Hiking the New Hampshire
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If you're looking for pristine babbling brooks take a look at the New Hampshire White Mountains. And if you really want to treat yourself go in the fall during the color change when the variety of trees makes for a spectacular show. Make sure to pick up plenty of maple syrup while you're there because you won't want the store-bought stuff after you've had the real thing.
The New Hampshire White Mountains extend southwesterly from Maine into New Hampshire. The New Hampshire White Mountains cover approximately 1,000 square miles with their most important range being the Presidential Range. More than 68 peaks in the White Mountains are above 3,900 feet.
Mount Washington is New England's highest peak at 6288.176 feet, sorry I couldn't be more precise. ;-) It's located in the Northern New Hampshire Mountains, within the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, and is said to have the worst weather in the world. When you consider the highest surface wind in the world was recorded here on April 12, 1934 at 231 mph, that's probably true. Temperatures average 49° F in July so you'll want some warm hiking gear.
On a clear day you can see 5 states including: New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and also Canada. Mount Washington's peak, a state park, is visited by over 250,000 people each year. This shouldn't be surprising as the first footpath to the peak was built in 1819.
Resources and Books
AMC White Mountain Guide: Hiking Trails in the White Mountain National Forest 4.5/5 rating, by Gene Daniell, Steven D. Smith: This book has been around since 1907 and has went through more editions than you'll believe. With over 500 trails in the WMNF you'll want to get it if you're hiking in the New Hampshire White Mountains. You can find it at Amazon.
Nature Hikes In the White Mountains: Great Family Hikes in the Heart of the White Mountain National Forest, by Robert N. Buchsbaum: If you've got kids this book has something they can look forward to on each hike. From blueberry patches to mountain ponds and waterfalls. It also includes maps, distance, elevation change, difficulty and more.
Waterfalls of the White Mountains: 30 Hikes to 100 Waterfalls, by Bruce R. Bolnick: This book has a picture of the waterfall, distance, difficulty, maps, trail information, and more. If you've got a thing for waterfalls, and hey who doesn't, this is your book.
Presidential Range with close-up on reverse: White Mountain Guide Map, by Appalachian Mountain Club Books: This is a good detailed map of the Presidential Range area published by AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club).
National and State Parks
The 800,000 acre White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) has 1,200 miles of (opens new window)
hiking trails.
They offer "Recreation Opportunity Guides (ROG's)" online that have brief details like distances, difficulty, time required, and some basic instructions. While you might want to use them as a quick overview I would recommend getting a good quality topographical map and guide book like the ones mentioned above.
White Mountain National Forest also offers camping in 23 campgrounds within the forest. Campgrounds range anywhere from 7 to 176 sites. Some will take reservations and some won't and the facilities range from rustic to running water and flush toilets. (opens new window)
New Hampshire White Mountains camping.
Some New Hampshire State Parks do offer (opens new window)
hiking
but they're probably best for day hikes as the trails are usually shorter. Although if you're interested and have the equipment used for camping there's always a way to extend any trip into a multi-day getaway. The parks range dramatically in size from Chesterfield Gorge Natural Area at 13 acres to Pisgah State Park at over 13,500 acres.
This is a good informative site with some good pictures of the (opens new window)
White Mountains of New Hampshire.
The hike descriptions could use a few more details though (i.e. difficulty, trail conditions, etc.).
I hope you've found this information helpful. Have a great trip. :-)
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