Skip to content

Best Riverside Hikes in New Hampshire

The directory currently contains 29 quality-checked routes matching this guide in New Hampshire. Their average mapped distance is 4.5 km and average recorded ascent is 262 m (860 ft); the longest route in the set is 13.3 km.

This subset represents 7% of the 390 quality-checked routes in New Hampshire. Its average distance is 4.5 km, compared with 5.3 km across the full local set.

These routes carry the river tag. The tag does not establish how much of the mapped line follows water or whether crossings are safe. Within this set, 7 routes (24%) are rated easy, 1 (3%) are rated hard or expert, and 0 (0%) 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

Choose by the details

How do these routes differ?

A closer look at the first 6 routes in this page’s default ordering. These comparisons describe this sample, not the entire destination or a field-tested recommendation.

Shortest mapped distance in this sample

0.4 km

Mossy Brook Trail

Compare the climbing too; shortest does not necessarily mean easiest.

Lowest recorded ascent in this sample

0 m

Mossy Brook Trail

6 of 6 have ascent data. Missing measurements are excluded.

Return logistics

0 recorded loops

Check start and finish for every option. An unknown shape does not mean a loop, and a loop does not establish access to its start.

Plan the return journey →

Distances follow stored route lines; ascent and time are estimates. Current access, surface and technical difficulty need separate checks. How to turn a comparison into a shortlist.

Trails

Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.7 km
/ 1.7 mi
Elevation gain
26 m
Typical duration
36 min
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.2 km
/ 0.8 mi
Elevation gain
28 m
Typical duration
18 min
  • River
Bemis Falls, Arethusa Falls Trail, Hart's Location
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.7 km
/ 0.4 mi
Elevation gain
111 m
Typical duration
19 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.5 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
268 m
Typical duration
56 min
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.4 km
/ 0.3 mi
Typical duration
5 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.1 km
/ 0.7 mi
Elevation gain
40 m
Typical duration
17 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.3 km
/ 1.4 mi
Elevation gain
178 m
Typical duration
44 min
  • Lake
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

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

New Hampshire · United States

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

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
11.4 km
/ 7.1 mi
Typical duration
2 hr 22 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
13.3 km
/ 8.2 mi
Elevation gain
91 m
Typical duration
2 hr 54 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Hard

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
5.2 km
/ 3.3 mi
Elevation gain
931 m
Typical duration
2 hr 29 min
  • River
  • Mountain
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
7.6 km
/ 4.7 mi
Elevation gain
14 m
Typical duration
1 hr 36 min
  • River
  • Mountain
  • Forest
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.7 km
/ 0.4 mi
Typical duration
9 min
  • River
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.8 km
/ 0.5 mi
Elevation gain
8 m
Typical duration
11 min
  • River
  • Waymarked route
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.8 km
/ 2.4 mi
Typical duration
48 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.6 km
/ 1.6 mi
Elevation gain
391 m
Typical duration
1 hr 8 min
  • River
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.4 km
/ 2.1 mi
Elevation gain
101 m
Typical duration
51 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
3.2 km
/ 2.0 mi
Elevation gain
685 m
Typical duration
1 hr 42 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
5.8 km
/ 3.6 mi
Elevation gain
620 m
Typical duration
2 hr 8 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
5.6 km
/ 3.5 mi
Elevation gain
677 m
Typical duration
2 hr 11 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
5.0 km
/ 3.1 mi
Elevation gain
569 m
Typical duration
1 hr 53 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
8.4 km
/ 5.2 mi
Elevation gain
196 m
Typical duration
2 hr 3 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
10.4 km
/ 6.5 mi
Elevation gain
324 m
Typical duration
2 hr 40 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
6.3 km
/ 3.9 mi
Elevation gain
479 m
Typical duration
2 hr 2 min
  • River
Moderate

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
2.4 km
/ 1.5 mi
Elevation gain
244 m
Typical duration
52 min
  • River
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
6.0 km
/ 3.7 mi
Elevation gain
85 m
Typical duration
1 hr 22 min
  • River
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
1.4 km
/ 0.9 mi
Elevation gain
6 m
Typical duration
19 min
  • River
Easy

New Hampshire · United States

Distance
0.8 km
/ 0.5 mi
Typical duration
10 min
  • River

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
Little River TrailNew Hampshire2.7 km26 m36 minEasyApril to October
Chandler Brook TrailNew Hampshire1.2 km28 m18 minModerateApril to October
Bemis Brook TrailNew Hampshire0.7 km111 m19 minModerateApril to October
Brook TrailNew Hampshire2.5 km268 m56 minModerateApril to October
Mossy Brook TrailNew Hampshire0.4 km0 m5 minModerateApril to October
Brook WalkNew Hampshire1.1 km40 m17 minModerateApril to October
Shannon Brook TrailNew Hampshire2.3 km178 m44 minModerateApril to October
Sabbaday Brook TrailNew Hampshire7.3 km773 m2 hr 41 minModerateApril to October
Gale River TrailNew Hampshire7.5 km763 m2 hr 43 minModerateApril to October
Franconia Brook TrailNew Hampshire11.4 km0 m2 hr 22 minModerateApril to October

Little River Trail, Chandler Brook Trail, Brook 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

Plan with more confidence

All planning articles →

Related guides

Other shortlists covering the same area or the same kind of terrain.

People also search for