Gunstock, Belknap, & Piper Mtns. via Lower Carriage Road (Belknap Range)
Hike Type: Loop
Distance: 5.53 miles
Elevation: 1,791 feet
Time: 3 hours, 18 minutes (2 hours, 59 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: Belknap Range Redliner, Belknap Range Grid
The Hike
It was going to be a cold, but beautiful weekend! I knew I was going to ski on Sunday, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to spend my Saturday. It was going to be COLD cold up in the Whites, so I ended up decided to make my grand return to the Belknap Range! I was excited for a few reasons: 1) I hadn't hiked in the Belknaps since I finished the Belknap 12 a couple summers ago, 2) the range is MUCH closer than the Ossipees and the Whites, 3) I've been flirting with actively working on the Belknap Grid/Redlining patches, and 4) I could sleep in until my normal weekday alarm! I made it to Hooksett at 5:45am, immedaitely and violently christened the bathroom, got a couple breakfast sandwiches, and made it to the Lower Carriage Road trailhead at 6:45am, joined by no other cars. The last bit of the drive was absolutely beautiful, with the silhouettes of Gunstock, Belknap, and Piper Mtns. greeting me. It was just a little too dark to start hiking when I parked, so I enjoyed the heated seats in my new-to-me car for a little longer before suiting up.
[6:56am: Start of Hike on Gunstock Mtn. Trail]
Eventually, it was time to begin! The temperature was a chilly -1 degree with still air and clear skies. I started in my Nano Puff, Outdoor Research microgrid fleece, and merino wool base layer from Backcountry. There was a thin snow cover on the trail, from 1-3", and besides the sounds of my spikes, it was delightfully quiet. Grades were easy down low, winding through orange and occasional old white blazes.
My puff came off after 10 minutes as I was desperately trying, as per usual, to regulate my sweat, which has never quite been a skill of mine. A good thing about the loop I chose is that there are multiple bail-out points, all leading back to where I parked my car, just in case I got too cold. I thought I heard a new critter rusling about in the trees making some sound I was unfamiliar with, but it turned out to just be a classic red squirrel cat-calling me.
My legs were definitely feeling it as the grade gradually steepened - I realize I hadn't worn this pack in a while! The snow was a bit sandy, too, which made for some challenging hiking (I also realized post-mortem that the trail was, in fact, steep, and I was doing absolutely fine). My fleece came off at the 25 minute mark as I enjoyed the beautiful morning light through the trees... and then the grade steepened again, but provided nice tree views over to Piper Mountain.
[7:34am: Winter Shortcut]
I soon made my way to the spot where the trail split - the Gunstock Mtn. Trail turning right, and the Winter Shortcut turning left. I noticed it said the Gunstock Mtn. Trail led to an "overlook," but since it was winter, it felt appropriate to follow the Winter Shortcut! I was immediately greeted by a slab of boilerplate ice hiding under a thin dusting of snow, but I did not fall!
A kind owl cheered me on as I climbed the now steeper trail, which eventually entered a lovely softwood forest. The grade calmed down briefly before continuing the steep climb. There were a few more ice flows, but my Kahtoolas worked fine for all of them. I was glad I brought my Kahtoolas instead of my newer Hillsounds since I was still hitting rocks.
[7:47am: Ridge Trail]
[7:48am: Gunstock Mtn. Trail]
Before I knew it I was on the Ridge Trail, followed immediately by rejoining the Gunstock Mtn. Trail. The trail coincided and led to a beautiful overlook with a slight breeze and the sun!
[7:55am: Gunstock Mtn. Summit]
I put my fleece back on before following the path to the Gunstock summit, which featured the early morning lift check and one uphiller putting on his downhill equipment. I will say, I've been getting more and more interested in uphilling as of recent... I didn't get too far to the slope to not interfere with the morning ops and not wanting to chew up the fresh cordurory. The sun felt DELIGHTFUL, but I didn't stay long, as it was now -3 degrees and breezy outside of the woods.
[7:56am: Brook Trail]
I was now following the Brook Trail, which had a thin cover of snow and ice and many ski tracks. There were also many picnic tables scattered about, each far enough away from the previous that you couldn't see one from the other.
