Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / New Hampshire / Presidential Range

Dry River Trail to Lakes of the Clouds

Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness, White Mountain National Forest (Crawford Notch)

The Dry River drains the south side of Mt. Washington through the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness, and the Dry River Trail follows it all the way from Crawford Notch to the Lakes of the Clouds below Mt. Monroe. SectionHiker’s Philip Werner, who has written up two backpacking trips here, calls it “my favorite place to backpack in the White Mountains.” It is also one of the rougher trails in the range.

Tropical Storm Irene tore up the valley in 2011. New England Mountaineering says the trail was closed in August 2011 and reopened in late 2014 as a primitive wilderness trail.

The hike

The trail leaves Route 302 in Crawford Notch, near the Frankenstein Cliffs, and follows an old woods road and then an old railroad bed along the river, according to The Weirs Times. A suspension bridge crosses the river about two miles in. The Mt. Clinton Trail junction is about three miles in, per SectionHiker’s 2023 trip, and the crossing there is hard to find on the far bank.

Dry River Shelter #3 is the only one of the valley’s three original shelters still standing; the other two were removed. SectionHiker found it “still in good shape” in 2015, and a 2024 reader reported the same. The western branch of the Isolation Trail also leaves the Dry River Trail, climbing toward Mt. Isolation and the Davis Path.

Above the shelter the trail gets harder. SectionHiker’s 2015 trip report describes two fords of the Dry River on the way to Oakes Gulf, knee-high and very cold in late May, and says navigation is hardest north of the Isolation Trail junction. Reroutes climb steeply around landslide zones, and The Weirs Times found stabilized slides, leaning trees, and a tangle of blowdowns in Oakes Gulf, with saw-cut stumps serving as route markers in place of blazes. SectionHiker turned back in deep snow at about 4,300 feet, roughly a mile short of the top.

The last stretch climbs out of Oakes Gulf to the Lakes of the Clouds and AMC’s hut. New England Mountaineering calls the ascent “an experience unparalleled in the Southern Presidentials.” From the hut, the Weirs Times writer climbed Mt. Monroe and descended the steep, rough Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail, which AMC puts at 3 miles to its trailhead in Jefferson, 1.1 miles east of the junction of Mt. Clinton Road and Jefferson Notch Road. The hut also sits on the Crawford Path, part of the Presidential Traverse.

New England Mountaineering’s advice: “Be prepared to get wet, muddy and exert far more energy than you would a typical valley hike.” It recommends fall over spring, when swollen streams and mud make the trip less pleasant.

For the other side of Mt. Washington, see the Great Gulf.

Tips

Camping

In the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness, camping and wood or charcoal fires are prohibited within 200 feet of any trail except at designated sites, and groups are limited to 10, according to the Forest Service’s White Mountain brochure. Camping above treeline (trees under 8 feet) is allowed only on 2 feet of snow, and no fires are allowed there. A quarter-mile Forest Protection Area surrounds huts and shelters, which covers the area around Lakes of the Clouds Hut. Hiking Project says several small designated sites are signed off the trail, none large enough for big groups.

Lakes of the Clouds Hut is closed for the season; AMC took reservations for its June-September full-service season. Fees are not listed here.

Inside Intel: SectionHiker’s 2015 report counts four signed, designated campsites just off the trail near the river, plus one at about 4,160 feet in Oakes Gulf, “close to Mt. Washington.” Hiking Project describes Dry River Shelter as “in great condition,” a dry place to stay beside the river.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Knee-deep fords below Oakes Gulf:

SectionHiker found two knee-deep, very cold fords of the Dry River above Shelter #3 in late May, and warns the cairns don't mark the best crossing points. Our five tips start with picking the safest spot.

See the water-crossing tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.