Mount Tecumseh, above Waterville Valley about 30 min from the lodge. Its trail from the ski area parking lot climbs roughly 2,200 feet in about two and a half miles on a steady, wooded, staircase-like path with no scrambling, no exposure and a free lot at the bottom, to the lowest summit on the list of New Hampshire's 48 four-thousand-footers, listed at 4,003 feet. Most people are up and down in four hours. It is the peak that starts more 48 lists than any other, and it is the right one.
Easiest does not mean easy. Every four-thousand-footer is a real mountain with typical White Mountains footing, roots, rock and steep pitches, and 2,200 feet of climbing is a full morning's work for a fit walker. But the differences between the 48 are large, and a handful of peaks near Lincoln combine short distance, moderate gain and a sheltered trail. Below: Tecumseh in detail, the three next-easiest, the one we recommend as a first alpine summit, and the peaks a beginner should not start on.
Mount Tecumseh: the shortest of the 48
The Mount Tecumseh Trail leaves the north end of the Waterville Valley ski area lot, reached from I-93 Exit 28 and Route 49, and climbs at a steady grade through hardwoods and then spruce, with built stone steps on the steeper pitches and one small brook crossing early on. There is no scrambling and almost no exposure; the summit is wooded with a cleared view east toward the Tripyramids and the Sandwich Range. A short loop down the Sosman Trail and the ski slopes adds a few tenths and a long view over the valley. The lot is plowed and free all year, which makes Tecumseh the standard first winter four-thousand-footer as well.
Its one footnote: a 2019 survey measured the summit at 3,997 feet against the listed 4,003, and the AMC's committee kept it on the list. It counts. Our Tecumseh guide has the full route and the parking notes.
The next three: Hale, Pierce and Jackson
Mount Hale, 4,054 feet, is the gentlest climb in the Twin Range: about 4.6 miles round trip and 2,300 feet by the Hale Brook Trail from Zealand Road, a steady woods walk to a wooded summit with a cairn and a partial view, about 32 min from the lodge by car. Zealand Road is gated from mid-November to mid-May, which adds a road walk in winter. Mount Pierce, 4,310 feet, is the easiest of the Presidentials, about six miles round trip by the Crawford Path and the Mizpah Cutoff from the Crawford Path trailhead at the top of Crawford Notch, with a small open summit that gives a first, brief taste of Presidential wind and a view of Washington. Mount Jackson, 4,052 feet, is about five miles round trip by the Webster-Jackson Trail from beside Saco Lake, steeper than Pierce with a short rock scramble at the top and a fine open summit. Each has a guide on this site.
The best first alpine summit: Moosilauke
If the point is not the shortest walk but the first real mountain, Mount Moosilauke is the answer. At 4,802 feet it is the westernmost and the tenth-highest of the 48, and its Gorge Brook Trail from the Dartmouth ravine lodge, about 30 min from Lincoln over Kinsman Notch, is a well-graded seven-and-a-half-mile round trip with roughly 2,500 feet of climbing to a bald, broad summit above treeline with a view of the whole range and into Vermont. It is more work than Tecumseh and it is a different kind of reward: the first time above the trees, without the length or exposure of the Franconia Ridge. Our Moosilauke guide covers it and its weather.
Close behind: Osceola, Cannon and Garfield
Mount Osceola from Tripoli Road, about 6.4 miles round trip and 2,000 feet, is a steady climb to open ledges with a big view and no scrambling if you stop at the main summit; the chimney to East Osceola is the hard part and it is optional. Cannon Mountain by the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the tramway lot is short and steep to a summit with an observation platform, 15 min from the lodge. Mount Garfield is a longer day of about ten miles, rewarded with one of the best summits on the list. All three are moderate rather than easy.
Not first: the ones to leave for later
The Franconia Ridge peaks, Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty and Flume, for their exposure; the Bonds, Carrigain, Owl's Head and the Twins for their length; the Tripyramids and Flume by their slide trails for the steep rock; and Washington, Adams and Jefferson for all of it. They are the peaks that make the list worth finishing, and they are far better after two or three of the ones above. Our New Hampshire 48 planning guide groups all 48 by difficulty and drive time from the lodge.
From the lodge
Tecumseh is half an hour south by I-93 and Route 49, Hale 35 min north, Pierce and Jackson 45 min to Crawford Notch, and Moosilauke 30 min west over Kinsman Notch. A guest who climbs Tecumseh on the first morning and Moosilauke on the second has two of the 48 and a fair idea of the rest; the trailhead lots for both are the least crowded on this list.
Useful links
- Our Mount Tecumseh guide
The route, the free lot and the 4,003-foot story. - Our Mount Hale guide
The gentlest climb in the Twin Range, from Zealand Road. - Our Mount Pierce guide
The easiest Presidential, by the oldest footpath in America. - Our Mount Moosilauke guide
The best first summit above treeline. - Our New Hampshire 48 planning guide
All 48 grouped by trailhead, difficulty and drive time from the lodge. - AMC Four Thousand Footer Club
The official list and rules.
Sources & official info: amc4000footer.org · waterville.com · mountwashington.org
— Launchpoint Lodge, From the lodge
