NH 112 · USA
Kancamagus Highway
New Hampshire’s best-known mountain drive: about 34 miles of NH 112 through the White Mountain National Forest, from Lincoln to Conway.
Counts are from Turini’s pace-note engine on this route. Heights come from terrain data and can differ from signposted figures by a few tens of metres.
Where is the Kancamagus Highway?
The Kancamagus Highway is in the USA, on NH 112. Also known as The Kanc or Kancamagus Scenic Byway. The route on this page: Lincoln to Conway, New Hampshire, over the 2,855 ft Kancamagus Pass, 32.9 miles.
Why the Kancamagus Highway is famous
It climbs gently along the Pemigewasset and Hancock rivers, then a single hairpin bend lifts it over Kancamagus Pass at 2,855 ft before a long descent beside the Swift River. This is a road of long, flowing curves rather than tight turns, and in September and October it is one of the most driven foliage roads in New England.
Kancamagus Highway corners
Over 52.9 km Turini calls 89 corners graded 1 to 6. That is 93 calls in all, one every 568 metres on average. Grade 1 is the tightest, 6 is nearly straight (how to read pace notes). On Turini’s ranking of the twistiest famous roads it comes 58th of 61.
Kancamagus Highway elevation profile
From 252 m at the start to 159 m at the finish, with a highest point of about 870 m.
Kancamagus Highway pace notes, first few miles
The first 25 calls, exactly as Turini reads them, with the distance from the start.
Right 6 very longLeft 6Right 6 longLeft 6 very longRight 6 longLeft 6Right 6 very longRight 6BridgeRight 6Right 6Left 6Left 6Left 5 longRight 6Right 6Left 6Right 6BridgeRight 6Left 6Left 6Left 5 very longRight 6Right 2 very longThat takes you to 15.77 km. 68 more calls follow over the remaining 37.1 km.
Before you drive the Kancamagus Highway
Open all year. Snowstorms can close it for short spells while it is ploughed.
There are no towns, fuel or shops along the highway itself, and phone signal is patchy, so fill up in Lincoln or Conway. Leaf-peeping weekends in autumn are very busy.
How to drive the Kancamagus Highway with Turini
Set the route before you leave and Turini saves its notes on the phone, so it works with the screen off and no signal. On the road it reads each call about 4.5 seconds before the corner, timed to your speed, and you never touch the phone. It plays through the phone or the car speakers. If pace notes are new to you, start in Simple mode (Easy, Medium, Hard) and switch to the 1–6 scale once it feels natural.
Always drive within the law, the conditions and what you can see. Turini tells you what the map says; the road is what counts.
The Kancamagus Highway: questions
Is the Kancamagus Highway open all year?
Open all year. Snowstorms can close it for short spells while it is ploughed.
Where is the Kancamagus Highway?
The Kancamagus Highway is in the USA, on NH 112. Also known as The Kanc or Kancamagus Scenic Byway. The route on this page: Lincoln to Conway, New Hampshire, over the 2,855 ft Kancamagus Pass, 32.9 miles.
How long is the Kancamagus Highway?
The route on this page, Lincoln to Conway, New Hampshire, over the 2,855 ft Kancamagus Pass, is 32.9 miles (52.9 km) long, with about 2,030 ft (620 m) of climbing.
How many corners does the Kancamagus Highway have?
On this route Turini calls 89 corners graded 1 to 6: 93 pace-note calls in all, about 2.7 corners a mile.
How high does the Kancamagus Highway go?
The highest point on this route is about 2,850 ft (870 m), from terrain data, so it can differ from the signposted height by a few tens of metres. It starts at 830 ft and finishes at 520 ft.
More roads like the Kancamagus Highway
Best driving roads in the USA · The twistiest famous roads, ranked · All famous roads · How to read pace notes · Best driving apps for twisty roads
Sources: Wikipedia: New Hampshire Route 112.
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