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Find a Mountain to Hike:
- If you know its name, go to the
Alphabetic Index.
- If it's on a list you've heard about, see
Hike Lists.
- To find a hike near you, try
Hikes By Location,
or explore one of the
Google Maps
(to get started, see: Google Maps Info).
- For driving directions: go to the mountain's webpage
and click on Driving
- To see photos and text from hikes to this mountain,
visit the mountain's webpage!
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Find Easy Hikes:
- For easy mountain hikes, go to
Hikes By Location,
and check out the ones with green names.
- For a list of easier hikes, see
NH 52 With-A-View.
- For hikes on the level, see
Nature Walks.
- For hikes on the seacoast, see
Ocean Beaches.
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Hiking With Kids:
- For kid-friendly hikes, see
Hikes for Kids
or the article Ten Great Hikes for Kids.
- To visit mountains with towers, see
Hikes to Towers.
- Preparation:
Hiking with Kids -- What to Bring
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Sunset Hiking:
- For an overview, see
Sunset Hiking Info
or the article Hiking NH Mountains for Sunset.
- For a list of good mountains, see
NH 52 With-A-View.
- For sunset hiking photos, see
Hikes at Sunset.
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Winter Hiking:
- Introduction:
Hiking New Hampshire's Mountains in Winter.
- Hike planning resources:
Weather Forecasts
Current Trail Conditions
Snow Depth
Access Road Closures
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Bushwhacking:
Bushwhacking is hiking without a trail, the only way to get
to some beautiful mountains in New Hampshire.
- For an overview, see
Bushwhacking Basics.
- For more info, see
Those Crazy Bushwhackers.
- For a list of mountains, see
Hikes Without Trails.
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Hiking Preparation:
Trail Maps
Trail Guides
Hiker Safety
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Flower Identification:
If you see a flower and want to identify it, check out this
website's flower photos -- organized by color and shape:
Wildflower Photos
Garden Flower Photos
Shrub Photos
Tree Photos
Or, if unsure of the plant type, try:
All Flowers (huge!)
Or, if you think you know the flower name, try:
Flower Index
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Animals, Bugs and Mushrooms:
If you see other wildlife you want to identify, check out:
Animal Photos
Insect Photos
Mushroom Photos
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GPS Help:
A Global Positioning System (GPS) hand-held device
is an amazing modern tool for finding your way while
hiking. It is used on this website in three ways:
- Pinpointing trailhead parking by GPS coordinates
- Showing a map of the actual hike route
- Offering a GPX file
as a step-by-step trail guide
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Hiking Photos:
Interesting photos on this website are gathered by subject
into Photo Galleries.
Each of the Best Photos
includes
an option to view its full-size image. You are welcome to
download any photo from this website for your personal use.
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What is the structure of this website?
Despite complex cross-links within
this website, its basic structure is simple:
beneath the
Home Page
is a set of individual Hiking Pages (more than 1000 of them!),
easily accessible through the alphabetic
Index.
The structure of each Hiking Page is:
Two backward links:
- Home Page
-
Mountain List
for this hike
Three forward links:
- Photo subpages
- Driving subpage
- Hiking subpage
Photo subpages are primary information (photo and text)
for this hike.
Each Photo subpage has top links to return to the Hiking Page
or circle through the Photo subpages.
Driving subpage is about car travel to hike start. You can
use it in three ways:
- follow the map and list of roads
- put the parking coordinates into your car GPS
- go to the
Google Map
and follow its directions
Hiking subpage is about foot travel at the hike. You can
use it in three ways:
- follow the map
- put the
GPX
file into your hiking GPS
- go to the listed guides (printed and online)
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What is the purpose of this website?
The goal of this website is to help you find a mountain or nature walk
to hike in New Hampshire (or nearby in Maine, Vermont
or Massachusetts). If you know your destination's name,
just look it up in the alphabetic
Index.
If you want
to find a mountain or nature walk near you, try
Hikes by Location.
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How can I get driving directions to my mountain?
Two ways:
1. On the mountain's webpage click on "Driving".
Here you will find the route, distance and time to drive
to this mountain from Nashua, NH (Route 3 at the MA/NH
border). Then adjust the start to begin at your house.
