As early as mid-March, scan Cannon Mountain and Eagle Cliff for a view of peregrine falcons. Early June mornings are the time to look for black bears on the slopes of the Cannon Mountain Ski Area. Visitors often see moose at Echo Lake in the spring and summer. At the mountain summit, listen for Bicknell’s thrushes and look for gray jays, boreal chickadees, and white-throated sparrows.

Today, the Old Man of the Mountain memorial spot is Profiler Plaza, a park that stands as a testament both to the generosity of the New England community and to good ol’ Yankee ingenuity. The Old Man Of The Mountain Legacy Fund was the primary sponsor of the project, and its funds came mostly from private donors, some of whom are named on the plaza’s paving stones. The concept of the plaza is simple, yet creative. To see an artistic rendering of the Old Man, visitors stand in the plaza on stones marked with footprints and different heights (there’s even one marked 2 feet for the little ones). In the sightline from that area to the mountainside where the Old Man once was, several precisely sculpted and perfectly located steel shapes have been mounted. From that vantage point, using those pieces, the Old Man returns home.

Franconia Notch State Park is located in the heart of the White Mountain National Forest. Franconia Notch is a spectacular mountain pass traversed by a unique parkway that extends from the Flume Gorge at the south to Echo Lake at the north. For eight miles, I-93 winds between the high peaks of the Kinsman and Franconia mountain ranges.

Franconia Notch was the home of the famous Old Man of the Mountain, the same "Great Stone Face" immortalized by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Daniel Webster. While you are here, stop at the Flume Gorge Visitor Center and walk through the Flume Gorge, ride the aerial tramway at Cannon Mountain, and visit the New England Ski Museum. Take your time, stop for a swim at Echo Lake, net a trout while fly fishing at Profile Lake, ride your bike on the Recreational Trail, watch for rock climbers, hawks, and falcons on Cannon Cliffs, or hike on the Appalachian Trail.