Rattlesnake Ledges

The forecast this day called for rain, so we planned on running some errands and getting things done around the house. Victoria checked the updated forecast on the ride back from the store. “It’s not supposed to start raining again until after dark. Want to make a trip up Rattlesnake while we can?”

“Sure, but we’ll have to make a quick turnaround at the house…we’ll drop the groceries off, grab the dog and go.”

One of the most popular hikes in this area is a short one up to the ledges on West Rattlesnake. Even now, before the summer throngs arrive, you’re bound to find at least one other car in the West Rattlesnake parking lot. But it’s a popular hike for a reason – the view of Squam Lake and the surrounding area from the ledges is breathtaking.

Another reason the Old Bridal Path up to West Rattlesnake is so popular is that it’s relatively easy and short. And, because it gets so much traffic, it’s well maintained. With all the recent rain it was a wet trip up to the ledges, but we had our boots on and had no trouble moving around and/or through the puddles as needed.

We soon forgot about our muddy feet as we made our way onto the ledges and caught our first glimpse of the view.

We took turns – one of us would stay with the dog (away from the edge) while the other scrambled up to the highest point for a peek.

photo by Victoria Malawey

Fenway was not as blown away by the views as we were, but she did enjoy the hike.

After grabbing our last few photos we began our descent.

We arrived at the parking area, wiped the dog’s paws down and banged the mud off of our boots before getting back in the car. All of us were happy to have made the most of the “dry” weather while we could.