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About

Mt. Roberts
Moultonborough, NH

Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below.

Looking down the Mt. Roberts Trail

Route: Mt. Roberts Trail

After my unsuccessful attempt at hiking Quarry Mountain the day before, I wasn't overly inspired to go hiking. Nonetheless, I decided to do something nearby.

The previous time I hiked Mt. Roberts, I started at the hiker parking lot on Route 171 - way too much of a hike just to get to the trailhead, in my opinion. I had often read about parking at the nearby bottling plant, as if it was an unofficial parking area. Trying it out myself, I was surprised to see a signed hiking parking lot near the plant, alongside the road, only a few minutes from the Mt. Roberts Trail trailhead.

The trail hadn't used in recent days, however it was still for the most part easy to follow - drifting off the center of it, however, meant postholing - even with snowshoes.

The ledge area was nice, just as I had remembered it - the views from here are amongst the best in the Lakes Region.

At the top of the ledges, I somehow lost the trail. There was very little snow my previous time on the trail, so I was able to follow the blazes painted on the ledges. Just before the woodline, the trail does a sharp left turn where it seems as if it's actually going straight into the woods. I bushwacked around a bit, finally finding the trail after poking around for a few minutes.

The views from the summit were strong (though not as good as the ledges) - Mt. Washington was sticking up in the background.

The descent was non-eventful - just great views throughout the ledge area. Seeing that part of the fence was down and that others had done it at some point, I cut cross the pasture at the bottom, replacing a longer woods walk with a nice scenic field walk.

Hopefully spring is on the way!


Hike Ratings
Getting To Trailhead: Easy
Destination: Mt. Roberts
Length: Moderate
Steepness: Moderate
Navigation: Moderate
Views: Excellent
Crowds: Minimal


Hike Stats
Date Hiked: Thursday, April 3, 2008
Hike Commenced: 3:49 PM
Parking Elevation: 1,240'
Destination: Mt. Roberts
Ascent Commenced: 3:56 PM
Summit Reached: 5:14 PM
Time Elapsed: 01:18
Trailhead Elevation: 1,250'
Summit Elevation: 2,582'
Distance: 2.5 miles
Vertical Gain: 1,407'
Hike Ended: 6:33 PM
Hike Time Elapsed: 02:44
Hike Distance: 5 miles
Hike Vertical Gain: 1,582'



Mt. Roberts Trail trailhead near the horse barn


Looking at the Sandwich Range, from the Sandwich Dome to Mt. Passaconaway, from the Mt. Roberts summit.




Directions to trailhead: Take Route 109 South from Route 25. Bear left onto Route 171. Shortly thereafter, take a left onto Ossipee Park Road. The small hiker parking lot is located just after the gatehouse, on the right. Continue on the road on foot, taking a left at the intersection. The Mt. Roberts Trail trailhead is located at the corner of the field near the barn.

Back to Mt. Roberts Profile


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