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Best Mountain Hikes in New Hampshire

The directory currently contains 99 quality-checked routes matching this guide in New Hampshire. Their average mapped distance is 13.0 km and average recorded ascent is 639 m (2,096 ft); the longest route in the set is 257 km.

This subset represents 25% of the 390 quality-checked routes in New Hampshire. Its average distance is 13.0 km, compared with 5.3 km across the full local set. Average recorded ascent is 639 m (2,096 ft), versus 260 m (853 ft) for all quality-checked routes in the same area.

These routes carry the mountain tag. Their measured distance and ascent are shown separately so the label is not used as a proxy for difficulty. Within this set, 7 routes (7%) are rated easy, 25 (25%) are rated hard or expert, and 3 (3%) are recorded as loops. Ratings are computed from available distance and elevation data and do not establish current terrain or access.

Data refreshed September 2026

Trails

Expert

Appalachian Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
234 km
/ 146 mi
Elevation gain
8,313 m
Typical duration
67 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
  • Long-distance path
Expert

Cross Rivendell Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
36.2 km
/ 22.5 mi
Elevation gain
2,125 m
Typical duration
11 hr
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Expert

Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
72.0 km
/ 44.7 mi
Elevation gain
2,068 m
Typical duration
19 hr
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Hard

Webster Cliff Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
10.1 km
/ 6.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,131 m
Typical duration
3 hr 48 min
  • Coastal
  • Mountain
Expert

Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
75.8 km
/ 47.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,688 m
Typical duration
20 hr
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Moderate

Hungtington Ravine Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.1 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
859 m
Typical duration
1 hr 56 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
Moderate

Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.4 km
/ 2.1 mi
Elevation gain
704 m
Typical duration
1 hr 46 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
Kearsarge Fire Tower
Moderate

Kearsarge North Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.6 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
808 m
Typical duration
2 hr 10 min
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Summit of the 2nd most or perhaps 3rd most frequently climbed mountain on the planet.
Moderate

Smith Summit Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.0 km
/ 0.6 mi
Elevation gain
234 m
Typical duration
34 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Expert

Cohos Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
257 km
/ 160 mi
Elevation gain
5,772 m
Typical duration
69 hr
  • Mountain
  • Long-distance path
Hard

Great Gulf Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
10.6 km
/ 6.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,429 m
Typical duration
4 hr 21 min
  • Mountain
Wapack National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Matt Poole/USFWS. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/USFWSNortheast Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/USFWSNortheast
Easy

Summit Loop

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.5 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
35 m
Typical duration
10 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
Moderate

Nelson Crag Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.8 km
/ 3.0 mi
Typical duration
1 hr
  • Mountain
Moderate

Jewell Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
5.3 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
23 m
Typical duration
1 hr 8 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Liberty Spring Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.2 km
/ 2.6 mi
Elevation gain
867 m
Typical duration
2 hr 10 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Six Husbands Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.0 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
15 m
Typical duration
39 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Cave Mountain Path

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.6 km
/ 0.4 mi
Elevation gain
145 m
Typical duration
20 min
  • Mountain
  • Cave
Harris Hill Ski Jump and Retreat Tower From Wantastiquet
Moderate

Wantastiquet Mountain Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.1 km
/ 1.9 mi
Elevation gain
331 m
Typical duration
1 hr 8 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Middle Mountain Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.5 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
93 m
Typical duration
27 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Monte Rosa

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.6 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
114 m
Typical duration
17 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Mountain Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.9 km
/ 2.4 mi
Elevation gain
32 m
Typical duration
52 min
  • Mountain
Hard

Osseo Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.9 km
/ 4.9 mi
Elevation gain
1,110 m
Typical duration
3 hr 19 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Crawford Path

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
12.5 km
/ 7.8 mi
Elevation gain
160 m
Typical duration
2 hr 51 min
  • Mountain
Hard

Davis Path

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
21.1 km
/ 13.1 mi
Elevation gain
1,792 m
Typical duration
7 hr 16 min
  • Mountain
Hard

Twinway

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
10.3 km
/ 6.4 mi
Elevation gain
900 m
Typical duration
3 hr 30 min
  • Mountain
Hard

