Hike White Horse Trail

Consider this moderate hike a warm-up to some of the bigger boys in the area! We've hiked Cathedral Ledge from Echo Lake State Park in the past, but wanted something a little longer in distance & slighting more challenging. When I asked the guy manning the State Park booth for a map he said, "ah, the long way".

There are multiple ways to get to this ledge & do this trail. Some take Bryce Path up & go down White Horse Ledge Loop trail as Bryce can be incredibly steep to go down. This path can also be done in tandem with Cathedral Ledge. We started along the flat trail that surrounds Echo Lake, and made our way up the trail with very clear signage. First mile is very wooded & forresty; bug spray necessary. You will come around the backside of the Mount Mountain hotel, and then begin on some incline.

It can become pretty steep in some places. While the trail was decently marked, we had a few instances where we had to return to our previous marker and try to figure out where we got off trail. A couple coming downhill warned us of a fork where the marking wasn't overly clear; we were glad for this warning, as he was right! About a half mile from the ledge, there is signage for intersecting trails to Bryce Path & Cathedral Ledge, for those who want to tackle both. 

Cool expansive views of the valley from the top. While Cathedral can be crowded, we were up here and there was only one other MTB'er. We sat in the sun & enjoyed some GORP for the trek back down. My mom liked the view better from Cathedral, but I liked working harder for this one. MTB'er directed us to the path to get back down via Bryce Path, as it wasn't overly marked once we were on the ledge; all the way to the left, by a big pine, down the little backside of some rocking. 

We took Bryce Path down which provides some other really awesome views of Echo Lake and North Conway. This trail definitely more trafficked, we passed a few different groups, but it was also mid-afternoon at this point. This path can be STEEP on the way down ; I wouldn't have a little kid with me, as it takes full scrambling on hands/feet. 

Enjoy a dip in Echo Lake once you're finished!