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Home States Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire New York Rhode Island Vermont View All Lists NE 4,000 Footers NE 100 Highest NH 4,000 Footers NH 52 With A View NH Belknap Range NH Ossipee 10 Explanation of Ratings Links Ossipee Mountains Notice Search Trail Conditions Trip Log About |
Bethlehem, NH, Franconia, NH Trailheads, measurements, times, distances, and maps are all approximate and relative to the hike(s) as shown below. ![]() Looking up the North Twin Trail After staring at it from nearby South Twin a week earlier, I was eager to get to North Twin Mountain. On a cold, increasingly cloudy day, I decided to head up and get North Twin. Arriving at the 7 Dwarfs restaruant, I paid the very fair $6 parking fee (private property, plowed spaces, warm cafeteria with restroom, direct access to the snowmobile trails), and was soon on my way. Apparently, the temperature was -25 degrees. Since I was on snowmobile trails, I was able to bareboot for much of the distance to the trailhead. Arriving at Haystack Road, I finally put on my snowshoes and headed to the North Twin Trail. The North Twin Trail was, at first, fairly well broken out by backcountry skiers. Skipping the first water crossing, I followed the herd path past the entrance to the Firewarden's Trail and was breaking trail thereafter. At first, it was about 3-6" of powder. Beyond the third water crossing, the snow depths started to increase. After crossing the unbridged (but not too tough) brook crossings, the snow was closer to half a foot. Up higher, closer to a foot. By the time I reached the first viewpoint, the trail was heavily drifted and there were no signs of any previous use. The stretch between viewpoints was also heavily drifted. Arriving at the vista just beyond the summit, I was hit by the first significant winds of the day. The views were decent, though darkened by clouds. Back at the trail junction, I swapped baselayers and put on some jackets. Other than stopping to cut up blowdowns, the descent wasn't particularly notable, though the additional sunshine that poked through later was nice. Back at the Firewarden's Trail trailhead, I could see there had been a decent amount of skier traffic during the day. Following their tracks after reaching the North Twin Trail trailhead, I made my way down a herd path of sorts, which ended at the west end of the closed bridge. From there, I followed the snowmobile trail back to the 7 Dwarfs and had a hot chocolate.
![]() The North Twin Trail at the end of Haystack Road
Looking at Galehead and Owl's Head from near the North Twin Mountain summit
![]() Back to North Twin Mountain Profile |
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