outdoor activity center with mountain biking, ziplining, a climbing wall, gondola sightseeing rides, Segway tours, and bungee trampolines. The mountain anchors the local economy and gives Lincoln a resort character that distinguishes it from other White Mountains towns.
Whale's Tale Waterpark
A family waterpark on the Lincoln strip with water slides, a lazy river, wave pool, and a dedicated toddler play area — the largest waterpark in the White Mountains and a full-day destination for families. Pricing is considered reasonable by New Hampshire waterpark standards, and the park maintains high marks for cleanliness and staff friendliness. A logical rainy-day-adjacent plan if the heat drives people off the trails.
Landmarks & sights
Franconia Notch State Park
One of the great natural parks of New England, a granite notch carved by glaciers that now holds the Flume Gorge, Echo Lake, the Basin pothole, the Franconia Notch Bike Path, and the Cannon Mountain aerial tramway all within a single linear park. The scale of the cliffs and the variety of experiences — from a paved recreational path to alpine summit hiking — make it a legitimate all-day destination. The park's 1,800-foot cliffs are among the most dramatic in the Northeast.
Flume Gorge
An 800-foot natural chasm carved through granite by the Flume Brook, with walls rising 70 to 90 feet and wooden boardwalks threading through the narrowest passages. The 2-mile loop also passes Avalanche Falls and covered bridges. It is one of the most dramatic short walks in New Hampshire, genuinely awe-inspiring in a way that photographs cannot fully convey.