2. Or, if you have a car GPS, from the mountain's webpage
click on "Driving" and use the N-W parking coordinates.
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Why are driving directions from Nashua, NH?
Short answer: because I and many of my hiking friends
start out from here.
Long answer: from wherever you start, once you join
the drive route you can follow its directions from there;
and the drive-route map gives an easy overview of
where the mountain is located.
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How can I tell if the access road is closed?
Go to Access Road Closures
and click on one of the hotlinks. The folks who maintain
wilderness roads post status on these websites
specifically for us recreational users.
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How can I get detailed hiking trail information?
On the mountain's webpage click on "Hiking"
and check out the recommended Trail Guide.
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What is the vertical climb distance for a hike?
The elevation gain between trailhead and summit is a for-sure
vertical climb distance (for this discussion, say 500 feet).
But if there is an intervening trail bump (say, 100 feet tall)
that you have to go over, your total vertical is bigger,
in this case 600 feet.
And if you descend the same route, you will go over the
bump a second time, adding up to a total climb distance
of 700 feet for this round-trip hike.
Each vertical climb distance listed on this website
attempts to include all such route bumps.
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Where do I park at the trailhead?
On the mountain's webpage click on "Driving"
to find the recommended parking location.
Or, if you have a car GPS, from the mountain's webpage
click on "Driving" and go to the N-W coordinates.
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What is a GPX file?
A Global Positioning System (GPS) eXchange file (GPX)
is a universal file format that allows hikers to share
routes (trails and bushwhacks). One hiker can use her
GPS to store a track and another hiker can import that
track into his GPS as a route to follow, creating an
amazing step-by-step, I-know-where-I-am, real-time guide.
If you want to download a GPX file from this website,
right-click on its link (to see choices) and select the
"save as" option. You can then import this GPX file
onto your handheld hiking GPS unit and head out on
your adventure.
Prudence says you still want to carry a backup map-and-
compass; but a GPX-loaded GPS can be fun to follow.
I tried following another hiker's GPS track and found it
helped me in these ways:
- Sometimes the hardest navigation of the whole hike is
finding the trailhead (where to park): with the GPS track
I knew I was parking where the hiker before me had parked.
- At the parking spot it is sometimes hard to tell where
the trail starts (which of several paths is the one I want):
with the GPS track the choice is clear.
- On poorly-marked trails it is sometimes difficult to tell
which way to go at a junction: with the GPS track I can see
which way the prior hiker went, and if I make the wrong
choice it is quickly obvious I have done so.
- If I decide to purposefully explore a different path,
I can later get back on the known route by following
my now-location toward some part of the GPS track.
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Can I hike this mountain in winter?
Most NH mountains can be hiked in any season.
The hike may be longer if the access road is closed in
winter: on the mountain's webpage click on "Driving"
where winter accessibility issues are noted.
The hike may be dangerous in bad weather: Pick a
good-weather day and be sure you are adequately prepared.
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Can I hike this mountain in spring?
On the mountain's webpage click on "Hiking" and
check the recommended Trail Guide about water crossings.
Some trail water crossings are impassable in high water.
In NH you can usually hike whenever you want
(hey, this is the "Live Free or Die" state).
In VT many high-mountain trails are closed in "mud season".
In ME some trails are closed in Baxter State Park in spring.
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What are all these mountain lists for?
If you hike a lot, sooner or later you will seek new mountains
to visit. These lists are a great source for finding them:
Most hikers head first to NH's tallest mountains.
The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) created a list of
48 mountains in NH over 4000 feet tall: NH 4000-Footers.
If you want to venture into Maine and Vermont, there are
19 more of these tall mountains: New England 4000-Footers.
Bit by the bug, you may want to bag
33 more mountains to complete the
New England 100 Highest.
Or, you may want to explore smaller NH mountains with great views.
Here is a list of 52 beautiful (and easier) hikes: NH 52 With-A-View.
If you become hard core, there are
41 more mountains on the
NH 100 Highest list.
...and if you should run out of new mountains to explore,
there are even more suggestions here:
Hike Lists.
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How can I find easier mountains to hike?
