I was looking for something mellow and relatively short, so I set out on Cascade Path leading out of Waterville Valley.
The start of the trail isn’t exactly inspiring: it’s an uphill trudge among the McMansions, but soon enough the hiking trail turns out of the housing development and narrows as it heads into the forest where the trilliums are in bloom.
Cascade path leads to Cascade brook, and a series of small waterfalls tucked between granite banks. I could hear the water long before I could see it, and it was a joy to pick out the first of the cascades among the trees.
The trail follows the brook along both sides. I crossed here to take the the west side trail, and although the trail is rougher on that side, I think it gives better views of the falls coming down as I hiked uphill to meet them.
The little camera on my phone does a fine job freezing the motion of the water and capturing the splash of droplets
But I also like the effect of a longer exposure in smoothing out the splash to give the sense of flow in contrast to the broken granite blocks beside the water.