SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
The Pond of Safety is located in the area of the White Mountains called the Randolph Community Forest (RCF). Randolph is a small community located just north of Rt 2 across from Mts Madison, Adams, and Jefferson in the Presidential Mountain Range. The town has a dense and picturesque network of walking trails that run between the homes and through the forested areas abutting the National Forest. The trails are maintained by the Randolph Mountain Club which also maintains trails, several cabins, and a campsite on Mt Adams, which are available for public use for a modest fee.
The hiking trails in the RCF are also much easier to hike on than most of the trails in the White Mountains, in part because many follow old logging roads that were used to harvest wood. They’re well-signed, well-blazed, and well-tended with numerous signed viewpoints and spur trails to interesting natural features and historic sites.
The origin of the Pond of Safety place name dates back to the Revolutionary War when four Continental Army soldiers captured by the British were paroled on the condition that they return to their families and not fight again, a common practice at the time. But, after returning to their homes, they feared that they would be arrested as deserters, so they fled into the wilderness, settling at the Pond of Safety until the end of the war when they were welcomed back into their communities.
Hike Description
- Difficulty: Moderate, but the blazes may be hard to follow in spots. A GPS or GPS App can be helpful.
- Distance: 8.6 miles
- Elevation Gain; 2,000 feet
- Water: Bring at least 2 liters per person. Natural water sources are available but filtering is recommended.
- Trailhead: Randolph Community Forest Trailhead (click for Google map view), located at the end of Randolph Road in Randolph, NH. Continue following the road for about 1/2 mile after it leaves the pavement and continues on dirt and gravel until you reach a large parking area and trail kiosk. This trailhead provides access to the Peak Path, Mt. Crescent Trail, and Carlton Notch Trail.
- Blazing: All of the trails listed here are blazed, but you do need to pay attention while hiking to follow them. If you can’t find a blaze, turn around and retrace your steps to the last blaze you saw before resuming.
- Recommended Maps and Guidebooks:
- Season: Mid-May through October
- Camping: Camping is not permitted in the Randolph Community Forest Portion of this hike and is also prohibited at the Pond of Safety.
Trails
- Carlton Notch Trail – 1.6 miles
- Crescent Ridge Trail – 0.3 miles
- Underhill Trail – 1.4 miles
- Four Soldiers Path to Pond – 0.8 miles
- Four Soldiers Path to Community Forest Road – 3.5 miles
- Community Forest Road (called Jimtown Rod on older maps) – 0.75 miles
- Carlton Notch Trail – 0.3 miles
On the Trail
Carlton Notch Trail
Follow the dirt road you drove along to the trailhead parking area a short distance to the signed beginning of the Carlton Notch Trail. This is a tree-lined path that follows an old logging road. The trail crosses another logging road and resumes on the other side on a signed path. Trails in Randolph are generally very well signed with arrows or blazes.
Follow the Carlton Notch Trail as it climbs, gently at first, and then more steeply to the Crescent Ridge Trail. This is the only significant continuous elevation gain of the day. The Crescent Ridge Trail marks the boundary between the Randolph Community Forest and the White Mountain National Forest.
Crescent Ridge Trail
Turn left (south towards Lookout Ledge) on the Crescent Ridge Trail for a very brief 0.3 miles and hike to its junction with the Underhill Trail.
Underhill Path
Turn right onto the Underhill Trail (the only direction possible) which climbs briefly before switchbacking downhill through the forest towards the Four Ponds Trail over a distance of 1.4 miles. This area is a favorite moose habitat so if you’re lucky you’ll spy one trotting away from you into the woods. Watch your step though so you don’t step in Moose scat, which looks like piles of brown ball bearings!
The trail winds downhill through the forest until it comes to a logging road and merges onto the Four Soldiers Path.
Four Soldiers Path
It’s easy to miss the sign for this junction, so look for the yellow blazes that continue through the open forest ahead.
