I was trying to figure out how to begin this so I started searching for more info on Mirror Lake. This caused some problems which stem from the fact that everybody names their lake, Mirror Lake.

Locating the correct Mirror Lake

Almost every New England state has a “Mirror Lake”. In fact, in my search, Rhode Island is the only place that doesn’t seem to have its own Mirror Lake. The Mirror Lake I’m referring to is in New Hampshire but be careful because a very knowledgeable friend of mine was on a travel site answering a question about Mirror Lake and I could tell it was the wrong Mirror Lake. There are two of them in New Hampshire!

The question was about Mirror Lake south of Woodstock NH and the answer came back about Tuftonborough and Sandwich NH which is about 30 miles away in the area of Lake Winnipesaukee.

If you want a map book to locate this spot, pick up a New Hampshire Gazetteer in my Amazon store. Don’t be like me and head out in the morning and forget your map books. This is the reason I have two New Hampshire and three Vermont Gazetteers, AND one combo NH & VT Gazetteer.

Mirror Lake in Thornton, New Hampshire

So I want you to ignore the Lakes region and their Mirror Lake (at least for now) and move your sights 30 or so miles Northwest towards the White Mountains. Follow Route 3 and/or I-93 North till you get to Thornton New Hampshire. You need to get off I-93 either at exit 29 and onto Daniel Webster Highway and come up from the South or the North get off at exit 30 and come down Route 3.

Once on Route 3 look for the Pine Valley Cabins which is where we were staying when Jane the host told us to go across the street and follow Mirror Lake Rd into the lake, which we did. Check our review of the cabins by clicking here.

The Hidden Gem that is Mirror Lake

Once on Mirror Lake Road, you will pass several residential homes and then surprisingly enough, you will pass under I-93. I have driven I-93 many times over the last 20 years and could not remember seeing a lake or any body of water. When I did a Google street view in this spot, all you can see is the wall of stone on either side of the north or southbound lanes.

The second I saw this on the first afternoon, I knew I would be coming back the next morning. It was mid-afternoon, and maybe I should have waited for the late afternoon light, but I still had so much I wanted to see that day.

We only stayed here for a short period of time but the colors were as close to being peak as we were likely to see. So we left to go explore some more and that is for another story. Note*, These are the best fall colors that we saw the rest of the day. So think before you get afraid that you are missing it and it might be better somewhere else.

The Next Morning at Mirror Lake

We got up fairly early but it was light by the time we got out the door. First, I scraped the windshield of the frost that had accumulated overnight. (this was 14 Oct). We did not eat breakfast and went straight to Mirror Lake. I had hoped to be the first person there but a fisherman and another photographer were already there.

The mist was on the lake and I knew it was going to burn off fairly quickly. My rule is to usually not bother another photographer who was there first but I knew the next morning I wouldn’t be able to stop since we were going on the Cog Rail on the first run of the morning. So this had to be it. I moved in close to where he was (which was the perfect spot) and I started to compose a few shots.

I thought I could balance my foot on a rock and catch a handheld shot… Well, the rock was slippery and my foot slid into the water. Ripples spread out disputing the mirror reflection. The name Jeffrey may mean graceful, but obviously, I never got that memo. The other photographer took this moment to go change his lens while we waited for the ripples that I just made, to subside.

The other photographer was good-natured about my clumsiness, and I went off to see if there were any other spots to get a good view of Mirror Lake and the mist with the scenic fall foliage. Just a short distance away was this picnic table and the view of the hill would make any meal pale in comparison.

After the morning mist was gone, the other photographer and I got together to talk and he suddenly said… “You’re him!” 🙂 So we compared notes and he said he thought this spot on Mirror Lake was the image that I used on my website banner at the top of every page of this blog. I had to tell him that’s one state over, and that was Haley Pond, right next to Rangeley Lake in Maine. BUT, This is a pretty nice spot!

So Lisa and I headed to Plain Jane’s Diner on Route 25 (read a little bit about it in this article) from there, we took a foray into Vermont, which is another story.

Happy foliage travels my friends and be safe…

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

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