Glacial Falls is located off of Sullivan Road in Thornton NH (Rte 175, Millbrook Road, then Sullivan Road).

Thank you much for the directions. Is it still on private property, do you know?

Janice

Janice,

Unfortunately, yes... All of the surrounding land, including the right of way to the falls, is owned by private parties who have formed an association. The Right of Way is for Association members only.

Regards,

Bob

Well, since it is private property, if it was opened to the public and something happened to a hiker, then the property owner would be open to litigation. As much as I'd love to see New Hampshire's scenic views open for all, there are legal considerations.

I appreciate your update, Bob.

J

Both sides of Mill Brook (the river which dumps over Glacial Falls) are privatly owned. It is also acurate that there is a "maintenance corporation" for the property owners.....However....I beleive state law allows passage below the high water mark on any of the state waterways. So, in theory, you could walk down the edge of the brook to the falls. If you do so, please be careful as a hiker did fall there a few years ago.

As for litigation, I think NH law also protects land owners from liability. The tradition of open space in the state comes from colonial times. To try to maintain open space, the state has done well with her laws. That being said; any one can sue anyone else at any time for anything!

Directions are Rt 175N (from Campton) to a right onto Mill Brook rd. Go @ 3.5 miles to Sullivan. Take a left. Go @ .25 miles. Stop right before the bridge. Follow the stream down stream (to the left) for about .25 miles. Welcome to Glacial Falls (part of the Glacial Park).

The revisiting of the old Glacial Park is interesting.It is easier to do it in the anstract than to visit it in person due to changes in ownership.

The park was the utilization by the then property owner,Thornton farmer George Fadden,in probably the early fifties,of a particularly picturesque section of Mill Brook.It was a somewhat remote,but beautiful excursion at nearly the end of what was then a dirt road of some three miles or so of length. My grandmother tended the store and admission office for several years and Mr Fadden was a neighbor so I am quite familiar with the park during its' heyday.
As the crow flies,it isnt very far south from either the road from Woodstock to Waterville,nor the Kancamagus Highway,but there is no direct access from either of those roads.The upper border of the former Fadden property adjoins the White Mountain National Forest and the view from the Glacial Park former entrance is the back side of the mountains at Waterville.At one time there was an old dirt road through the mountains which came out on the road from Campton Villiage to Waterville.
The geology of Mill Brook and the streambed in the park differs somewhat from that prevailing along the rest of the waterway. There are many deep potholes crowded into a fairly narrow stetch here. In my estimation the closest approximation of what could formerly seen here would be at Lost River in Woodstock,operated by the Society For the Protection of N.H> Forests.

Ken,

Thank you kindly for the update on this "lost" park, its ownership and condition.

Janice