Whiteface, Swett, and Piper Mountains (Belknap Range)

Whiteface, Swett, and Piper Mountains (Belknap Range)

Hike Type: H

Distance: 7.74 miles

Elevation: 1,998 feet

Time: 3 hours, 4 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Belknap Range Redliner; Belknap Range Grid

Parking: "Whiteface Trailhead" on Google Maps. Parking on side of road for a few cars at the end of Belknap Mountain Road.

 

The Hike 

After a wonderful day yesterday celebrating Linnea's birthday as a gaggle of Hannah Montanas, I was on my way home from Jay a little after 7:00am with the intention of stopping back in the Belknaps for a little more exploring! My drive was nice and easy on a bluebird morning. I was a little sleepy, a little sore, and probably a little hungover, but in great spirits! It took exactly one Hamilton soundtrack plus seven more minutes of driving to make it from Jay to the Whiteface Trailhead, which was a win! I was at the trailhead at 9:30am. It was 44 degrees and mostly sunny, and I was ready to go!

[9:35am - Start of Hike]

The hike starts at the end of Belknap Mountain Road, at a Class VI road sign. On the Belknap Range Trails map, it looks like the Class VI road goes for a while and can actually link up with Whiteface via another Class VI road or even an unmaintained trail, but I've never seen much info online about it. I walked past a home and the official trailhead is between that home and another private propery. It is WELL signed!

[9:37am - Whiteface Mountain Trail]

My favorite sign reads "Private Property. Quiet Zone. Dogs on Lead" - I assume they meant leash. The trail follows a TALL fense with "no tesspassing" and "area under video surveillance" signs and soon comes to a more official looking trailhead with an informational kiosk.

"Piper Mountain Conservation Area

This 84 acre woodland was generously donated to the Lakes Region Conservation Trust in loving memory of Bud and Doe Slusher by their daughter and son-in-law, Vicky and Chuck Brox. The trail leads to the public lands on Whiteface Mountain and to the open ledges of Piper Mountain and its trail connecting to Belknap Mountain. We hope you enjoy the well-maintained trails, spectacular views, vegetation and wildlife available here"

"Welcome

This conservation property is open to the public for low-impact activities during daylight hours. Help us protect this property: Camping, overnight use, fires, biking, and motor vehicles are not permitted. Please carry out what you carried in"

from the Trailhead Kiosk

There was also an information sheet about the Belknap 12 patch, one of my earlier patches!

A bunch of little songbirds and a morning dove sun to me while I climbed up the reasonable grade, which felt like an old road with leafy footing, with occasional blue blazes. The trail turned onto a flat spot onto another old road, continued to climb, crossed a small stream, and then continued to climb again. The forest began to change from deciduous trees to coniferous trees as the trail eased up and got slabbier, flattening out before the junction with the Piper-Whiteface Link.

[9:52am - Whiteface Mountain Trail/Piper-Whiteface Link]

I turned right to continue on the Whiteface Mountain Trail and gently descended past a trail runner into lovely, sunny, open area. The trail is joined by a snowmobile/ATV trail (I assume) here, and with that came muddy ruts and grass, but thankfully the grass was still flat from the winter (ticks are always on my mind). Thankfully, the muddy ruts were all avoidable with well-beaten side paths.

Climbing again, the trail split for a moment - I went right to follow the AllTrails map, but it would turn out that both sides rejoined just a few yards further down the trail. It looked like I might have missed a view, but I'll check that out on the way back! From here, the trail descended again, passed a few more muddy ruts, offered a tree view to piper, and started the final, super rocky climb up Whiteface Mountain. The trail split again, and I stayed right again, leading me to the summit area!

[10:10am - Whiteface Mountain Summit]

There are two summit areas on Whiteface - the lower with the MUCH better views, and the upper with obstructed views. Both are in the open and wonderfully sunny! The lower summit was occupied by a group of four women having a wonderful time (we exchanged quick "hellos") as I passed on to the higher summit area, which had a few views towards low-lying hills and through the trees to Piper. It looked like the ATV trail continued down the far side of the mountain, while a slightly beaten footpath descends the back side.

