Floor of King Ravine: 7/28/25

On yet another hot, humid day, with the haze enhanced by wildfire smoke, Daniel Newton and I took a leisurely hike into the floor of King Ravine. This spectacular glacial cirque, gouged into the northern flank of Mount Adams, is one of the wonders of the White Mountains.

 

We were lucky enough to snag a spot in the Appalachia parking lot, saving a bit of steamy road walking.

For the approach we used the standard route via Air Line and Short Line, passing this large hemlock along the lower part of Air Line.

The lower part of Short Line ascends through a beautiful hardwood forest.

Short Line coincides with Randolph Path for 0.4 mile.

Heading onto the upper part of Short Line.

Farther up, Short Line traverses a tedious section of slippery rocks. Due to the previous day's rain showers and the high humidity, the rocks in the woods were wet and slick. 

A scenic reach of Cold Brook.

The trail of the day.

Vivid greens on Cold Brook.

Sweet spot on a hot day.

Mossy Fall, considered the entry point for King Ravine.

Daniel gives himself a front row seat to Mossy Fall.

After a nice break by the waterfall, we headed up into the ravine, soon passing this overhanging boulder.

 

Above here is where the boulder scrambling begins.

This one was tricky because the rock was damp and slick. It's steeper than it looks.

Boulders at all angles.

Partway up the climb into the ravine Daniel found a faint route that led us safely out to comfortable boulder perches with wide views.

This is the lower end of the "rock glacier" that covers the floor of King Ravine. Nowell Ridge in the background. The boulders came off the headwall and sidewalls of the ravine during the most recent glaciation and have tumbled down to the floor. They are very slowly creeping downslope.

 

Hazy view out to the Pliny Range, some Kilkenny peaks, and part of the Crescent Range.

Some inaccessible crags on the steep flank of Durand Ridge.

Daniel gets a close-up shot of ring lichens.

A lover of scrambling, Daniel carefully navigated a weaving route through the boulders to the projecting rock seen in the center of the photo.

He made it!

Daniel is a tiny figure gazing up at the great headwall of the ravine. King Ravine was first ascended in 1857 by a party led by Gorham guide James Gordon and the Rev. Thomas Starr King, who vividly described the adventure in his classic The White Hills: Their Legends, Landscape and Poetry. He called it "the grandest of all of the gorges that have been cloven out of the White Hills." The ravine was subsequently named in King's honor. The King Ravine Trail was opened by Randolph guide Charles E. Lowe in 1876.

Back to the trail and more boulder scrambling.

The boulder scrambles seemed a little harder than they did the last time I came through here, 18 years ago. This was a tough spot, made spicier by the hole down to the left. It was even trickier to descend, and I will confess to making a short bushwhack around this spot after failing to find a suitable foothold. Due to the steeply angled boulders with deep holes between, this is not a trail on which to bring your dog. Sure, there are some that have done it, but in general it's strongly discouraged. 

This section of trail features a quick succession of scrambles.

A full body workout is guaranteed.

I removed my bulky pack to get under this overhang.

After the multiple scrambles, the last section up to the junction with Chemin des Dames and the Subway is a normal mountain trail.

The Chemin des Dames (ladies' road) is named after a road in France that was strategically important during World War I.

 

A good view of the imposing headwall here.

Another angle.

 

 

 

 

The Subway - a blazed route through, over and under a maze of boulders - is a unique feature of King Ravine. The Randolph Mountain Club maintains all the trails in the ravine.

 

 

 

 

Where the Subway goes.

This was Daniel's first visit to King Ravine, so naturally he had to drop in.

Up and over.

Amidst a sea of stone.

While Daniel was weaving through the Subway, I headed up the "Elevated" section of King Ravine Trail to a big slab of ledge suitable for relaxing while enjoying the views.

 

After exiting the Subway, Daniel joined me and set up his portable chair for a sojourn in the sun. Behind him is the route followed by Chemin des Dames as it climbs steeply (800 ft. gain in 0.4 mile)  to Durand Ridge. 

 

Peering up at the upper route of the King Ravine Trail, which follows a strip of talus up to the dramatic slabs of the Gateway, seen left of center.

This was a hard place to leave.

Parting shot.

Back down through the boulders.

Evening at Mossy Fall.

We took a slightly longer route for the return trip, following King Ravine Trail down to the NW and crossing Cold Brook along the way.

At the five-way junction known as Pentadoi, we turned onto the Amphibrach.

 

This trail provides a pleasant easy to moderate descent, with generally good footing - unusual for the Northern Presidentials.

After a quick stop to admire Cold Brook Fall, we exited via The Link and a concluding stroll on the Presidential Range Rail Trail.