Hitchcock Fall

Length: 2.1 miles out-and-back

Difficulty (click for info): Easy

Elevation Gain: 640 feet (+0 feet on return)

Rating (click for info): 5/10

Height: 30'

River: Bumpus Brook

Driving Directions:
Trailhead and parking area are on Pinkham B Road in Randolph, NH. From Rt. 2, 7.9 miles east of the junction with Rt. 115 and 4.5 miles west of Rt. 16 in Gorham, turn south onto Pinkham B Road. This is just east of the major Appalachia trailhead and at the bottom of Gorham Hill. Drive just 0.2 miles down this road and pull into the parking area on the right. Click here for a Google map.

About the Hike:
The lower part of the Howker Ridge Trail, one of the less-used and rougher routes to Mt. Madison, follows the wild and scenic Bumpus Brook. A hike of one mile along this path rewards you with sights of many cascades, a mossy gorge, and the tumbling 30-foot Hitchcock Falls. Just as others in this waterfall-dense region, Hitchcock can be reached before climbing up too high toward the peaks and getting into the steeper and rougher terrain. This portion of the trail retains an easy grade the whole way, and there's sights to see along the brook for the whole way.

From the parking area, walk to the trail signs and follow the trail across the Presidential Range Rail Trail, a gravel bike path. Bear left onto Howker Ridge Trail as Randolph Path goes right. The trail begins at flat grades, soon passing through some swampy areas on bog bridges. After about 0.4 miles of easy walking, it reaches Bumpus Brook and goes by a ledgy cascade and pool. The first officially named waterfall you will encounter is Stairs Falls, 0.1 miles ahead. This waterfall is a short rocky plunge located where a tributary joins Bumpus Brook. Its name is so given because of the steps that appear to be carved into the right side of the rock. Stairs Falls can be completely dry in low water. Just upstream, the trail passes alongside Devil's Kitchen, a mossy gorge with high rock walls and some swift rapids flowing over its rocky bed. At the head of the gorge, a nice twin cascade pours in. In 0.2 miles from Stairs, a sign for Coosauk Fall appears on the left, across from a trail junction with Sylvan Way. The trail is high above the stream at this point, and it can be difficult to see this often-dry cascade, also on a tributary. A short distance ahead, Kelton Trail turns right; stay left on Howker Ridge. The trail becomes a bit steeper and climbs about a quarter mile to the main attraction, Hitchcock Fall. This waterfall is a series of drops through a mossy, boulder-filled stream. The cascades extend a ways upstream, but the best vantage point is here, from the bottom. The most distinctive feature is a pair of twin plunges, almost facing each other, at the top of the visible waterfall. The trail crosses the stream here and continues out of sight of it on its way up to Mt. Madison.

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