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If you want to get hiking, you’ll need to be physically and mentally prepared! These following resources are some essential guides to peak bagging in New England, with a focus on the 4000-footers.
Guides:
The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains
This book includes the history of every NH 4000 footer, multiple trail options (includes elevation gain and info on hiking nearby mountains), a winter guide which lists the safer trails to take in winter and whether or not popular parking areas are plowed or if roads are closed adding to the length of the trail, a view guide for every peak, and the last section includes a check off list, hiking records and oddities.
I’ve used this book for reference, but prefer the book mentioned above mainly because of how the information is organized. It still includes accurate and complete information on the entire White Mountain National Forest.
AMC’s White Mountain Guide Online
For only $15/yr ($12 for AMC members) you get access to trip reports, sharing your own adventures, and downloading waypoints for your route to a GPS device (GPX format). My favorite option is the interactive map to make custom routes. You create your own waypoints and once you create the map, a trail guide is created below with mileage and book time included for each section of the hike! While it isn’t the most user friendly, once you get the hang of it, it is a very useful tool.
A great resource for hiking in Maine! It includes maps, but the current 10th edition replaced the Rangeley area map for Acadia. If you are planning on hiking the 14 4000-footers in Maine, you should
Green Mountain Club’s Long Trail Guide
The five 4000-footers in Vermont are along the Long Trail as are other more popular destinations. This is a great book for those looking to thru or section hike the Long Trail, or just
The Long Trail End-to-Ender’s Guide
Long Trail End-to-Ender’s Guide helps people find services near the Long Trail and is a supplement to the The Long Trail Guide which provides trail information like maps, shelter locations and distances.
Novels:
Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure
Not Without Peril: 150 Years Of Misadventure On The Presidential Range Of New Hampshire
Mountain Voices: Stories of Life and Adventure in the White Mountains and Beyond
Online Resources:
Find trip reports, trail conditions, road closures, and more in one spot! By far, the best resource for up-to-date information on trails in New England (and even NY!)
Wondering what other recommend for winter traction? Curious if the trail is dog-friendly? Search dozens of trail conditions reports or submit your own after a hike!
Search for any peak and you will get trip reports listed by date. These are not up to date, but is a great resource to gauge what the trails may look like in the month you plan on going.
Ellozy’s New England Peakbagging Page
Forums/Groups:
Meetup.com has numerous groups for hiking in the White Mountains. Each one is unique and you may join multiple groups to have a better chance of seeing a hike you want planned.
My hiking group: Northeast Peak Baggers
Two forums that are great places to get honest advice, become inspired, and share your hiking adventures!
http://www.vftt.org/forums/index.php
There are also a couple groups on Facebook:
A search on Facebook will provide you with additional groups for more specific interests and lists.
Weather and More:
Last modified: September 2, 2017
Also the Green Mountain Club’s Day Hiker’s Guide to Vermont, which covers several peaks not on the Long Trail which are on the NEHH and/or the NEFF list.
That’s a great one to add! Thanks for mentioning it!
I was so happy to see your newsletter in my inbox this morning! I have an old dog that can’t do the scrambling hikes that he, my son, and I used to enjoy doing. This morning my dog woke me up with his intense energy on wanting to adventuring outside. My problem is that I don’t really know of easy/moderate hikes because my son only likes steep and scrambly ones. Thanks for these other resources I forgot about. Some I have, and some are new to me.
I appreciate your website and trail reports, and your timing this morning couldn’t have been better.
Please continue with your awesome work and your amazing self.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! Made my morning! I would take a look at some of the peaks on the 52 with a view list as they have a reward at the top. Morgan and Percival is a great hike that is more moderate. It has caves and ladders your son would like and bypasses for these sections for the pup! Thanks for being a great supporter of Trail to Summit!