French’s Ledges offer great views of Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, NH as seen in the photo above. This area has a large network of trails that are great for hiking, mountain biking, xc-skiing, and snowshoeing.

The ledges can be reached from one of four Trailheads. The shortest and easiest is the South Trailhead near the end of Columbus Jordan Road.

The trail in from near the Plainfield Elementary School is the most interesting to me. It is the one Julian and I hiked a number of years ago.

There are great views from the ledges and nearby spots.

Late that year in mid-November I hiked in from the South Trailhead to get some more photos for a magazine article I was writing.

Not far from the trailhead was this pool.

Here is the trail up as it rounded some interesting boulders partially covered with polypody ferns.

Parts of the trail near the ledges are beautiful.

The real excitement of this short trip came when I returned to my car. In the rocks, just across the road, I saw something move. I got some quick photos with the short lens I was carrying, then I grabbed a long lens and tripod from my car.

It was a Long-tailed Weasel, mostly transitioned to its winter white coat. It seemed quite undisturbed by my presence as it darted in and out of the rocks.

Here are a few more photos of the Long-tailed Weasel.