Two ways:
Go to the Hikes by Location
page and click on a location
to find hikes in that area. Easy hikes are green,
moderate hikes are blue and hard hikes are red.
If you then click on a specific hike, you can see photos
and get more info.
Or you can try the 52 With-A-View
list of mountains,
specifically designed for easier (and beautiful) hikes.
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I just want to go for a nature walk!
If you are not into hiking uphill and you live near southern NH,
here is a list of easy Nature Walks.
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Why the photo galleries?
You get to see many kinds of beauty while hiking NH's mountains.
The Photo Galleries (waterfalls, animals, mushrooms, etc.)
let you easily find just these photos from various hikes.
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What's with the flowers?
While hiking, the most bountiful small-sized beauty is flowers.
Flowers are divided into four separate photo galleries:
Wildflower,
Garden Flower,
Shrub and
Tree.
There is also
a Flower Index --
if you know the flower's name and there
is a photo of it, you will find it here.
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How many flowers are on your website?
Flowers are separated into these four photo galleries:
# Photo Gallery
328 Wildflower
288 Garden Flower
113 Shrub
34 Tree
763 TOTAL Species
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What is "Google Maps"?
"Google Maps" is a feature of the Google website that allows
the creation of a customized map with pins at important
locations. This feature is used to pinpoint mountain locations
for many lists on this website. For an overview, see
Google Maps Info.
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How accurate are location pins on Google Maps?
VERY accurate!
If you zoom in on a mountain in Terrain mode
you will see the location pin is on the true summit.
If you zoom in on a nature walk in Satellite mode
you will see the location pin is on the parking lot,
or, if an ocean beach, on the sand.
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What is the driving time to each mountain?
For each mountain hike the driving time (listed on the
"Driving" page) assumes driving at the speed limit
under good driving conditions (weather and traffic).
The time is measured from Nashua, NH.
If you plan to carpool, here are approximate driving times
(from Route 3, Exit 1) to popular Park-and-Ride stops
(hours:minutes):
0:30 -- Route 93, Exit 11 (Hooksett)
0:40 -- Route 93, Exit 14 (Concord)
1:10 -- Route 93, Exit 23 (New Hampton)
1:20 -- Route 93, Exit 24 (Ashland)
1:40 -- Route 93, Exit 32 (Lincoln)
2:10 -- Twin Mountain
2:50 -- Gorham
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What is the hiking time for each mountain?
For each mountain the hiking time (listed on the "Hiking" page)
is an estimate of how long an average hiker will take to complete
the hike. Add extra time to this estimate if you want to linger on
top, if you hike slowly, or if trail conditions are poor.
The "round trip" time is a rough estimate, useful for initial hike
planning (e.g., for when to get up in the morning).
The "one way, up to the summit" is more exact, useful for
getting to the top at a specific time (e.g., for sunset).
For further information (e.g., hiking time for a varied route),
see the recommended Trail Guide.
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How can I find hikes where I will be staying?
Go to the Hikes by Location cross-reference list. Here you will
find all the mountains on this website organized by location.
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How can I find hikes suitable for kids?
Go to the Hikes for Kids cross-reference list. Here you will
find those NH mountains that seem kid-friendly to me,
including a difficulty rating (trail length and elevation gain).
You can also go to the Hikes by Location
cross-reference
list and check out the easiest (text color green) mountains.
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What camera do you use?
Pocket-size digital cameras have been available that
produce photos of surprisingly high quality, so I had
switched over to this small-size,
convenient-to-carry-everywhere technology.
Most of the time I used an Olympus XZ-2 for its
superior lens and sensor (better image detail
and lower-light capability), sacrificing zoom
(only 4x) and pixels (only 12 M).
Now, newer technology is included in most smartphones
that takes even better photos.
So I have switched over to an iPhone 12 Pro,
which has three lenses (1/2x, 1x, and 2x),
fast focusing, and amazing photo optimization.
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What GPS do you use?
Until recently I had been using a Garmin GPSMAP64s.
But the Topo Maps Pro app for my iPhone 12 Pro does
an even better job, and saves having to carry extra
hardware when hiking. So, with just my iPhone 12 Pro,
I can preload a prior GPS track,
follow that track, and easily create a new track.
