Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide
Appalachian Mountain Club
New Hampshire is well-known for its famous 4,000-footers, a collection of 48 peaks in the White Mountains that attract climbers from all around the world. These are well documented in Appalachian Mountain Club's (AMC) White Mountain Guide. While these peaks are indeed beautiful, challenging, formidable, and even deadly, a whole world of hiking exists well south of the higher summits.
Southern New Hampshire -- generally designated in guidebook parlance as the territory south of state route 25 -- offers some of the most interesting, diverse, and scenic hiking anywhere. I don't just say that because I live here and I'm biased; I've been exploring southern New Hampshire for decades.
In this part of the state you'll find everything that you will in the Whites on a smaller scale -- sweeping summit views, wild forests, waterfalls, tranquil lakes and ponds, and pockets of solitude within this more populated region.
AMC's Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide (and its companion map) collects these outdoor experiences into a comprehensive package. Mt. Monadnock isn't the only place to visit down here; there is so much more! The 6th edition of this essential guidebook, published in 2025, is the largest ever, due in part to the recent boom in both land conservation and trail building. Southern New Hampshire now has so many outdoor spaces to explore that's it's difficult to cover them all but I've tried to include as many as possible in the 6th edition to really set it apart from previous editions. It is a whole new book!
Order the book and companion map
Updates and corrections to the 6th edition
Below are updates and corrections for trails in the 6th edition since work on the book was completed:
- Section Two. Due to a typesetting error, at the top of the left-hand pages in Section Two, the geographic area is incorrectly listed as "Mt. Monadnock and Southwest New Hampshire". It should say "Mt. Cardigan and Mt. Kearsarge Region". The headings in the other four sections of the book are correct.
- Page 87, Wapack Trail. In May 2025, Friends of the Wapack relocated a section the trail in New Ipswich. It now runs from the parking lot across from the entrance to Windblown on NH 123/124 to the existing route of the trail under the powerlines, where a spur path also diverges for Kidder Mtn. This relocation eliminates a road walk along the shoulder of Turnpike Rd.
- Page 102, Shannon's Trail (Crotched Mtn.). The view platform 0.4 mi. up the trail at its jct. with Gregg Trail is now named the James C. Piet Overlook, in honor of a longtime disability advocate and former chairman of the Crotched Mtn. Foundation Board of Directors. A memorial plaque at the site was dedicated in September 2024.
- Page 156, Carter-Gibbs Trail. In late 2025, the current landowner at the start of Carter-Gibbs Trail on Hardy Country Rd. in Groton closed the original trailhead and the adjacent small parking area due to people being disrespectful of the property. The trailhead has been moved 0.2 mi. further up Hardy Country Rd. (sign), just before reaching the gate to the former Maxam facility. Hikers are asked to park down at Sculptured Rocks Geologic Site on Sculptured Rocks Rd. To access Carter-Gibbs Trail, follow the snowmobile trail from the back of the lot, then follow Hardy Country Rd. uphill to the trailhead. This adds 0.8 mi. one-way and 340 ft. elevation gain.
- Page 164, Skyland Trail (Mt. Cardigan). A short relocation done in late 2024 has moved a beginning section of the trail away from private land.
- Page 170, Elwell Trail. In early 2025, local volunteer trail maintainers made several short relocations of the trail along the Bear Mtn. ridge that eliminate some of the steeper pitches. A new, short, yellow-blazed spur path (sign: "Cardigan View") near the summit of Bear Mtn. was also cut. This path leads to an open ledge with a view of Mt. Cardigan.
- Page 196, Winslow Trail; Page 198, Barlow Trail (Mt. Kearsarge). In late 2024 a new, plowed winter parking area opened at the entrance to Winslow State Park on Kearsarge Mtn. Rd., just before the gate. This eliminates the need to park on the road by the gate.
- Page 204, Red Trail (Wellmans Hill). The connecting path to Hilliard Rd. was relocated in early 2025 to avoid a wet area. At the time of relocation the route was marked with green and pink surveyor's tape.
