Sabbaday Falls and the Kancamagus Highway, July 2020

Sabbaday Falls on the Kancamagus Highway is our new favorite discovery in the North Conway, New Hampshire area. We recently visited on our latest camping trip with our little pop up camper, Mae.

Jigger Johnson Campground

This camping trip we headed back to the North Conway area for another stay at Jigger Johnson Campground. This is a no reservation site on the Kancamagus Highway. We stayed a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it so much that we’d wanted to get back since. The Kanc has so much to explore and this campground is the perfect home base to do this.

Setting up camp

An early arrival time provided us with our pick of campsites. The spots here are for the most part great; mostly private, shaded with woods surrounding. Some sites have the added benefit of being close to the river. This one was a little bit of a walk, but still doable.

We began the process of setting up camp. This trip I had learned a few things from our first time around. For example, how to entertain children while trying to get a pop up set up. I put together a dollar tree caddy with some things for the kids to play with only while we are camping. I had this ready to pull out the second we arrived along with their camp chairs. The kids happily entertained themselves while Jamie and I were busy setting things up. This made things much easier.

After set up Jamie went to pay for our site and then he came back to make hotdogs for lunch. While he did this the kids and I hung out. It’s funny to me how very different two children can be. I don’t know if it’s the boy/girl thing or a personality thing but our kids have such different interests. Anika is very creative and fine motor driven. She likes things like sticker books, and arts and craft supplies. I set her up on a blanket in the shade with some paint and a paper and she got to work on a beautiful masterpiece. Jake is much more gross motor driven. This guy likes to move his body. I purchased a camping hammock to keep in the pop up and while Anika painted by us he played in it and had me push him.

Tubing the Swift River

After lunch we changed into our swimsuits and filled up the newly purchased river tubes. The last time we were here we saw a couple in tubes floating down the river the length of the campground. I immediately knew I wanted to do this with the kids the next time we came. I purchased a double tube for the kids and I and a single tube for Jamie. It came with a long string that could connect the two tubes. We started at the top of the river and started our float down. The tubes worked out great. We all fit nicely and they provided for a pretty comfy river floating experience. We floated down the length of the campground and it was the perfect distance for the kids

Smore’s Time

Next we headed back to the campsite to dry off and change. We took a quick drive into town for some ice then headed back to the campsite where Jamie made tacos for dinner. After we ate we had a fire with s’mores then the kids did some sparklers. This was followed by some books in the camper before bed.

The next morning we woke up and Jamie made us breakfast wraps with the leftover tortillas for breakfast.

Sabbaday Falls

We decided today we would check out Sabbaday Falls. It was just a couple of minutes drive away from our campground. It is a short hike (.7 miles round trip) that follows a rushing stream until it opens up to railed stairs that give you a view of a beautiful waterfall.

There’s a bridge that allows you to cross and walk right by the waterfall too. The kids loved this.

We walked up and back down. At the bottom we stopped for a bit to let Tweak drink some well deserved water (this 15 year old pug was a hiking champ today) and let the kids play in the stream.

It was five dollars to park at Sabbady Falls but we learned that the parking pass is good at any of the stops along the Kanc for the whole day you purchase it. Since we had already paid, we decided we might as well get our money’s worth. We drove along the highway and stopped at the Russell Colbath House. We decided not to get out here because it was hot and sunny and the house and grounds were completely exposed. Something that sounded cool to check out another day though.

Rocky Gorge

Then we stopped at Rocky Gorge. We walked along the river path and then saw that it opened up onto a bridge you could cross to get an up close view of the gorge. I’ll be honest, as I have aged I’ve seem to have developed a bit of a fear of heights. I walked a little bit onto the bridge (that is absolutely, totally safe) and had enough. The kids wanted to go with Jamie so I made them promise to hold his hand and they went all the way across while Tweak and I hung out. They all said it was great.

Rain

At this point we were all hot and hungry. It was time for lunch and to check the weather since we knew there was some chance of rain in the forecast for the following day.

Unfortunately, the rain was going to start that night and pour for two days up here. Although we had the pop up and could stay, perhaps it might be kind of miserable, especially since due to COVID-19 we are avoiding all indoor activities. We planned to spend the rest of the day at the campsite and then head back that night.

One more swim

After spending some time packing up our stuff we put on our swimsuits and decided to walk down to the river for one last swim before we headed home. The water was cold and clear and felt wonderful because it was so hot and we were sweaty from packing everything up. Anika practiced her swimming while Jake played on the little sandy beach. Tweak cracked us up. She is not a water dog at all but she was so hot that she walked into the water and laid down on her belly and looked so content. She’s been a trooper about camping with us and she is slowly adjusting to the increase in her activity level. I’m sure she would still most likely prefer to be sleeping at home, but she rallies for us and we appreciate it.

After we were all sufficiently cooled off we headed back to our campsite and began the drive home.

Headed home

I’m quite pleased we found this campground. We’ve visited the Kancamagus before on previous trips to North Conway, but never stayed this close to it. More and more we are discovering so many cool spots along the highway. I kept a note on my phone as we past different places to check out in the future. The other thing I love most about this area is no matter how busy it gets you don’t have to go far to find your own private spot, which is perfect for life right now.