Artist Bluff? Paid Parking?

[skiguy]

https://www.wmur.com/article/foliage-nh-crowds-safety-concerns-nhfg-rescues/62591271

 

[dug]

Paid parking there would alleviate the budget shortfall 🤣

 

[KRooney]

Is parking for Artists Bluff across the street from Cannon? In the scores of time I've climbed Lafayette and Lincoln, I've never climbed Artist Bluff.

 

[DayTrip]

Paid parking there would alleviate the budget shortfall 🤣

I thought they were already doing that? Is that a free lot? I went through there once last year (looking for a brewery I had heard of in the area on the way to the Kinsman Trail - Iron Furnace Brewing I believe) and it was absolute pandemonium there - barrels and tape blocking street, port-a-pottis, cars and shuttles all over the place and HUNDREDS of people all over the freaking place. NO THANK YOU. I could have sworn there were signs for a parking charge but I may be remembering it wrong. I was just trying to get the hell out of their without hitting a car or a person.

 

[Ear Drum]

Someone posted a photo of a totally jammed trail at Artists Bluff over on the reddit wmnf forum. However, others said, that pic is from last year. In any event, it looked like a few busloads of people all on the trail at once. No thanks!
The closest I've come to that was when I hiked to Nymph, Dream, Emerald, Hiyaha, and Bear lakes at Rocky Mountain NP. However, I started at 5:30am, and had the place to myself. The crowds were just coming in as I finished the hike.

 

[ImYourHuckleberry]

Someone posted a photo of a totally jammed trail at Artists Bluff over on the reddit wmnf forum. However, others said, that pic is from last year. In any event, it looked like a few busloads of people all on the trail at once. No thanks!
The closest I've come to that was when I hiked to Nymph, Dream, Emerald, Hiyaha, and Bear lakes at Rocky Mountain NP. However, I started at 5:30am, and had the place to myself. The crowds were just coming in as I finished the hike.

I was in the area last year and this year, and it looked like Saturday this year was worse than last year. At 3 PM on Saturday the exit for Cannon/Artist Bluff was backed up onto 93 causing a major traffic jam. Supposedly, the rescuers heading up to Franconia Ridge were delayed by an hour due to the traffic. Maybe next year I will remember to stay away!

 

[sierra]

I work for the state, I can assure you, nobody at the state house will do anything to aggravate tourist. There are two trailheads that lead to Artist bluff and it would take quite the feat to man both and charge people. It's two weeks a year and if all those tourons don't mind being elbow to elbow, so be it. Frankly, its not an issue that needs a solution. The millions of dollars all those people bring to the towns and state mitigate any desire to mess with them. The Govenor saw those pictures and was probably sitting at home smiling like a cheshire cat.

 

[JoshandBaron]

I work for the state, I can assure you, nobody at the state house will do anything to aggravate tourist. There are two trailheads that lead to Artist bluff and it would take quite the feat to man both and charge people. It's two weeks a year and if all those tourons don't mind being elbow to elbow, so be it. Frankly, its not an issue that needs a solution. The millions of dollars all those people bring to the towns and state mitigate any desire to mess with them. The Govenor saw those pictures and was probably sitting at home smiling like a cheshire cat.

There are many popular state parks and other state properties that charge for parking. What do you think makes Artists Bluff different than Monadnock or Hampton Beach or Echo Lake across the street?

 

[Grey J]

Several years ago, I was staying nearby in Sugar Hill and did the loop over Bald Mt and Artists Bluff after breakfast on a weekday morning in August. It wasn't crowded at that time of day. It's a neat viewpoint down the Notch but if you have to compete with the number of people described in earlier posts, it's not worth the effort.

 

[sierra]

There are many popular state parks and other state properties that charge for parking. What do you think makes Artists Bluff different than Monadnock or Hampton Beach or Echo Lake across the street?

Because every park you mentioned has one state owned road leading into them, hence a gate house and no way to circumnavigate the gatehouse. Artist Bluff and bald rock are on a town road , where are you going to set up to stop people?

 

[JoshandBaron]

Because every park you mentioned has one state owned road leading into them, hence a gate house and no way to circumnavigate the gatehouse. Artist Bluff and bald rock are on a town road , where are you going to set up to stop people?

It's in the same park and on the same state road that echo lake is. What do they do there that they can't do for an adjacent parking lot?

 

[hikeritz]

A couple of folks hiked up to Artists Bluff yesterday morning and collected two bags of trash. Nice! https://www.facebook.com/share/Tjm2j9dCjWfmViT1/

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

It's in the same park and on the same state road that echo lake is. What do they do there that they can't do for an adjacent parking lot?

Exactly. And Franconia Notch State Park already charges for parking during the summer months at the Echo Lake lot, which is the lot that most use for hiking up the steep south approach to Artists Bluff. Although there is a 0.8-mile-long trail above the road that connects the parking lots at Echo Lake and Cannon Mountain Ski Area’s Peabody Lodge, most hikers do not hike the entire route over Artists Bluff and Bald Mountain.

 

[sierra]

It's in the same park and on the same state road that echo lake is. What do they do there that they can't do for an adjacent parking lot?

It's just my opinion and you are certainly entitled to yours. I'm not really interested in arguing about for days on end. Frankly it's not an issue for me, I go up there when it's off season to climb AB and Bald mt and basically have the place to myself.