[8:03am: Saddle Trail]
Next up was the Saddle Trail, which rightfully leads to the saddle/col between Gunstock and Belknap Mountains. It was beautiful, too!
[8:07am: Blue Trail]
The Saddle Trail was short, through, and soon led to a junction with the Blue Trail, which led to Belknap Mountain's summit. The trail also enters Belknap Mountain State Forest, here. The trail was wonderfully laid out, interspersing climbs with flats, all through some really beautiful forest. I could hear the main summit lift of Gunstock Mountain while enjoying some seasonal tree-views to Lake Winnipesaukee.
I was wishing I had my anemometer when I reentered some denser forest and met with a COLD breeze. I can't imagine the temperature has risen much since my hike began at this point. I snapped out of my frozen climb when I noticed footsteps leading off-trail - I remembered that there was a plane crash somewhere on the mountain, but it turns out these footsteps just led to a rock with an "E" and "L," which I initially thought might be a town marker, but I'm not sure what the letters would stand for (the "L" could be Laconia, but no idea!).
The final bit up to the summit was covered in bunny tracks, but no bunnies. I soon saw a cabin off in the woods, and made it to the summit!
[8:28am: Belknap Mtn. Summit]The summit of Belknap Mountain itself is uneventful, but a climb up the tower reveals some nice views toward mountains near and far, notably the White Mountains. The climb up the tower itself was steep and narrow, which overall made me feel super uncomfortable, but I've never passed up a fire tower view and I wasn't about to start!
[8:33am: White Trail]
After a brief visit and a few photos on the tower, I was continuing on, now on the White Trail. I realized I kept forgetting to take one second videos for my "1 Second Everday" app, but hopefully I'd remember on Piper Mountain. After the visit to the fire tower, my camera battery was officially dead. In a case of desperation, I put the battery in my chest pocket, took some photos on my phone, and continued on.
The White Trail split in a very open area that nearly gave me snow-blindness (let this be a memo to remember to pack sunglasses!), but soon went back into the woods. Now descending, the trail was a bit steep and dicey at spots, as there was bare ledge and ice underneath the snow. I switched my camera battery from my chest pocket to inside of my mitten, and it worked! My battery was now "charged" to 50%!
Continuing to descend, I arrived at a sunny area with young trees, which allowed the sun to touch my frozen body and warm my soul. This led to a lovely ledge with a great view of Piper Mountain, and then dipped back into the woods for a spectacular stretch of sketchy boilerplate ice. Thankfully, this led to another view!
[9:03am: Old Piper Trail]
I met the Old Piper Trail in the Belknap-Piper Col, which I followed up and over to begin a gradual ascent of Piper Mountain. I passed the Round Pond-Piper Link trail, which was not broken out (I thought about extending the hike some pending trail conditions - not today!). The Old Piper Trail was beautiful the whole way, and I found my first person of the day after 2+ hours! He was Civilized Hiking with a coffee in hand, which brought me joy.
The Old Piper Trail passed a few ledges with a view into the Moulton Brook Valley and steepened - my hat officially came off for this climb (and revealed a couple strands of hair that had an impressive round icicle about 0.5" in diameter. I passed another person about 5 minutes later who said to me "yay you're only wearing spikes!" which also made me chuckle. I eventually made my way to the terminus, which was Piper Mountain's North Peak. There were two people there, and one said something to me after I said "good morning!" I didn't hear what he said, and he didn't look away from me, so I just said "beautiful day!" and got more blank stares... that was strange.
[9:19am: Piper Mtn. North Summit/Piper-Whiteface Link]
From here, I was definitely going to hit the south peak of Piper Mountain to connect the dots from a previous hike, but I was also flirting with hitting Swett and/or Whiteface, too. That flirting was quickly extinguished when I realized the trail was much less traveled at this point, and snowshoes would have been a better option.
[9:26am: Piper Mtn. South Summit]
I made it to the south summit, snapped a few photos, and decided to save the other trails for another day. At this point, it was lovely out - still cold, in fairness, but sunny and beautiful. I was enjoying the view when I realized that the sweat on the rear end of my pants was officially frozen... time to get moving again!
