Loop Hikes

Blueberry Mountain is a small mountain in Evans Notch that has an easily accessible alpine zone and great views without a lot of climbing. It’s located near Brickett Place off Rt 113 and overlooks a private estate, pond, and well-maintained trail system that the owners have made accessible to hikers. …

West Royce Mountain is the site of an old fire tower that overlooks Evans Notch near the New Hampshire/Maine border. It’s a rugged area of the White Mountain National Forest to hike in with lots of steep climbs that rival the 4,000 footers in difficulty even though they’re not as …

Carter Dome is the ninth tallest White Mountain 4000 footer with an elevation of 4832 feet. It’s located almost due east of Mount Washington and has the distinction of being the highest mountain in the Carter Moriah Range. Most of the peakbaggers who climb Carter Dome approach it from the …

The Red Rock Trail is in the northeastern corner of the White Mountain National Forest, in Maine. It’s a ridgeline trail that begins at Speckled Mountain and runs east over several lesser peaks named Butters Mountain and Red Rock Mountain, all the way to Miles Notch. It provides access to …

Gentian Pond is in the Mahoosuc Range, one of the hardest sections of the Appalachian Trail. I hiked a one night loop up to the AT shelter there, visiting two big waterfalls called Giant Falls and Dryad Falls on the way. My friend Ken and I had stopped by this …

Most of my backpacking trips this year have turned into guidebook chapters for Backpacking the White Mountain 4000 footers, instead of personal trip reports. But my latest backpacking trip through the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness doesn’t have what it takes to be a guidebook chapter. While scenic and wild, the route passes through …

The Red Ridge Loop is a 10 mile loop hike located just outside North Conway, New Hampshire that climbs the steep and rocky summit of North Moat Mountain before descending the Red Ridge Trail down a series of open ledges with awesome views of Mt Washington and the lesser summits …

The Fire Warden’s Loop is a 2-3 day, 18 mile backpacking route that climbs four 4000 footers: Hale, Zealand, South Twin, and North Twin. All four of these peaks surround the Little River Valley but aren’t normally climbed together as a group by day hikers because there isn’t an obvious …

The Moriah Loop is a 2-3 day, 24 mile backpacking route that climbs Mount Moriah and its graceful sister peak, Shelburne Moriah, before dropping down to the Wild River. From there, the route loops back through the heart of the Wild River Wilderness on the Moriah Brook Trail, passing countless …

The Kate Sleeper Loop is a 2 day, 20 mile backpacking route that climbs four 4000 footers: North and Middle Tripyramid, Whiteface and Passaconaway. The Tripyramids and Whiteface/Passaconaway are usually climbed on separate days by day hikers, but they’re linked together by the Kate Sleeper Trail, and make a nice …

Table Rock is a cliff that juts out into Dixville Notch, a picturesque mountain pass in New Hampshire’s north country. Bordered by Sanguinary Mountain to the north and Mt Gloirette, to the south, the sides of Dixville Notch are guarded by jagged rock formations that watch over the pass like …

Towering over 100 feet in height, the great Arethusa Falls is one of the most popular waterfalls in the White Mountains. Located in Crawford Notch, the trailhead is located off Rt 302 within easy reach of the other attractions along that scenic route. While you can just hike 1.2 miles …