It's more fun, better quality, and less weight!
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Can I get a copy of one of your photos?
The photos on this website have been reduced in size and
quality for quick on-screen viewing. If you want a
high-quality image, please request the original photo
(for free, about 3 Mbytes) via the Comment form.
Or, if you go to the Best Photos webpage (and some other webpages), you can access
any of these original photos
by clicking on its "full size" link.
You may download any photo from this website for
personal use.
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Why more hikes on the Trailwrights than AMC list?
Everything in civilized life is political, even the determination
of what constitutes a mountain! To make it onto the AMC
NH 4000-Footers list
there must be at least a 200-foot drop
between the mountain and all other 4000-footers (otherwise,
it's just a shoulder of another mountain). This leads to the
definition of 48 4000-footers in NH. For the NH Trailwrights 72
list the drop requirement is 100 feet. This leads to 72
4000-footers (the same 48 as AMC, plus 24 new ones).
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What is the "52 With-A-View" list?
NH 52 With-A-View is a list
of NH mountains under 4000 feet
that have both a good view and a trail, as compiled by the
"Over the Hill Hikers" of Sandwich, NH. There are 48 NH
mountains on the AMC NH 4000-Footers list. The NH 52
With-A-View list adds just enough more mountains to
make a nice round "100." (This list is different from the
NH 100 Highest
list which just measures height and therefore
includes mountains without a view, without a trail, or both.)
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What is a "bushwhack"?
A "bushwhack" is a hike where you have to find your way
at least part of the time through woods without a trail.
Since someone else has not cleared a path for you, the
bushes may "whack" you as you make your way through
them, hence the cute name. You need to be competent
navigating with map and compass and preferably be with
a group before attempting a bushwhack. To visit all the
mountains on the
NH 100 Highest
list, you will need to
learn the skill of bushwhacking.
For more information about bushwhacking, see the
magazine article:
Those Crazy Bushwhackers.
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What does "QRC" do?
"QRC" (Quick Response Code) is a
two-dimensional barcode that
accesses a specific webpage.
On this website there is a QRC link at the bottom
of certain webpages. If you display this QRC on your
smart phone, a friend can use the QRC reader app on his phone
to instantly see the same webpage.
It's a way to easily share a webpage.
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How can I locate specific info on your website?
Type in a word(s) in the "Find" box on the bottom of the
Home page.
The resulting list will give links to every page on
this website which includes that word(s). For instance, if you
type in "jay" you will find every webpage
that talks about
the Gray Jay, Jay Peak (in Vermont), or a hiker named Jay.
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How many mountains are on this website?
The lists of mountains on this website have some overlap.
For instance, Mt. Shaw
is on three lists: NH 52 With-A-View,
NH 200 Highest and Ossipee Range. So, to find out how
many different mountains are here (with photos!), they
can be added up by the number of unique mountains
per list like this:
# Mountain List
48 NH 4000-Footers
55 NH 52 With-A-View (with 3 doubles)
39 NH Little Mountains (with 5 doubles)
25 NH Trailwrights 72
9 New England 100 Highest (in NH)
35 NH 100 Highest
59 NH 3000-Footers
20 NH 200 Highest
36 NH 201-300 Highest
43 NH 301-400 Highest
55 NH 401-500 Highest
8 Belknap Range
6 Ossipee Range
365 Listless Peaks (in NH)
805 TOTAL in NH
19 New England 4000-Footers (outside NH)
22 New England 100 Highest (outside NH)
21 New England 50 Finest (outside NH)
318 Listless Peaks (outside NH)
380 TOTAL outside NH
1185 TOTAL mountains on this website
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How tall are the mountains on this website?
The shortest mountain on this website is
Bungalow Hill,
which is 108 feet tall. It is located right on the ocean
edge of Massachusetts.
The tallest mountain on this website is
Mount Washington,
which is 6288 feet tall. It is located in the center of the
White Mountains of New Hampshire.
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Why do you maintain this website?
I enjoy collecting, creating, photographing, writing,
hiking, and building something useful to others.
This website lets me do all of these (smile).
If you should see an error on this website or imagine a way
in which it could be improved, please send me a
Comment.
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NH Mountain Hiking