Winter Hike Mt. Jackson via the Jackson-Webster Trail
Read Erica’s humorous account of winter hiking Mt. Jackson
Mt. Flume Winter Hike Via the Osseo Trail
Mt. Flume offers an ideal early-season winter hike to break-in your snow hiking legs with a moderate (by White Mountains’ standards) 11-mile trek via the Osseo, Lincoln Woods and Franconia Ridge trails.
Hike Mt. Moosilauke via the Beaver Brook Trail
The Beaver Brook Trail on Mt. Moosilauke is a rough, and, if you’re not careful, easy-to-go-for-a-fateful-tumble hike. The physical price of admission is steep with 3,150 feet of elevation gain over cascades of rocks, wood-block steps and metal rungs, all often perilously close to the ravine’s edge, especially when wet. The arduous entrance fee is worth Mother Nature’s show with seemingly endless waterfalls headlined by a spectacular open summit.
“Spring” Hike Mt. Washington & Mt. Monroe via the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail
Bear in mind that “spring” is a relative term. While the snowbanks have finally retreated across most of New England, an early April hike finds winter in full bloom on…
Winter Hike the Bondcliff Trail
Let’s see if this makes sense: there’s no truly difficult part of climbing Bondcliff in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and the Pemigewasset Wilderness. The first 50 percent of the hike covering the Lincoln Woods Trail and Wilderness Trail is all flat, heavily traveled ground. Yes, there are a few steep sections on the Bondcliff Trail—show me a 4,000-foot mountain in the Northeast that doesn’t have some serious ups—but even these are quite forgiving by White Mountains’ standards.
Winter Hike Cannon Mountain & North Kinsman
Cannon Mountain, North Kinsman, and the Lonesome Lake area are widely popular amongst casual and serious hikers in all seasons. On a good-weather day, all it takes is one glance from a scenic vista looking over Franconia Notch at Mt. Lafayette and Franconia Ridge to see why. Of course, the trailhead location amid Lafayette Campground with its own I-93 exit is also a contributing factor.