Isolation Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
13.4 km
/ 8.3 mi
Elevation gain
1,005 m
Typical duration
4 hr 18 min
  • Mountain
Hiking Flume Slide Trail - 2010.06.27
Moderate

Flume Slide Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.7 km
/ 2.9 mi
Elevation gain
778 m
Typical duration
2 hr 8 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Avalon Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.0 km
/ 2.5 mi
Elevation gain
742 m
Typical duration
1 hr 57 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Neville Ridge Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.3 km
/ 0.8 mi
Elevation gain
18 m
Typical duration
17 min
  • Mountain
Easy

Old Mountain Road

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.4 km
/ 1.5 mi
Elevation gain
63 m
Typical duration
36 min
  • Mountain
Easy

Ridge Loop

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.5 km
/ 0.3 mi
Elevation gain
11 m
Typical duration
7 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Castle Ravine Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.8 km
/ 2.4 mi
Typical duration
48 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
  • Castle and ruins
Hard

Falling Waters Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.5 km
/ 2.8 mi
Elevation gain
945 m
Typical duration
2 hr 21 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Neville Peak Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.6 km
/ 0.3 mi
Typical duration
7 min
  • Mountain
  • Summit push
  • Panoramic viewpoint
Moderate

King Ravine Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.9 km
/ 2.4 mi
Elevation gain
73 m
Typical duration
55 min
  • Mountain
  • Canyon and gorge
Moderate

Old Bridle Path

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.3 km
/ 2.7 mi
Elevation gain
55 m
Typical duration
59 min
  • Mountain
Hard

Flat Mountain Pond Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
16.8 km
/ 10.4 mi
Elevation gain
315 m
Typical duration
4 hr 1 min
  • Mountain
Panorama showing Mt Liberty, Mt Flume, parts of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, and parts of Franconia Notch State Park
Moderate

Franconia Ridge Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.2 km
/ 4.5 mi
Elevation gain
671 m
Typical duration
2 hr 31 min
  • Mountain
Moderate

Ridge Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
4.0 km
/ 2.5 mi
Elevation gain
425 m
Typical duration
1 hr 29 min
  • Mountain
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

Sabbaday Brook Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.3 km
/ 4.6 mi
Elevation gain
773 m
Typical duration
2 hr 41 min
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Moderate

Gale River Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.5 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
763 m
Typical duration
2 hr 43 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Moderate

Castle Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.0 km
/ 4.3 mi
Typical duration
1 hr 27 min
  • Mountain
  • Castle and ruins
Moderate

Oak Ridge Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.9 km
/ 1.2 mi
Elevation gain
92 m
Typical duration
32 min
  • Lake
  • Mountain
Moderate

Spur Trail

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
747 m
Typical duration
1 hr 41 min
  • Mountain

The shortlist, side by side

The ten highest scoring routes on this page, so you can compare effort before opening any of them.

Distance, ascent, walking time and difficulty for the top routes
RouteDistanceAscentTimeDifficultyBest season
Appalachian TrailNew Hampshire234 km8,313 m67 hrExpertJune to October
Cross Rivendell TrailNew Hampshire36.2 km2,125 m11 hrExpertApril to October
Wantastiquet-Monadnock TrailNew Hampshire72.0 km2,068 m19 hrExpertApril to October
Webster Cliff TrailNew Hampshire10.1 km1,131 m3 hr 48 minHardApril to October
Monadnock-Sunapee GreenwayNew Hampshire75.8 km1,688 m20 hrExpertApril to October
Hungtington Ravine TrailNew Hampshire3.1 km859 m1 hr 56 minModerateJune to October
Ammonoosuc Ravine TrailNew Hampshire3.4 km704 m1 hr 46 minModerateApril to October
Kearsarge North TrailNew Hampshire4.6 km808 m2 hr 10 minModerateApril to October
Smith Summit TrailNew Hampshire1.0 km234 m34 minModerateApril to October
Cohos TrailNew Hampshire257 km5,772 m69 hrExpertApril to October

Appalachian Trail, Cross Rivendell Trail, Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail currently rank highest in this filtered set according to the directory score. Open an individual route to inspect its mapped line, elevation profile, data source and planning caveats. Check live access, conditions and local rules with an official source before travelling.

Frequently asked questions

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