We have a friend, Eric who chases waterfalls. He chases them in Kauai these days. Eric is a hiker and a serious one at that. He loves to hike so much, he started his own company, Hike Kauai With Me (shameless plug for his business). When we heard the falls were raging, we knew we had to go. Eric would appreciate it. Of course if Eric was here he would jump in the water, no mater the temperature. We weren’t going that far.
This is a family friendly hike. We did it as an out and back, for a total of about 3.0 miles, elevation gain of 900 feet.
Never had a serious grade up that was tiring.
The trail was dry and muddy. The extreme muddy parts had perfect rock placement to practice rock hopping. I always try to practice rock hopping when I can, good for short legs and to develop balance.
We had two bridges to cross.
There were a few blowdowns, that made for a fun practice of problem solving how to go over or under safely.
The second bridge needs a repair.
We did have to walk on a bit of a monorail. Thankful no microspikes needed.
Oh wait, here are my difficult step ups. Good to practice alternating feet up.
The last 100 or so feet are a descent. The falls start to roar in your ear, conversations become hand gestures and the falls peek through the trees.
Viola….the snowmelt has made Arethusa Falls a stunning sight to behold.
Upon our arrival we had the company of two men. They soon left and we had the falls to ourselves for a precious 10 minutes. Time for a photo shoot. I attempted to text Eric in the moment, but folks, there is no cell service here. Probably a good thing, I couldn’t reach him, he would have dared me to jump in the water.
After our solitude, a couple appeared with their little black dog. Mike offered to take their pictures, we are always thinking about other’s Christmas card photos.
After doing our good deed, it was time to leave for us. We decided to count the number of people we passed on the trail. We had encountered a total 69 people and 8 dogs for the day. 60 of those people and 6 dogs were as we were leaving the falls. The falls were going to get crowded and no one would probably have the opportunity of having the falls to themselves.
It was a perfect weather day that Sunday. A blue sky, a few bugs, a fun trail to practice hiking skills on and a stunning show of a waterfall arranged by Mother Nature herself.
The Details: Arethusa Falls, tallest waterfall in New Hampshire. Located in Hart’s Location. 900 feet elevation gain, about 3 miles out and back. Took us 45 mins. to hike in and 35 mins. to hike out. Great family hike.
CTHikergal Travels 
You got some really nice photos of the falls, Ann!
And wow! On the day of your visit, it sounds like there was quite a ‘parade’ on the trail, 69 people and 8 dogs!!
John
Parade is the perfect term for the amount of people. At least they were spread out. Thanks for the compliments. We had a fun hike