The Basin at Franconia Notch State Park was formed thousands of years ago from rushing water eroding the rocks

The Basin at Franconia Notch State Park is an easy, paved walk with handicapped accessible viewing located in Lincoln, North Hampshire. The water source at The Basin flows from Pemigewasset Stream and the waterfall height is 10 feet. Visitors to the basin are able to participate in swimming, hiking, picnicking, fishing, boating, and biking, cross country skiing, skiing and snowboarding.

The park is an average size of 6,692 acres, Pemigewasset River runs through Franconia Notch State Park, Echo Lake, Profile Lake and other small brooks. At the Lafayette Campground there are 97 wooded ten sites with two reserved for youth group reservations at Cannon RV Park there are seven sites with full hookups. Pets are welcome in the designated dog walks and parking lots though not in the campgrounds.

The basin is formed from thousands of years of rushing water, which has eroded the rock into a smooth cave-like formation. The park is open year round with different season times throughout the year. The Flume Gorge is open daily depending on the weather; Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway is open daily during summer and closes in October. Skiing during winter season is from late November to mid April.

Amenities at the park include a campground and RV campground, restrooms, gift shop, an 8 mile paved path, cafeteria, paddle boat and bike rentals, a boat launch area, bridges that are covered, a hiker information center along with the New England Ski Museum and a full service ski area.

Franconia Notch is a mountain pass traversed with a parkway that extends from Flume Gorge in the south up to Echo Lake at the north. The Notch was the home of the Old Man of the Mountain, which is the `Great Stone Face' that was immortalized by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Daniel Webster. Visitors are able to visit the Flume Gorge Visitor Center and walk through the Flume Gorge or ride the aerial tramway at Cannon Mountain or visit New England Ski Museum.

During the summer periods visitors can swim in Echo Lake, net trout while fly fishing on Profile Lake, ride their bikes on the Recreational Trail, or keep their eyes out for rock climbers, hawks and falcons at Cannon Cliffs or take a hike on the Appalachian Trail.

The Flume Gorge is a natural gorge that extends 800 feet from the base of Mount Liberty, the walls are Conway granite, which rise up to 90 feet high and are between 12-20 feet apart. The visitor center at the gorge includes a ticket office for the Flume, an information center, cafeteria, gift shop and the historic Concord Coach.

The Basin is a granite pothole 20 feet in diameter and is believed to have eroded around 15,000 years ago when the North American ice sheet started melting. The basin has been smoothed by small stones and sand that was whirled around by the Pemingewasset River. Located at the bottom of the basin is Old Man's Foot, which is a water-eroded rock formation. The basin is wheelchair accessible and porta-potties are located around the area. The park has a `Leave No Trace Policy', which means that visitors are to take out everything that they bring in with them.