Winter has finally arrived in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and while I am eager to test my skills and stamina in the colder weather, I will remember the rest of this year for a long time. I think this is the first time in quite a few years that I found myself driving to the same region of New England, week after week, to hike trails that were not exclusively part of a longer trail system like the Long Trail or the Appalachian Trail.

Convenience is surely a factor since I only live 2 hours from Franconia Notch and 2 and 3/4 hours from Crawford Notch at the base of Mt. Washington.  But I clearly feel an affinity for the beauty of the region and the expanse of the trail system. There are depths to this area and opportunities for solitude that I am just beginning to discover and that I am compelled to explore further next spring.

While The Whites have a reputation for being very hardcore, they are in fact very accessible for hikers and adventurers of all levels of ability. If this is a region you'd like to learn about more for family adventures and recreational day hiking, I'd recommend the following resources, which I've broken out by activity:

Day Hiking

• 50 Hikes in the White Mountains
• Waterfalls of the White Mountains: 30 Hikes to 100 Waterfalls
• Best Loop Hikes: New Hampshire's White Mountains to the Maine Coast

Nature

• Nature Hikes In the White Mountains, Great Family Hikes in the Heart of the White Mountain National Forest
• AMC Field Guide to the New England Alpine Summits
• White Mountain Wilderness: A Photographic Journey to New Hampshire's Most Rugged Places
• A Time Before New Hampshire: The Story of a Land and Native Peoples

Peakbagging and Backpacking

• AMC White Mountain Guide
• Randolph Paths
  
• An Outline of Trail Development in the White Mountains, 1840-1980
• Not Without Peril: 150 Years of Misadventure on the Presidential Range of New Hampshire

Hiking Maps

• Map Adventures White Mountains Map – Waterproof (section hiker favorite)
• AMC White Mountains Map Set – Waterproof Tyvek
• National Geographic Franconia Notch/North ConwayTrail Map – Waterproof
  

Related posts:

1. AMC White Mountain Hiking Shuttle Service
2. Appalachian Mountain Club Huts
3. Franconia Notch in the White Mountains
4. The Mountain Wanderer Bookstore
5. Exploring New Hampshire’s White Mountains