- Page 236, Epsom Town Forest. In early 2025, the Epsom Conservation Commission published a brand new and completely updated map of the town forest. The trail names indicated on this new map had not yet been decided on at the time the guide was being compiled and as such the names in the book to not match those on the map. The following trail names in the guide now correspond to the names on the map: Tarlton Rd. = Tarlton Rd. Trail; Neville Ridge Scout Foot Trail = Neville Peak Trail; Neville Ridge Trail = Neville Peak Trail; Mill Sluice Foot Trail = Sluice Trail; Mill Pond Trail = now unnamed on map; Blue Trail = Fort Mtn. Vista Trail (divided into N and S segments); Orange Trail = Vista Loop. Hikers can download the map from the Epsom Conservation Commission website.
- Page 249, West End Farm Trail. The city of Concord is exploring options to significantly relocate the trail between Currier Rd. and District 5 Rd. This would remove it from the current alignment that coincides with Swope Park Connector and Carter Hill Connector between those two roads. Refer to the Concord Conservation Commission Trails Subcommittee website for updates.
- Page 256, Lakes Region suggested hikes. The reference for Red Trail to Cogswell Mtn. incorrectly lists the page number as p. 299. This is Red Trail in the Belknap Range. The correct page number for Cogswell Mtn. is 324.
- Page 342, Mt. Bet Trail (Mt. Bet). This trail was almost completely relocated off its original route in the summer of 2025. The revised trail stats are below and a new description follows.
Cumulative from Marsh Hill Rd. (840 ft.) to:
Spur path to south ledges (1,330 ft.) 0.8 mi. 490 ft. 0:40
South ledges via spur path (1,340 ft.) 1.0 mi. 500 ft. 0:45
Chesley Rd. (930 ft.) 1.8 mi. 490 ft. (rev. 400 ft.) 1:10
"This red-blazed trail follows a footpath that was constructed in 2025 to replace the former trail that followed a rough snowmobile route. It climbs up and over the western shoulder of Mt. Bet; a spur path provides access to the south ledges near the trailless summit. From the parking area, Mt. Bet Trail briefly follows a woods road, crosses a small stream (unreliable water), bears left onto the snowmobile route, then quickly turns right into the woods at a trail sign. Now a footpath, Mt. Bet Trail ascends at mostly easy grades to its height-of-land at 0.8 mi., where it crosses a woods road (here, a red-blazed spur path on the right follows this road to the south ledges in 0.15 mi.). Mt. Bet Trail now descends via switchbacks, moderately at first, then gradually. At 1.4 mi., the trail bears right onto the snowmobile route (in reverse, bear left into the woods at a trail sign) and follows it to a gate and summer-only parking area along Chesley Rd. This point is 0.5 mi. northwest of Devil’s Den Rd. and 0.25 mi. southeast of the end of the maintained northern portion of Chesley Rd. at its junction with Edgerly Rd. (Refer to the Collins Family Forest section on p. 337 regarding vehicle access to Devil’s Den Rd. and Chesley Rd.)"
- Page 370, Big Island Trail (Pawtuckaway State Park). The southern trailhead has been impacted by the construction of an RV dump station along the main park road. This trailhead will be moved slightly to the north in 2025. This will not impact trail distance.
- Page 372, Great Brook Trail (Great Brook Trail/Burbank Woods Preserve). The easternmost brook crossing now has a footbridge.
- Page 388, Whippoorwill Trail (Parker Mtn.). Where the trail leaves the snowmobile route 1.4 mi. from the parking, there is now a sign: "Parker Mt. Ledges and Summit".
- Page 388, Whippoorwill Trail (Parker Mtn.). The driving directions to the trailhead should state "In 0.8 mi., bear left onto Evans Mtn. Rd.", not right.
Press and reviews for the 6th edition
Press and reviews for the 5th edition
Reader comments
- "The guy who wrote this is an underpaid trail genius -- buy multiple copies for friends and relatives so he can live to write the next one!" — Paul-William
- "Just received my copy. Excellent upgrade to my ancient AMC guide!" — Matt
- "It’s AWESOME!! Got it on Amazon a few weeks ago!" — Jill
- "Love it! This is the 3rd hike we've used it for -- today was Osgood Hill -- wow!" — Grace
