Bayle Mountain (Ossipee Range)
Hike Type: Out-and-Back
Distance: 2.82 miles
Elevation: 883 feet
Time: 1 hours, 42 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: Ossipee 10
Hiking Challenges: Ossipee 10
The Hike
Sunday Funday! I'm really, either consciously or sub-consciously, trying to make the most of what's left of my summer. I decided I'd head back up to the Ossipees today to get two more peaks toward my Ossipee 10! I was up and out around 4:00am, hit EVERY SINGLE RED LIGHT in the city of Boston, hit up a disappointing Cumberland Farms (apparently there's three in Rochester, NH, and I picked the wrong one), got breakfast at a slightly less disappointing Dunkin, watched a nice sunrise from the drive, and had a lovely last few miles of driving on a dirt road before hitting the signed parking area for Bayle Mountain! The end of the road had a few narrow spots, but nothing too bad. The parking lot clearly asks for diagonal parking, which I appreciated.
Outside the car it was a quiet, bug-free morning. I was the only car here, but that was not surprising considering the time of day. I had not used the bathroom yet which was worrisome, but otherwise I was doing good! 61 degrees on this morning, and I was off!
The hike starts by following the road a bit further, paralleing the Lovell River (quite pretty, I was a big fan), followed by a sharp turn onto an old, gated road. The road passes a small clearing (I assume from logging) and continues along with a decent amount of other roads joining and leaving - I stayed on the one that was most-defined and least-grassy no problem.
The sun began to poke through the trees as the road meandered about, passing some impressive glacial erratics on the left before crossing a small bridge over a stream. As per usual, I took some spider webs to the face, too. On the positive, there were a lot of mushrooms all around!
Near a height-of-land on the road, the actual Bayle Mountain Trail is marked by a red blaze and cairn, leading left on a soft footpath that feels new. I noticed a wet-cardboard/distant wildfire smoke smell around here, but thankfully the skies above still looked clear with just a few clouds. It was so delightfully cool and quiet in these woods.
The Bayle Mountain Trail followed a spine as some birds started to wake up and start singing. Eventually, the spine fizzles out and the trail comes to a bouldery area where the real climb begins!
Higher up, there were some very obstructed tree views toward other Ossipee mountains - this would probably be beautiful (and a little sketchy in the footing) in the winter when leaves are down.
A few scrambles and slabs were in the upper sections before the trail starts to get more scrubby and flatten out. This little mountain definitely packed a punch! The suddenly super humid air didn't help, either. I passed the world's loudest woodpecker, too.
The tree views became partial views, the trail became slabbier, and suddenly it opens up to a big summit area. The trail here is super hard to find - it was almost a "choose your own adventure" situation. The views themselves were fantastic, though! It was fun to see Mts. Shaw and Faraway, and then way further up into the whites (I particularly enjoyed seeing the Carter-Moriah range. The only sounds I could here from the summit were chirping insects and a rare car on route 16. I was so lucky to be fully alone. It was a bit hazy out, which explained the smell from before, but views were stunning regardless.
It was 70 degrees when I left the summit at 7:35am - a big difference from the trailhead! I noticed a good amount of drill holes around the summit area - maybe from survey work, or an old structure? I had to follow the AllTrails tract to stay on-trail up top, but once back into the woods it was smooth sailing.
The crazy, evil red squirrels were waking up, along with their tretcherous counterparts, gnats. Once back on the spine I could hear all the little critters were now awake and off to work, and I knew I was getting close to the car when I could hear the Lovell River again.
Back at the trailhead, I saw there was a new car, but I didn't see anyone so... who knows! Interestingly enough, it was still 61 degrees at the trailhead! Maybe the river kept the air cool? Again, who knows! I changed my clothes (to my dismay the clean shirt I brought was stinky...) and started the half-hour drive to the Mt. Shaw Trail trailhead to hike up the comically named Big Ball Mountain!
Step-By-Step
- Park at Bayle Mountain Trailhead parking area.
- Hike upstream on gravel road.
- At bridge, turn sharply right onto woods road through gate.
- Continue to follow the best-defined woods road.
- At cairn and red blaze, turn left onto Bayle Mountain Trail.
- Follow Bayle Mountain Trail to summit.
- At summit, turn around and retrace steps to car.
"Bayle Mountain (1,845 ft.)" from Southern New Hampshrie Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
This small, ledgy peak, which is almost in the center of the Ossipee Mtns. ring dike complex, offers excellent views in all directions from its bare summit, including an unusual and unique perspective on the higher summits of the range. In May 2015, a forest fire burned 275 acres on the mountain over a five-day period, but as of mid-2019 the upper slopes and summit had recovered beautifully, with only a few signs of the blaze remaining. The route to Bayle Mtn. consists of an approach on a snowmobile trail and a steep an drugged climb up the unofficial red-blazed Bayle Mtn. Trail.
From NH 16, 2.4 mi. south of its junction with NH 25 in West Ossipee, follow Pine Hill Rd., a good gravel road, west for 3.3 mi., and then turn right onto Conner Pond Rd. In another 0.6 mi. turn right onto Marble Rd., narrow but sound, and drive 0.6 mi. to a signed, designated parking pull-off on the right, just before a bridge over Lovell River and directly opposite a cabin. Do not park in front of any gates or in any spot that obstructs the road.
The route described below is entirely on private land and has been the subject of a dispute regarding access in the past. The landowner has graciously given permission for the description to appear in this guide. Please stay on the marked trail and respect the land; unauthorized trail maintenance is prohibited.
"Unofficial Bayle Mtn. Trails" from Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, 5th Ed. (2021)
From the parknig pull-off, continue up Marble Rd. a very short distance and turn sharply right onto an unsigned snowmobile trail with an orange gate, just before the bridge over Lovell River. The wide trail, with good footing, leads northeast, then north, with minor ups and downs; old woods roads join from the left at 0.1 mi. and from the right at 0.4 mi. Bear right at a prominent fork (arrow) at 0.5 mi. At 0.7 mi., at a high spot, Bayle Mtn. Trail leaves left at a new location, 0.1 mi. south of its former trailhead (now closed); the entrance to the trail is marked by a cairn and small sign.
This section of the route, on a footpath, is very lightly maintained and requires care to follow, especially in its middle portion and when leaving the summit. Pay close attention to the blazes, small cairns, and occasional flagging.
Bayle Mtn. Trail ascends moderately northwest across the slope for 0.2 mi.; then it turns left at the base of a boulder field where the former route comes in on the right (in reverse, turn right here). Now marked with faded red blazes, the trail ascends steeply with rough footing, winding through an area of large glacial boulders. At 1.1 mi. it climbs a very steep, slippery ledge beside a large slab; an overgrown bypass route is on left. The main trail continues up through teh woods and across semi-open ledges, marked by small cairns. It reaches a high rock wall, scrambles up the right side, and then makes a short traverse along the edge of the wall (use caution). Above the wall, the trail levels briefly and then climbs moderately, breaking out into the open and ascending easily up broad ledges (not marked) to the bare summit at 1.4 mi.
The stretch between entering onto the ledges and the summit is not marked, so hikers should make note of where they emerge from the woods onto an open ledge ramp. The trail leaves the summit by descending along the prominent ramp on the south side and then bearing right at a turn; a small cairn sits beside a dead tree stub several yards ahead.
