The White Mountain Sampler of Hikes (White Mountain National Forest)

The White Mountain Sampler

I had a mission - bring Christien to the White Mountains and ideally spark an obsession with how beautiful this region is and hopefully, selfishly and selflessly, inspire a new peakbagger! I initially wanted to bring him to Mt. Pierce. Since he has hiking experience is is no stranger to Type II fun, I thought that would be a perfect first hike in the whites. Moderate grade throughout, spectacular view at the end, a little bit of zest with winter going strong. The problem was that it was going to be cold, windy, and cloudy, so I made the executive decision to pivot from one big hike to a sampler of smaller hikes, which would also show him more of the region by doing the I-93, US-3, US-302, Kancamagus Highway driving loop. We talked gear, he did some shopping, and with a 4:45am wake up, we were off!

Our drive up north was nice and easy - he was sleepy, but he was a solid trooper. We got breakfast at Hooksett (I gave the building a nice christening), and we continued on up. The sun was up by the time we reached the White Mountain Region, and the Mt. Tecumseh complex was illuminated in a stunning morning pink. I gasped when I saw the clear Franconia Ridge from the highway (and was a little cranky about doing smaller hikes, but I reminded myself it would be MUCH colder up high!), and we soon made it into the Cannon/Artsit Bluff parking lot. While everyone was trying to park closest to the lodge, I happily drove to the back of the massive parking lot and parked right at the trailhead. It was a balmy 2° out. We took our time getting suited up, and soon we were off!

Hike 1: Artist Bluff Loop

Hike Type: Loop

Distance: 1.43 miles

Elevation: 374feet

Time: 1 hour, 13 minutes (50 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: 52 Hike Challenge 2026

He soon learned that I am insufferable with my camera, stopping every few feet to take photos. We rambled along the trail that paralleled the parking lot, mostly making comments about how beautiful the trees were. I was checking in with him frequently about how he was feeling and making sure he wasn't too warm or too cold. At the sharp turn, I took off a layer before the steep but short climb to Artist Bluff!

It was a bit of a luge from folks buttsliding, but I was able to kick my spikes in to get a good enough grip to climb. About halfway up, he stopped to tell me that he needed to christen the woods immediately. I thought he was joking at first, but he was so serious. I happy threw down my pack, offered some advice, and sent him on his way, postholing through knee-deep snow to a safe place to be his most vulnerable. Not even I have had to christen the woods in the winter! Naturally, we also saw the only person of the hike during this episode, too.

After that we resumed our climb - I always forget how steep it is! I was winded, but he was fighitng a bit harder than I was. I was trying my best to balance my summit fever, the need for the climb to be over, but also being a mindful hiking companion/essential a guide. We soon made it to the top, said hello again to the other hiker, and spent a moment enjoying the view into Franconia Notch. It was sunny out with a frigid breeze and the tops of the peaks had some morning summit fog, but overall it was an absolutely stunning day!

We continued on the loop while the other hiker went back down. I forgot that there was still a bit of climbing to do after the bluff! We slowly made our way up to the first knobby view, and I definitely went faster than I should have, the poor guy was gassed (as was I, in fairness). Thankfully, the view was quiet and lovely. We descended and rose to the next knob and view, and then descended again through absolutely stunning forests to the junction with Bald Mountain. We decided to skip it - I personally didn't want to worry about 1) navigating the slabs and scrambles and 2) worrying about him navigating the slabs and scrambles. Our final descent was quick and easy and soon enough we were back at the car!

Hike 2: Mt. Willard

Hike Type: Out-and-Back

Distance: 3.27 miles

Elevation: 909 feet

Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: N/A

We got back on I-93 and onto US-3. Naturally, I was yapping about the mountains surrounding us and dropping small stories of when I climbed certain ones. He said he enjoyed the first hike, which was a huge win! I screamed when I saw the northern Presidentials from US-3, completely cloud-free with bluebird skies behind them. First, becuase they were absolutely stunning, but two, because I wanted to be up there! Again, reminding myself that the weather would still be gnarly up there... Crawford Junction was reasonably busy with cars, but nowhere near summer levels. A few parties of hikers went onto the Avalon Trail, but they all must have gone up to Avalon/Tom/Field, since we never saw them again. We got booted up for round two, I put on fresh socks and a dry buff, and we were off!

I hadn't hiked Mt. Willard in years, and I remember it really gassing me out during the climb. I was delighted to see that I am in significantly better shape and neither of us got too out of breath throughout this one. We crossed paths with hikes on their way out every few minutes, but it never felt too crazy. The monorail was in excellent shape and spikes were all that were needed. We enjoyed light conversation and each others' company as we climbed on up, passing the partially frozen Centennial Pool (we weren't sure what the sign said, so we took turns throwing snowballs at the sign until it revealed itself). 

We passed a larger group once on the final plateau and they delightfully told us that we were about to have the viewpoint to ourselves! The final bit of trail was through a spectacular winter wonderland of mostly-flat trail and soon led to the literal light at the end of the tree-tunnel. 

