Trail Tour

This section of the proposed New England Trail would follow the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail  from the Massachusetts border to the summit of Mount Monadnock. It would include the bare summits of three mountains as well as attractive woodland and cascading brooks. 

W-15.0 Little Monadnock Mountain and Rhododendron State Park
Little Monadnock Mountain offers fine views from nearly 2000 foot high ledges. Rhododendron State Park, located on the mountain, supports the northernmost significant stand of native Rhododedron in New England. 

W-15.1 Troy center
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail passes through this quaint and classic New England town common. 

W-15.2 Gap Mountain

Gap mountain offers fine views from its bald peaks and excellent blueberry picking.

W-15.3 Mount Monadnock
Mount Monadnock is the most prominent peak of southern New England. At 3,165 feet high, the mountain is nearly 1000 feet higher than anything else within 30 miles. Its rocky, exposed summit offers expansive views in all directions. A number of hiking trails cross the mountain. 

Mount Monadnock is the nexus of the proposed New England Trail; from its summit each of the proposed trail branches--North, West, and East--radiate out. From the summit, the East Branch descends into the Contocook River Valley and ascends the Wapack Range; the north branch traverses a highland ridge to Mount Sunapee via the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway; and the west branch follows the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail south into the highlands of central Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley. 

Resources

New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation
Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests
Appalachian Mountain Club Berkshire Chapter
Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
Quabbin to Cardigan Conservation Collaborative
NPS brochure for National Scenic Trail proposal
U.S. Congress New England National Scenic Trail Designation Act
Rhododendron State Park
Map of Rhododendron State Park and trails
SPNF Gap Mountain
Monadnock State Park
Mount Monadnock State Park map
Harris Center for Conservation Education
Monadnock Conservancy

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To North Branch To East Branch