My friend and I hiked a 132 mile segment of the AT from West Hartford to the Pinkham Notch Visitor's Center in July 2024. We had reservations at the Zealand Falls hut. Staff there very friendly, talented. We had a very informative talk on animal sounds, communication between plants by one of the Staff. Restrooms were very very clean. Food was excellent. Hiker behavior there was, I would estimate, exemplary, unlike some guests at the Mizpah Hut. I would definitely stay there again if I had the opportunity.
Staff at the hut today were rude and arrogant. I get it - they’re young adults working for the AMC, but they should get training about how to respectfully engage with hikers. Trail was swampy and had a lot of sweet peperbush near the end. Neither beautiful nor friendly.
Went here in the winter during an overnight. Communal atmosphere of just us, three other hikers, and the amazing caretaker morgan was really fun. Most the calories I consumed were hot chocolate.
The hut was great! Very family friendly good for young and old. There are snakes you can catch and a very nice waterfall. The hike is 2.8 miles and has amazing scenery. There is no electricity, there is running water but it isn't safe to drink so don't drink it! Bring water bottles if you want to drink or brush your teeth. The only problem I had was they wake you up super early ~6:00 am and have you go to bed at ~9:30 PM, as a night owl it is different. There is no cell service too. Put your phones and other electronics in a plastic bag because there are multiple places they could fall into a river while hiking. I saw two people fall into the rivers on the trails. I have many allergies and they are great with allergies. For dinner they had turkey and mashed potatoes, which I could eat and was very good. Since I am allergic to eggs I brought bagels that I could have for breakfast and they were very nice and cooked the bagel and gave me cream cheese.
Amazing Location...waterfalls to explore right in front of the hut with the sound of rushing water while meditating on the front porch! Beautiful clean hut, great attending crew & we had a variety of hikers there from around the world! The last part of the trail is steep for novice hikers but slow & sure will get you there!!
This was my first hut and is still one of my favorites. Great hike for beginners or little ones. Do the day hike and back or stay the night; just be sure to get reservations as the hut can fill out during peak. AMC does an amazing job maintaining the trails and facilities. Consider joining or donating if you love the White Mountains.
I traveled to this AMC hut in August with my two kids, 6 and 8, and my friend and her two kids of similar ages. We chose this hut and Lonesome Lake because they are doable hikes for kids.||||I thought they were both excellent, but Zealand Falls was my slight favorite, due to it's location at the "falls," which were amazing. I was expecting more of a traditional waterfall, but instead found many different waterfalls along an immense stretch of rock that extended as far as we walked - and that was pretty far. Although it was a touch cold the day we were there, my kids loved trying out the "natural waterslides" (basically stretches of algae covered rock with water running over) and climbing the rocks. For those not keen on cold water, there was plenty of exploring to be done without getting wet. I liked the friendly communal atmosphere of this hut, but I'm guessing this is pretty common to all AMC huts. It rained while we were there, and groups of us who'd only just met played board games together. Two teen girls from another family showed our kids around the grounds for over an hour. AMC huts seem to attract friendly people like this. ||||My kids, having loved the smaller bunk rooms at Lonesome Lake, were a little hesitant about the large bunk rooms at Zealand Falls. However, they were pretty excited by the top (3rd) level bunks at Zealand - a kind of floor surrounds these bunks so you feel like you're in a treehouse. I liked sleeping in the larger rooms. It makes people quick to bond and make friends. The hut even provided free earplugs for light sleepers.||||In terms of the hike, it is 2.8 miles and flat except for the last steep bit. It's not as exciting a hike as Lonesome, more of a meditative walk in the woods, but there were some river crossings to spice things up. It poured rain the whole hike back (a big fear of mine going in), but it turned out to be no biggie and only added to the fun. We were not totally prepared for that amount of rain, but were able to purchase ponchos at the hut.||||TIP: get there early and snag a 3rd level bunk or the semi-private room in the back if you can!
What a wonderful place to spend the night. We had great weather and food was excellent. Hanging on the falls was a great place to spend the afternoon. ||||Croo was not friendly at all. Thought I was bothering them the whole time. Bunks were clean, but day after day sweating hikers pass through and who knows when they clean the blankets and pillow cases. ||||All in all meet great people and would probably return
