Lower Falls

Lower Falls is located adjacent to the Kancamagus Highway (Route 112) 7 miles west of the junction of Route 16 and the Kancamagus Highway in Conway. The falls are visible from the highway, and a large designated parking area with wide, accessible trails provides access to the river and rocks immediately above the falls.The generically named Lower Falls - also referred to as Lower Falls of the Swift River - is a small waterfall by stature, but a geologically interesting location, a quality attraction for photography, and an excellent summer swimming hole. The falls occur where the Swift River sheets across a broad shelf of granitic bedrock and splits into several distinct channels, tumbling a mere 9 vertical feet in the process. During periods of high flow the river may inundate the majority of the bedrock shelf above the falls and transform the falls into essentially a large frothing rapid. Conversely during the lowest flow periods of the summer and early autumn months, the main channel of the falls seems to be that with the least vertical drop, so the falls appear quite a bit less significant. The volume of water present in the Swift River can fluctuate wildly, typically peaking in April and reaching its lowest point in August. Expect to find dozens if not hundreds of people sunbathing and swimming at the falls on hot days in the summer and early autumn months - to the point that finding parking may be difficult, if not impossible.