Sunday Driver: Kancamagus Highway

Next Sunday is Father's Day which is also partly occupied by the 24 Hours of LeMans aka The Kessel Run. So, I'm uncertain if I will be out on the highways and byways next week, but we will see. Speaking of byways, it is time to give my neighbors to the north in the Granite State some more love. So, I thought it time to make a return trek to grand Kancamagus Highway and all of its 34.5 miles. The run is from Conway to Lincoln and this stretch of NH RT112 has everything: straights, hairpins, long sweepers, combinations, scenery and the runs are virtually uninterrupted by other traffic; but even if there is, there are plenty of passing zones that are quite useable given the light traffic. During the spring this place is virtually your personal stretch of road with multiple areas for scenic overlooks. However in addition to all this goodness, large swaths of the road are rough, wavy, uneven and can throw you off the camber of the road. In other driving locations this would be an annoyance, but here it gives the Kancamagus some additional charm in my opinion. I have yet to see a park ranger, state trooper or some other type of official presence on these lands, but we are technically not in summer yet so use your judgement. As a side note as it relates to the spring, you still might encounter the road lined with snow and snow melt run-off crossing the road in several places. So at that time of year, you need to add "slippy" to your pace notes.

Downhill run on "The Kanc" from Conway

Nevertheless, back to today. You have multiple options from Boston to "The Kanc" depending on which side you want to start from. I have done both and the route to the Conway side is a beautiful drive all by itself (I-95 N to RT 16 N or Spaulding Turnpike). Therefore, The Kanc is a nice cherry on a Driving Sundae. It is a two and half hours drive, but worth making a day of it as you will be in the White Mountains National Forest. All the necessary links for you to browse are at the bottom.

I decided to stay with the early bird theme and left for NH at 4am so the entire drive up was very serene, scenic and pretty much all mine (except for the hard working Joes, Janes and other die-hards out there)  with ever increasing daylight. Also, I was able to make liberal use of the 250+ horses at my right foot's disposal. Door to door total time includes total drive time, multiple passes through time, chill time, safety nap time: 8 hours...that would be an awesome day's work. Well, enough with the typing and more with moving pictures.


Links:

The Kancamagus Highway
Visit New Hampshire
NH Route 112- Wikipedia
Loon Mountain