Back at the lower s ummit, there was a stunning view out to Moosilauke, which had just a coating of snow left on its open summit. Franconia Ridge was on the right, with the Sandwich Range poking out just before the shoulder of Piper/Belknap. It was especially fun to see the 4000-Footer Whiteface from this Whiteface! And of course there was a lovely view to Piper ahead. The women asked me if I was doing "the three" today, and I paused, not sure which three until they said "Swett and Piper?," to which I said "yes!" They said "well we'll see you again!"

[10:15am - Whiteface Mountain Trail]

Now heading towards Piper Mountain, I took the other half of both splits. The higher one was just a rocky, gravelley trail, and the second had a slightly obstructed view towards the Sandwich Range. I noticed one of the muddy ruts had gelatenous frog eggs bobbing about, but it also looked like they might dry up soon. I made it to the low point and climbed up, past the nice open area and some older "PIPER FOOT TRAIL" and "NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES" signs to the Piper-Whiteface Link, with LRCT signs welcoming hikers to their land (I wonder whose land I was just on?).

[10:30am - Piper-Whiteface Link]

I crossed paths with a few other hikers as I started my journey up Piper, which started in relatively flat, open woods. The sun felt just wonderful. The trail was now a footpath instead of an old road, which was also a nice change. I crossed a few markers for the "Town of Gilford Conservation Area - No Motorized Vehicles" and began to climb!

The climb up Piper is mostly slabby with a few thigh-steep stretches. Thankfully, the slabs were super dry and had wonderful grip. The forest gradually began to change over to conifers and it became shadier and cooler, but now that I was huffing and puffing, the change was welcomed!

There were views opening up behind me as I slogged up, but I was going to save them for my return trip. I crossed paths with a couple and their three insane dogs that they might have been trying to train? hard to tell. The trail continued to get prettier and prettier, and soon enough I was at the junction with the real target for today - the Vista Trail! I decided to do this before summiting Piper just in case I ran out of gas. Onward! 

[10:45am - Vista Trail]

I had a vauge memory of exploring the upper part of the Vista Trail at some point in the past becuase it sure looked familiar, but if I did I didn't go far. The trail starts mostly in the open with cairns and blazes on rocks marking the trail - it felt much less traveled. I caught up to and passed a friendly couple as I easily descended along the open slabs with occasional wooded patches in between - it was really quite lovely! There was a final longer (still short) wooded stretch before the trail really staretd to descend down the shoulder.

From the top of the shoulder, there were some wonderful views to nearby ponds and the interior Belknaps and the views continued to reveal Belknap Mountain as well. The trail descended steeply on slabs (thankfully with dry, good grip) before reentering the woods and descending even steeper on dirt, soon entering land owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. 

The footpath had pretty leafy footing and I managed to roll my ankle pretty hard (thankfully I have strong ankles, becuase if I didn't this roll would have been a PROBLEM). I noticed some older dark green blazes, too? (UPDATE FROM THE FUTURE: This stretch of trail used to be the "Swett Mountain Trail" and blazed green according to old maps).

The descent momentarily mellowed in an open area with tree views before STEEPLY descending again, scrambling down a rock pile before hitting the long, flat col betweel Piper and Swett. I passed what looked like an exploded bird (with some yellow feather, Seek said it was from a northern flicker). I meandered for a bit, passing an unmapped, unblazed trail on the right that descended off the ridge, and later entered the Sweet Mountain Conservation Area. A sign read:
"PRIVATE PROPERTY. Welcome to the Swett Mountain Conservation Area. Access for day trips has been made available to the public by the owners. Please treat the property with care and respect. Pedestrian Access Only - Hikers Welcome. No vehicles allowed. Discharge of firearms by permission only. NO CAMPING. NO FIRES. Please help keep this land open to the public. Report any violations to Charlie Mitchell, PO Box 11, Gilmanton NH 03237 - 603-581-2696."

