This adventure was initiated by Alden, who has been wanting to take his Mom and Dad to this short trail in Franconia, NH.  Today was the perfect day, although it was a bit on the cool side.  Alden has visited this spot several times throughout the summer with his Preschool and he has been so excited to take his parents there, in fact so excited that he woke us up before daylight this morning.  He dressed himself ready to explore the river as his class does, insisting on shorts and crocs, despite the raw conditions outside (we managed to get a hat on him though).  This trail starts at the Iron Furnace on Route 18.  There are several parking spots as it is a popular tourist spot.

The Iron Furnace is a 200 year old iron smelter and is the only blast furnace still standing in New Hampshire.

The furnace is situated on private land across the Gale River, but a small interpretive building with several informative signs are found on the Route 18 side of the river.
It seems like most visitors just view the furnace, but there is a short river trail which was where Alden wanted to take us today.  We crossed the bridge to the Riverstone Beach Trail.

Alden led the way along the short trail, showing us each spur trail down to the Gale River.  Plenty of great river access spots to explore and if the weather had been warmer we might have spent more time.  At the end of the trail there are a couple of picnic tables, presumably belonging to the Garnet Hill company, since their employee parking lot is right there too.

This adventure brought to you by Alden!  Thanks for joining us.  Now go have your own outdoor adventure!