Lower Falls — the highway's favorite swimming spot on the Swift River, and a stretch where people still pan for flecks of real gold.
On a hot summer day, the pull-off on your LEFT is the beating heart of the whole highway — Lower Falls, a wide apron of pink granite ledge the Swift River pours over into big cool pools, and half of New Hampshire seems to be sunning on the rocks. If you swim, know the current is stronger than it looks and the water is cold even in July — but there's no finer spot on the road to cool your feet. And here's something few people passing by ever realize: there's gold in this river. Real gold — fine flakes and the odd tiny nugget washed down out of the mountains — and you'll sometimes see folks crouched at the gravel bars with a pan, swirling for color. Nobody's getting rich; the White Mountains gold rush is a quiet, patient hobby. But it's true, and it's a fine thing to know as you look at that ordinary-seeming river.