Liberty/Flume Trailhead

[MadRiver]

Is there a place where I can stash or lock a bike at the Liberty/Flume trailhead? Next Saturday (12-2-06) I plan to hike the Franconia Ridge from Flume to Lafayette. I plan to park my car at the OBP trailhead and then ride a bike down to the Flume Trailhead to save myself a road or path walk after the hike.

 

[Waumbek]

Pm

Well, there are always lots of trees. If anybody knows a good "secret" place, suggest you send a private message to Mad River.

 

[Bob]

if you have a lock, right at the Lafayette Place building. It'll be in plain sight, so people prolly won't mess with it. Or simply hitchhike from same parking lot, you'll be off the main highway.

 

[halfmoon]

First of all I don't know any of the place names in the White Mountains. But, this summer I dayhike Lafayette, Lincoln, Libert, and Flume. I came down the Flume Slide trail and out to a visitor center type parking area. The parking area was near some sort of visitor attraction where you can pay to go into some sort of gorge. From that parking area there was a really nice paved bikeway where you could ride a bike back to the Lafayette trailhead. The bikeway went past this really nice "hole" in the rock that had a little waterfall...might have been called "The Basin". Anyway, at that parking lot where I exited there were places to lock up a bike. I had no problems.

 

[MadRiver]

I'm sure I can find a spot. Besides, the bike is a POS and I seriously doubt anyone would want to it.

 

[DougPaul]

Unfortunately, the Liberty/Flume trailhead is a distance along the bike/snowmobile path from any parking lots. (It is about midway between the Basin and the parking lot off Rte 3 (just S of the juction of 93 and 3, just N of the Flume Visitor center parking log). Details on the parking lots are in the guidebook.

The bike path is readily accessible from the Basin parking lot--a ~1/2 mi hike is required to get to the bike path from the southern parking lot. I'd park at the Basin and walk the bike path. The other alternative is to park at Lafayette Place, bike down to the Basin, and walk from the Basin to the L/F trailhead. The trail from the bike path to the southern parking lot is too rough for a road bike, don't know about a mountain bike.

I've done the walk from Lafayette Place to southern end of the bike path (near the Flume commercial parking lot). A pleasant walk, even in the dark...

Doug

 

[MadRiver]

I was just about to argue with you when my memory kicked in. You are correct. I forgot I have a wood/bike path hike from my car to the Liberty/Flume trailhead. Hmmm, I will have to rethink this.

 

[RoySwkr]

I forgot I have a wood/bike path hike from my car to the Liberty/Flume trailhead.

Not necessarily. Pick a tree near the highway right by the bridge, put your flashers on, hop out & grab the bike. Note that you will be SB on the hwy so put the bike on that side, there will be few hikers there.

 

[Frosty]

I have had good luck at any number of trailheads over the years leaving a bike. I just go down 50 or a hundred yards from the trailhead and walk it into the woods out of sight and lock it to a tree. You don't have to go far, who walks into the woods when there is a trail to use? No one has found it yet.

Just in case, though, I always ride the bike first and walk back to my car. If the bike should ever get stolen, it would be a long walk back to my car. (If my car gets stolen, I have bigger problems to worry about than shuttling.)

 

[DougPaul]

Just in case, though, I always ride the bike first and walk back to my car. If the bike should ever get stolen, it would be a long walk back to my car. (If my car gets stolen, I have bigger problems to worry about than shuttling.)

A reasonable suggestion. However in this case, the walk between trailheads is only about 2.2 mi along a paved bike/snowmobile path. Not a big deal to walk, by choice or necessity.

Doug

 

[Waumbek]

Not sure you really want or need any more advice, but here it is. Park at Lafayette Place East and ride the bike south on the rec (bike) path to the Basin East parking lot. Lock it up there, and continue walking south on the bike path to the Liberty trailhead. To drive back at the end of the day and retrieve the bike, head north on I-93 from Lafayette Place east, U-turn at Exit 34-C (Echo Lake), U-turn again at the Flume exit, pick up bike and repeat the 34-C U-turn, provided you are heading south ultimately. I would not recommend parking on the side of I-93 with flashers while you retrieve your bike; you could get a nasty ticket or worse.

 

[darren]

This is in Trips & Events, so that means you are asking people to join you on this trip. If people join you, then maybe you can spot cars and you won't need the bike.

- darren

 

[Woody]

I did this loop earlier this year but I stashed my POS bike in the woods at the OBP trail head and then drove back to the Liberty Spring/Whitehouse trailhead. When I finished my hike I took the bike ride back to the car at the Liberty Spring/Whitehouse Trailhead. The bike ride was mostly downhill and was a lot of fun.

Woody

 

[sierra]

first off the bike path is a blast going south, great speeds and easy. Secondly, Ive stashed gear and bikes in the woods in many places, the average person never sets foot off a trail or path, so 40 ft or so in any woods is ussually safe., imo.

 

[DougPaul]

first off the bike path is a blast going south, great speeds and easy.

It may be even faster if there is ice on the bike path--it has some turns (one or two are fairly sharp) and is in a very shady location.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

It may be even faster if there is ice on the bike path--it has some turns (one or two are fairly sharp) and is in a very shady location.

Doug

Bah. Real cyclists(tm) aren't afraid of riding on snow and ice. (But they may be afraid of hiking on it.)




Tim

p.s. Happy bird-day

 

[MadRiver]

Sorry Darren:

If anyone wants to join me you are more than welcome.

It might be shorter if I park my car at the Lafayette Campground and bike to the Basin. Hike south and cross the Parkway by using the tunnel and then walk along the bike path until I reach the Flume Trailhead. After coming down OBP, my car will be heading south and I can just stop at the Basin and retrieve my bike. That way there is no backtracking or U turns, except for the initial U turn at the Tram.