Silver Cascade

Silver Cascade is situated roadside along Route 302 in Crawford Notch State Park, about a mile south of Crawford House at the summit of Crawford Notch (known as Gates of the Notch). Large pullouts are offered on either side of the bridge below the falls, and easy scrambling on the bare rock to the right of the stream offers access to the immediate base of the falls.Silver Cascade is likely the most visited and most well known waterfall in the Crawford Notch area of the White Mountains. The falls can be seen from along the side of Route 302 as it passes just south of Gates of the Notch, usually indicated by at the very least a handful of visitors standing along the road next to the bridge which funnels the small stream under the highway. While nearby Arethusa Falls is often billed as New Hampshire's tallest waterfall, in reality Silver Cascade is actually a much taller set of falls. The total height of the falls is often reported as around 200-250 feet since this is about the extent of what can be seen from the highway, however the falls in actuality extend much further up the hillside. Based on 1-meter resolution lidar data from the USGS, the falls actually have a total drop of about 520 feet. The only way to see the upper tiers of the falls however is from the railroad tracks running high up on the opposite side of the valley, so the true scale of the falls is very often lost on motorists passing on Route 302. Those who take a ride on the Conway Scenic Railroad however will be able to take in the full height of the falls. On a note of safety, those who choose to scramble up to the base of the falls are encouraged to not proceed further up along the side of the cascades. The rocks can be quite slick and even should you possess experience in scrambling in such terrain, your actions may motivate others with less experience to attempt a similar feat. There have been several deaths over the years when visitors have attempted just this, so please use common sense when visiting Silver Cascade.