Loop Hikes

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 …

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 …

Tunnel Brook is a lush, steep-walled valley on the west side of Mount Moosilauke (4802′). Seldom visited by day hikers, it’s a quiet and secluded place to observe wildlife and witness the avalanche and flash flood damage that Moosilauke and neighboring Mount …

Oakes Gulf is a glacial cirque on the south side of Mt Washington, similar in size and scale to Tuckerman Ravine, but much harder to access because it’s so far from a paved road. Home to the avalanche-scarred Dry River, which isn’t …

Wildcat ‘A’ and ‘D’ are two 4000 footers on the other side of Rt 16 from Mt Washington and the Presidential Range. Hiking them usually requires an out and back hike, a road walk, or a shuttle. However, there is a way …

Mt Clay is a 5500′ subpeak of Mt Washington that towers over the west end of the Great Gulf. While it’s become an increasingly popular destination in the Northern Presidentials, you can still find yourself alone on the summit when the surrounding …

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 …

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 …

The McCrillis Trail on Mt Whiteface isn’t very well known, even though it provides access to a White Mountain 4000 footer. I first hiked it five years ago when I was hiking all the trails in the White Mountain Guide, where the …

The Chandler Brook Trail and the Wamsutta Trail are two lovely but strenuous trails located on Mt Washington that run from the Auto Road to the bottom of the Great Gulf Wilderness Area. They’re not very popular trails, despite the fact that …

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 …

Pungent. That’s the best way to describe the smell on the Zealand Trail as you approach the Beaver Ponds. They’re an essential part of the Zealand Valley ecosystem providing open space for migrating flocks of birds to land and rest while accelerating …

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 …

The Huntington Ravine Trail is one of the hardest hikes in the White Mountains. Located on Mt Washington, it climbs 1400 feet in 0.9 miles up the headwall of Huntington Ravine, a deep glacial valley on the east side of Mt Washington. …