The view was absolutely stunning and I was blown away (he was too, but he's less crazy than I am with views and for some reason did not scream). The towering walls of Jackson/Websiter and Willey/Field hugged us in while US-302 and the Conway Scenic Railway traced a wiggling line out through the notch. The sun felt warm, there was no breeze, there were no clouds, and it truly was perfect. I took a bunch of photos, got my magsafe tripod to get a photo of the two of us, and poked around some more before my camera battery died from the cold. Around the left corner of the view we caught a nice view of the Presidentails, including Mr. Washington himself! We had hot chocolate curtosey of my JetBoil with some Rum Chata and just enjoyed being there with each other. After a nice break, a few people began to show up, and that's when we started to wrap thing up and get a move on.

The trip down felt much colder, likely due to the headwind and descending versus ascending, but it was nice and simple. We crossed paths with a few more on their way up and passed a few folks that we saw earlier who were taking their time on the descent. Soon enough, we were back crossing the trail tracks at Crawford Depot and getting ready for the scenic drive into North Conway (and to get some food!). We ended up at the Scarecrow Tavern where we got poutine as an appetizer, I got cheese steak egg rolls, and he got a grilled cheese pulled pork situation with french onion soup - we mighttttt have over indulged. We were both stuffed and sleepy afterwards, but there was more exploring to be had!

After lunch we conitnued down NH-16 and then turned onto Kancamagus Highway. I had the Lower Falls and Rocky Gorge as possible stopping points, but neither had been recently plowed, so we decided to take a peek at Sabbaday Falls. The parking area was plowed, we grabbed just our spikes (no backpacks for this short one), and got to it!

Hike 3: Sabbaday Falls

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 0.90 miles

Elevation: 98 feet

Time: 30 minutes (23 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: N/A

The Sabbaday Brook Trail was another super highway up to the falls, which were just a few minutes from the parking area. The lower viewpoint at the bottom of the falls was mostly frozen with a few windows into the moving water below and you could carefully meander around and peek into the gorge, which was really unique and beautiful. The boardwalk proper was closed for the winter, and there were a bunch of young adults up there without any foot traction. For legal reasons, I will say we did not go around the fence, but I can imagine it would have been really cool with slippery stairs. The frozen water falls would be relatively quiet except for a distant hissing of falling water through likely feet of ice, surrounded by icicles. Well worth a wintertime visit! I imagined the upper stretch of the boardwalk was trickier to navigate with snow drifts, and I can say the part of the Sabbaday Brook Trail that connects to the upper boardwalk was less-traveled, but walking towards the parking lot became more and more traveled until we were back at pavement! I did not pay the $5 day use fee, because it seemed like they were not charging in the off-season. 

Back in the car we go! We drove past the three scenic overlooks, only the middle of which was slighty plowed. The Hancock Trailhead overlook was fully plowed with a commanding view of the Osceola Complex. I continued to yap about the moutains and Christien said "so do I need to start working on these lists now?" to which I let out a maniacal giggle. Our final stop of the day was to the Lincoln Woods Trailhead, where the plan was to see the bridge and then walk until it was time to turn around! The parking lot was reasonably empty for a Sunday evening in the dead of winter. I paid the $5 fee (good thing, too, because there were two police cars there handing out tickets), we used the WARM bathrooms, and got going!

Hike 4: East Side Road & Pine Island Viewpoint via Lincoln Woods

Hike Type: Out-and-Back

Distance: 1.92 miles

Elevation: 105 feet

Time: 57 minutes (45 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: N/A

We used our spikes to get to the suspension bridge which had just a wonderful view of the frozen East Branch of the Pemigewasset River. There was one guy finishing up a nordic ski and a few other folks taking photos - just beautiful! Christien kept saying "I love a water feature!" which made me giggle. I opted to go for a walk along the East Side Road, since I'd never gone that way before and assumed it would be similar to Lincoln Woods. It was similar in that it was flat, but it did not hug the river like Lincoln Woods did, so we missed out on some of the views. That was okay, though, because we opted to explore the abanoned Pine Island Trail (which was tracked out) and found a really wonderful view looking at the river flowing downstream. We stood here for at least 10 minutes just enjoying each others' company, the stillness of the air, and the sound of the river. He loves a water feature! The trail up to there was well traveled, but snowshoes would have been helpful.

We did continue on the Pine Island Trail for maybe 10 yards, which was comprised of unconsolidated snow. We turned around at our designated turn-around time, made our way back to the East Side Road and then to Lincoln Woods. 

This was truly such a wonderful day in the mountains. The only change I think I would have made is swapping Artist Bluff for Lonesome Lake (oh, and having a lighter lunch). We stopped at the Tilt'n Diner on the way home (excellent food for excellent prices with excellent portions) and continued all the way back to Boston. He likes hiking and he likes the Whites! A fantastic day.

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