Lonesome Lake Trail is a 3.1 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Lincoln, New Hampshire that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, camping, and snowshoeing and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
kid friendly
camping
hiking
snowshoeing
walking
beach
forest
lake
river
views
wild flowers
wildlife
Directions from Lincoln or Franconia, NH: This trail is located in the southern most parking area of Lafayette Campground which is located on I-93 about midway between the towns of Lincoln and Franconia.
Nice afternoon hike on a mild, sunny, summer afternoon. I spent 3h 15m from trailhead to trailhead hiking at a leisurely pace, with stops including a sandwich break. Parking sometimes extends out into the street (up on the grass) - no problem. Trailhead in the campground. Moderately steep uphill in the woods with some glimpses of the Lafayette-Lincoln-Haystack ridgeline across the highway to the east. Regular route under construction - steeper alternative Hi Canon trail in play works just fine. Lots of families and pets seen on the trail. Some trail runners. Hike up to and over the ridge line and down a bit to the lake. Beautiful lake with beautiful views from all points during lake circumnavigation. Some people enjoying a swim. There is a hut on the far side of the lake. All kinds of varied footgear seen - from barefoot to flip-flops (me - quality OluKai slippers from Hawaii) to sneakers to full on hiking boots with poles. Rather heavy traffic for a Thursday afternoon - no doubt enhanced by the nice weather.
Was just here this morning, this trail is currently under construction so you have to take the steeper alternative route to Lonesome Lake.
This is one of my favorite trails, I've done it with my dog twice, once in the middle of summer and once when there was still a lot of snow/ice on the ground. Moderate hike but gradual enough that kids could still have a good time as long as they're active.
This probably should be rated as a hard trail if you come from the basin trail side, it is very rocky and you will have to cross the swift river twice. The view of lonesome lake and the mountain behind it are outstanding and much like the oil paintings bob ross was famous for. Lol.
This is the third time we hiked to Lonesome lake and its one of our favorite trails. We usually take the direct and easiest path to the lake through Lonesome Lake trail but this time we took the Hi-Cannon trail and Dodge cut-off to reach the lake. The Hi-Cannon part was pretty steep but the Dodge cut-off was a walk in the park. We could hardly see any hikers in the Hi-Cannon even though it was the Memorial day weekend. Came down to the Lafayette campground parking lot through the Lonesome Lake trail which had a pretty heavy uphill traffic.
Decent hike. Saw a lot of other people on it, and the views were only okay from the top. Had a nice time sitting on the frozen lake eating my lunch though!