[9:36am: Piper Mtn. North Summit/Piper Mtn. Trail]
Back at the North Summit, I admired the view towards Belknap Mountain before starting my descend via the Piper Mountain Trail. It was ledgy up top, with a nice view of Kearsarge (south) ahead. Overall, with spikes, footing was good! Further down, the trail left Lakes Region Conservation Trust Property, and eventually paralled the New Hampshire State Forest boundary. At this point of the day, I was HUNGRY. I had another sandwich in my pack, but I was too close to the car to stop (this is not true, and I should have ate it when I was at the viewpoint, but I was stubborn as per usual).
Down low, the trail crosses a brook on a bridge. The brook was frozen over, but I could hear the running water underneath, which was fun!
[10:09am: Carriage Road]
The Piper Mountain Trail terminates at the Carriage Road, which leads back to the parking area, first over a bridge and then uphill to the gate.
[10:12am: End of Hike]
Back at the car, I changed my clothes and reflected on what a lovely hike that was! Although shorter than I had initially planned/flirted with, it was an excellent loop that I would absolutely do again (after I hike all the trails in the range, of course). It was now a toasty 15 degrees! I flirted with skiing the second half of the day somewhere, but Sarah and I had plans to ski at Ragged Mountain the next day, so I headed home for a nice, relaxing afternoon.
Step-by-Step
- Park at Lower Carriage Road parking.
- Start hike on orange-blazed Gunstock Mtn. Trail.
- At jct., turn left onto green-blazed Winter Shortcut.
- At terminus, turn right onto white-blazed Ridge Trail.
- Follow signs to Gunstock Mtn. Summit, continue on yellow-blazed Brook Trail.
- At jct., turn right onto white-blazed Saddle Trail.
- At jct., continue onto blue-blazed Blue Trail.
- From summit of Belknap Mountain, turn left onto white-blazed White Trail.
- At jct., turn left onto orange-blazed Old Piper Trail.
- At jct., continue onto green-blazed Piper-Whiteface Link.
- At South Peak of Piper Mountain, turn around.
- At jct., turn left onto red-blazed Piper Mtn. Trail.
- At terminus, turn left onto Carriage Road and return to car.
"Gunstock Mtn. Trail" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This orange-blazed trail leads from the lower end of Carriage Rd. to the summit of Gunstock Mtn. and makes possible a loop hike including Gunstock, Belknap, and Piper Mens. with descent via Piper Mtn. Trail. Grades are steady and occasionally steep. Gunstock Mtn. Trail departs Carriage Rd. at a sign on the left (north) side, 0.3 mi. from Belknap Mtn. Rd. and 60 yd. beyond the gate; parking is available on the left just before the gate.
Leaving the road, the trail climbs steadily northeast and then north up a minor southwestern ridge of Gunstock Mtn., passing through a stone wall at 0.3 mi. It rises into ledgy oak woods, bearing right (northeast) at 0.6 mi. At 0.7 mi. it bears right again where green-blazed Winter Short Cut diverges left. (This alternate route, less ledgy than the main trail, ascends steeply for 0.3 mi. to Ridge Trail, 35 yd. below that trail's junction with Gunstock Mtn. Trail.) [...]. Just above, an obscure path leads 20 yd. right to a ledge with an improved view south, and then white-blazed Ridge Trail joins from the left (sign). Blazed in both white and orange, the combined trails pass an outlook to the east and climb steadily to a junction with Brook Trail on the right and turn left; in another 40 yd. the three combined trails, now marked in orange, white and yellow, emerge at the summit beside the Safety Services building of Gunstock Mtn. Resort's ski area. The top of the ski slopes a short distance ahead offers fine views. To the right, a ski trail leads 30 yd. down to the upper terminus of Brook Trail.
Combined Gunstock Mtn. Trail and Ridge Trail, and Brook Trail begin the descend behind the left side of the Safety Services building and adjacent restroom (signs; orange, white, and yellow blazes).
"Saddle Trail" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This very short, white-blazed trail, also a segment in Belknap Range Trail, connects the col between Belknap Mtn. and Gunstock Mtn. with Brook Trail. Leaving the junction with Overlook Trail and Blue Trail in the col, it crosses the flat sag and climbs moderately to the junction where Brook Trail enters on the right.
