A couple of weekends ago, we headed out on a Sunday for a short walk in Franconia, NH. We wanted to explore the Lawrence Family Forest, which is owned by the Town of Franconia with an easement held by the Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust. There are several neighborhood trails throughout Franconia, that connect to one another. Many are open to walking and mountain biking and most are protected with town ownership or under conservation easement. We parked at the end of Old County Road to walk to the Pebble Beach Trail. Here’s a map of the Lawrence Family Forest.

We took the Pebble Beach Trail down to Meadow Brook. We weren’t sure if pebble beach was at the end of its’ namesake trail along Meadow Brook because the rocks on the edge of the brook were a little larger than what we consider pebbles, but it provides a lovely junction. We turned north and walked along the Meadow Brook Trail.

The brook meandered and flooded in sections where the beaver have moved over time – causing trail relocations. We surmised that Meadow Brook was named that because the beaver keep widening the brook and creating little ponds to live in, and when sections are abandoned by the beaver (who move up or down stream for better food and ponding opportunities), the wide brook turns into a wet meadow. The trail also passed through and next to an overgrown meadow.

It is a lovely walk and we enjoyed the fall foliage. Alden had a homework assignment to gather a few leaves for pressing and we found several that were perfect. The cool air had us bundled up in the shade, but when we walked through the open forest areas, the hot sun warmed us up quickly. Fall is here in northern New Hampshire!