The woods get thicker and darker as you get closer to the pond before you arrive at another logging road and a well-signed junction. Turn left and follow the signs to the Pond of Safety, which is at the end of a gravel road on your right. Continue past the dead-end at the end of the road, passing a trail kiosk and follow a short gravel path down to the shore of the Pond. It’s a big pond, but quite shallow and muddy, so you probably don’t want to swim in it.
When I visited last, the road out to the pond was still gated and closed for the winter, but people do drive out there with kayaks occasionally. A high-clearance vehicle is advised because the road is reportedly quite rough to drive on.
Four Soldiers Path
For the return trip, retrace your steps along the Four Soldier Path to the UnderHill Path trail junction at the logging road and bear right to continue along the Four Soldiers Path towards Randolph Hill.
The path is pretty obvious, but the yellow blazes are spread apart every 75 yards or so and can be hard to locate unless you’re looking for them.
This is a nice hike in the autumn when you want to enjoy the foliage and views of the northern Presidential Range without encountering a lot of other people. That can be said of all the trails in the Randolph Community Forest which is a hidden gem of the White Mountain National Forest.
Curious about camping at Pond of Safety – you say it is prohibited, but it is within the WMNF and the area is not included in the list of prohibited areas in the WMNF Backcountry Camping Rules: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5363715.pdf
I suggest you get a decent map that shows the boundaries of the National Forest. Pond of safety isn’t in it. It’s in the Randolph Community Forest and camping isn’t permitted. On this trip, I camped just over the RCF’s boundary with the WMNF, but not at the pond. I suggest contacting the Randolph Mountain Club if you’re still in doubt.
“Named for a small pond nestled high in the Ammonoosuc River watershed that provided refuge to patriots in the Revolutionary War, the Pond of Safety property is located between the Presidential and Kilkenny Units of the White Mountain National Forest, connecting more than 800,000 acres of conserved forestland. TPL purchased the property from from a timber company while project supporters sought private, state, and federal funding to finalize the conservation purchase. In 2001, after more than two years of hard work by a coalition of community members, officials, and nonprofit organizations, TPL transfered 8,983 acres to the Town of Randolph for its new community forest. A second transfer brought the forest’s total protected acres to over 13,000. The Randolph Community Forest contributes to local industry by allowing sustainable forestry practices and is much-used outdoor recreation area.”
from: https://www.tpl.org/our-work/randolph-community-forest-pond-safety
The WMNF MVUM for the area clearly shows it within the boundary:https://usfs-public.app.box.com/s/glc72fyeolfxh3y1iz4fu40gji23g198. So does the USFS interactive map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/ivm/.
Humor me and call the Saco ranger station to ask. I’m really not making this up. I’m pretty sure I read it on the RCF or RMC website years ago. I’ve written to to the RCF to suggest that they add no camping to the current information page about the pond (if it is still off limits to camping).
RCF’s website says it is on the WMNF: https://randolphforest.org/what-to-do/. “Nearby destinations include Pond of Safety on the White Mountain National Forest, and Ice Gulch on the Gorham Town Forest.”
That doesn’t mean you can camp there. Call the rangers and ask. Like I said, I’m not making this up. On the other hand, I don’t really care if you do camp there. It’s a pretty lousy place to camp anyway.
According to the scoping report for reconstruction of the shoreline access trail, WMNF acquired the pond in 2002.
When you get to the pond, you will be greeted by ‘No Camping’ signs. Also, it’s on this list of restricted areas from a 2019 order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd644859.pdf
I don’t think the FS has updated the backcountry camping rules document since 2008. They might want to consider it.
A friend indeed.
Thanks Josh! Glad to get some clarity.
The area is not shown on the FPA map for the Andro Ranger District despite being identified as an FPA in that order, looks like WMNF has some document cleanup to do: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3847525.pdf
They’re publication process is just plain awful. Other National Forests, for instance the Green Mountain National Forest, are much much better with this kind of information distribution.
I do think it is one of the hardest forests in the country to manage. If they could keep their senior leadership from turning over every few years it would help.