Following the sign, I rambled along the ridge a bit longer and then hit the final push, which really wasn't much of a push. There were rocky slabs bordered with moss - it was super pretty! There was an obstructed view to what I think was Suncook Mountain and Belknap Mountain from a different angle.

[11:20am - Swett Mountain Summit]

The trail continued up, past what might have been a summit cairn? (no signs or anything else to indicate the high point, but it sure looked it!). The trail continued past to another area with views south towards Pack Monadnock, I believe. I took a few photos here, but had a quick turn around to continue my journey!

The best part of the return trip was simply that I was hiking away from the sun instead of into the sun - for both my eyes and my photos. The flat part of the return went very quickly and I was feeling the BURN on the scramble! Thankfully, the trail mellowed out after the scramble, providing some relief. I continued my climb, exiting the SPNHF land steeply and eventually hitting the lovely stretch that was similar to the Pumpelly Trail on Monadnock. I passed the same duo from before, now on their return trip, and just after I ran into the quartet of women from Whiteface! We exchanged "hello agains!" and moved along. I also crossed paths with two dirt bikes? It sure felt like they shouldn't have been there, but maybe I was being judgemental...?

Regardless, the rest of the return trip was an absolute delight, and I was even more thrilled to make it back to the Piper-Whiteface Link!

[11:59am - Piper-Whiteface Link]

I turned right to hike towards Piper's North summit, never knowing if that or the south one is the actual high point. I crossed paths with a trail runner as I enjoyed the views towards the lake and Belknap Mountain. I loved how pretty this stretch was and also how not difficult it was!

[12:06pm - Piper-Whiteface Link/Piper Mountain Trail]

I booped the top of Piper's North Summit, and started my return trip! I passed the same duo from before for a third time, they comically said "didn't we JUST see you?" - yes, I'm just crazy!

[12:14pm - Piper-Whiteface Link/Vista Trail]

I passed the junction for the Vista Trail and started to descend on the scenic slabs with wonderful grip. Apparently, I didn't spend time getting many photos of the views, but I sure did enjoy them! The last bit of slabs were slightly covered in pine needles, but they were completely fine in terms of grip. The trail left the Town of Gilford Conservation Area, mellowed out, and then came to the junction with the Whiteface Mountain Trail!

[12:25pm - Whiteface Mountain Trail]

I hit the 7-mile mark right when I got to the Whiteface Mountain Trail junction - I was HUNGRY. I zoned out for a bit and blasted off on my descent, only blacking back in to see a collapsed shed of sorts in the woods maybe 100 yards before the trail kiosk? I didn't remember seeing it before when I visited in 2022, but according to my photos it's been like that since! I again giggled at the "dogs on lead" and was soon abck at the Class VI Road!

[12:37pm - Class VI Road]

[12:39pm - End of Hike]

The road walk was short and sweet and I made it back to my car feeling great! There were five cars total now (two that were there before, mine, and two new ones). I did a quick change into dry clothes, and I was on my way home! I made it a goal to get at least two new Belknap trails in 2026, and I accomplished both this weekend - yay!

Step-by-Step

- Walk along Class VI section of Belknap Mountain Road.

- Turn left onto blue-blazed Whiteface Mountain Trail.

- At summit, turn around.

- At jct., continue straight/right onto light-green blazed Piper-Whiteface Link.

- At jct., turn right onto yellow-blazed Vista Trail.

- At Swett Mountain/terminus, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto Piper-Whiteface Link.

- At North Piper Mountain, turn around.

- At jct., turn right onto blue-blazed Whiteface Mountain Trail.

Belknap Range Map (2023)

Photo Album

Gunstock, Belknap, & Piper Mtns. via Lower Carriage Road (Belknap Range)

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.

Map of Belknap Range (2023)

Photo Album

Piper & Whiteface (Belknap Range)

Piper & Whiteface (Belknap Range)

"Okay, this is going much better than yesterday."

