Old Man of the Mountain

Old Man of the Mountain was a rock formation on Cannon Mountain made up of five stacked granite ledges. Viewed from a specific spot along the shore of Profile Lake, these ledges formed the profile of a human face.

The rock formation developed through natural erosion after glaciers retreated roughly 12,000 years ago. It collapsed on May 3, 2003, after engineers had spent decades trying to stabilize the granite ledges with steel rods.

The Abenaki called it Stone Face and saw a guardian spirit watching over their homeland. This connection to the natural world shaped their stories and ceremonies across generations.

The New Hampshire emblem appears on license plates and coins even though the formation itself no longer exists. A museum and viewpoints at Franconia Notch State Park mark where it once stood on the mountainside.

The granite ledges rested so loosely on one another that visitors could sometimes hear them shifting in the wind. Some hikers reported a faint creaking sound when strong gusts blew through the narrow gaps between the rocks.

Location: Franconia

GPS coordinates: 44.16062,-71.68342

Latest update: December 12, 2025 17:26