Franconia

Travelers have long passed through spectacular Franconia Notch, and in the late 18th century this town evolved just to the north. It and the region's jagged rock formations and heavy coat of evergreens stirred the imaginations of Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who penned a short story about the iconic—though now crumbled—cliff known as the Old Man of the Mountain. There's barely a downtown, just a handful of businesses and the remains of the interesting old 1840s Besaw Iron Furnace. Drive west 4 miles to visit Sugar Hill, a village of about 500 people that's famous for its spectacular sunsets and views of Franconia Ridge, best seen from Sunset Hill, where a row of grand hotels and mansions once stood.