"Blue Trail" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This blue-blazed trail runs from the upper parking lot on Carriage Rd. to the summit of Belknap Mtn. It follows the extension of the carriage road past the warden's garage and the junctions with Warden's (Green) and Red trails on the right, descends slightly to cross a brook, and then diverges right and climbs to the Belknap-Gunstock col at 0.6 mi. Here, orange-blazed Overlook Trail continues straight while white-blazed Saddle Trail diverges left for Gunstock Mtn. Blue Trail, now coinciding with Belknap Range Trail, turns right and climbs, crossing a meadow with a limited outlook to Gunstock Mtn. at 0.7 mi. It passes a cleared outlook north on the left at 1.0 mi. and continues at easier grades up through coniferous woods to the summit. Descending, Blue Trail starts near the northeast side of the summit's fire tower.
"White Trail" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This white-blazed trail ascends to the summit of Belknap Mtn. via the Belknap-Piper col. It begins on Carriage Rd. about 0.2 mi. below the upper parking area, just below the highest bridge; there is no parking here. White Trail ascends 0.2 mi. to a point about 50 yd. below the pass between Belknap Mtn. and Piper Mtn. and turns left where orange-blazed Old Piper Trail continues straight to the pass and then turns right to Piper Mtn. White Trail winds up a relocated section to an outlook to the south and west on the right at 0.6 mi. from the upper parking area. Here, the trail turns sharply left and reaches an excellent outlook to the southeast, where it turns left again. White Trail soon swings right and climbs steadily, passing through some beautiful, shady coniferous woods, to the junction with East Gilford Trail, which enters from the right on the ledges at 1.1 mi. The two trails, which also coincide with Belknap Range Trail in this segment ascend together (now blazed in both white and yellow) at na easy grade leading north. They soon swing right onto a relocated section around a communications tower and then rejoin the original route and follow it under a power line to the summit and fire tower.
Descending, White Trail and East Gilford Trail begin at the summit ledge on the south side of the fire tower, they follow a power line for 70 yd. and then diverge left onto the relocation.
"Old Piper Trail" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This orange-blazed trail ascends Piper Mtn. from White Trail 0.4 mi. from the upper parking area on Carriage Rd. and 50 yd. below the Belknap-Piper col. It turns right upon reaching the col, and in 30 yd. it passes a junction on the left with the green-blazed Round Pond-Piper Link, which joins Belknap Range Trail at the bottom of Boulder Trail and continues onto Round Pond. Old Piper Trail ascends at easy grades for 0.2 mi. and then climbs moderately through woods and over ledges, passing an excellent outlook east over the Moulton Brook valley at 0.3 mi. It emerges on open ledges by an east-facing rock throne at the north summit of Piper Mtn., where it meets Piper Mtn. Trail and Piper-Whiteface Link.
"Piper Mtn. Trail" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This red-blazed trail provides direct access to Piper Mtn. from the lower end of Carriage Rd. Grades are mostly moderate. The trailhead on the right (south) side of Carriage Rd. is 0.4 mi. from Belknap Mtn. Rd., just beyond a bridge over Gunstock Brook. Parking is available 0.1 mi. below the trailhead (on the left, just before the gate) or 0.1 mi. above it (a pull-off on the right); parking is not permitted at the trailhead itself.
Leaving Carriage Rd., Piper Mtn. Trail soon swings left and crosses a footbridge over a brook; then it ascends rather steeply along the blue-blazed boundary of Belknap Mtn. State Forest. At 0.2 mi. the grade eases as the trail enters private land that has been selectively logged. At 0.6 mi. the trail crosses a muddy logging road (go straight across, following signs and blazes), leaves the logged area, and ascends through mixed forest. At 0.8 mi. Piper Mtn. Trail swings left and climbs through a ledgy area, passing a restricted outlook northwest. It continues climbing over ledges and through patches of oak woods, with several turns; follow blazes and cairns carefully. Passing a good view southwest to Mt. Kearsarge at 1.1 mi., the trail continues up through spruce forest and emerges on open ledges at the north summit of Piper Mtn. A stone chair here offers a view seat. The trail continues another 25 yd. across open ledges to a second rock throne, with an excellent view east. Orange-blazed Old Piper Trail joins from the left (north) and green-blazed Piper-Whiteface Link joins from the right (south). Descending, Piper Mtn. Trail drops northwest into the woods from the west-facing rock throne; look for a fingerline cairn with a red blaze.