Hike Type: T
Distance: 4.9 miles
Elevation: 1332 feet
Time: 2 hours, 33 minutes

Hiking Challenges: Belknap Range Hiker, Summit Beer Society

The Hike 

Time to complete the Belknap Range Hiker challenge! I was feeling SORE from the events of the previous day - primarily some solid whiplash and normal leg soreness. My final destination for the day was the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, so it made sense to push through the pain to get it done! I drove to the end of the paved section of Belknap Mountain Road, got all my ducks in a row, and started the short, but sketchy gravel road walk past someone's home and then into the woods.

 

The trail starts by closely following private property lines and very clearly marked for no trespassing and making note that cameras are in use. That first bit ends at a trail kiosk welcoming hikers to the conservation land, and then more normal hiking begins. The blue trail trail is a wide trail with easy footing with only a few steeper sections, but nothing too drastic. I noticed the woods were very quiet today - just a few chipmunks doing their afternoon chores. The blue trail begins to level out and then hits a junction with the green-blazed Piper-Whiteface Link.

 

At the junction, I turned left to hike Piper first. It was clearly the harder of the two mountains elevation-wise, so I wanted to tackle that on "fresh" legs (fresh is in quotes because I'm basically a walking corpse at this point anyway). The trail meanders through some beautiful woods with grassy patches, and then hits the longer stretch of slabs. I was very nervous going up these slabs after my continual slips and falls yesterday, but the rocks were dry and had fine traction, no slipping at all.

 

As the slabs climb, the views start appearing, and they are quite lovely! Whiteface Mountain and Kearsarge South are the two mountains that stuck out to me from the first viewpoints. The trail continues to climb up one notably steep section which gives a great view, and then levels out to the summit. It was unclear where the actual summit was, so I hiked to the high point on the trail according to the topo maps and then took a break. Great views of Gunstock and Belknap, and then further with the rest of the range on the right.

 

Now it was time to backtrack - I took in some more views and quickly checked out the yellow-blazed Vista Trail. I had read on Facebook that there are some great views off of that trail, but I did not want to add too many miles/elevation to the day, so I'll save that for later. Slow and steady down the slabs, and soon enough I was back at the junction with the Whiteface Mountain Trail (blue)!

 

The trail from here descends a little more and then enters a meadow where an ATV trail joins. The trail from here wasn't my favorite - deep ruts, mud pits, and overall just not a wilderness feel. It felt like it took forever to get to the summit area, but in reality it wasn't too bad. The best part was there were plenty of frogs living their best lives in the muddy ruts. The summit of Whiteface Mountain was wide open and provided really excellent views of the Belknaps and then the Whites in the background. I spent a good amount of time on the PeakFinder app seeing what mountains I could identify. I then took a nice break where I had my summit beverage (another vodka mule), had a lovely snack of a honey stinger waffle and some prosciutto/mozzarella roll ups, and slowly got myself moving again.

 

The return trip to the blue/green junction truly felt like 5 minutes, so I'm not sure why the trip up felt so long (probably because I was tired and cranky). I wasn't complaining! The  trip down the mountain to the road also felt super short and quick - still no complaints! I took some time to dry off and change my clothes, and off to Vermont I go!

Step-By-Step

• Park at the end of the paved portion of Belknap Mountain Road.
• Walk along the gravel road, past the first house, and enter woods on left (sign points to trail).
• Start hike on blue-blazed Whiteface Mountain Trail.
• At junction, turn left onto green-blazed Piper-Whiteface Link.
• At junction with yellow-blazed Vista Trail, continue on Piper-Whiteface Link to summit of Piper Mountain.
• Turn around, retrace steps to junction with blue-blazed Whiteface Mountain Trail.
• Continue on blue-blazed Whiteface Mountain Trail to summit o
  f Whiteface Mountain.
• Turn around, retrace steps to junction with green-blazed Piper-Whiteface Link.
• Turn left to descend on blue-blazed Whiteface Mountain Trail, retrace steps to car.

Belknap Range Trail Map

Photo Album