Not every walk in the White Mountains has to earn a summit. The Serendipity Loop is the easy one — a flat-ish couple of miles along the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, on the trail network at the base of Loon Mountain, about 6 min from the lodge. It is the walk for a first afternoon, a rest day, or a morning when you want moving water and trees without a climb.
One thing to know up front, because it changes how you walk it: Serendipity is part of Loon's mountain-bike trail system, so it is shared use. As a walk it is easy and pleasant; you just want to keep an ear out and step aside for riders, especially on summer weekends. Treat it as a riverside stroll with company, not a quiet wilderness path.
What the walk is like
Serendipity runs as a loop of roughly two and a quarter miles with very little elevation change — on the order of a couple hundred feet total — which puts it firmly in easy territory and about a half-hour to an hour at a walking pace. The trail stays near the river for much of its length, through mixed woods, with the kind of soft, rooty, sometimes-muddy footing that any low forest trail near a river has in New Hampshire. Trail shoes are plenty; you do not need boots.
Because it is a purpose-built bike trail, the tread is smooth and well-graded compared with a rocky White Mountains hiking path, which is part of why it works so well as a gentle walk. There is no big view and no waterfall payoff — the river and the woods are the whole point. If you want a view for low effort instead, the Artist Bluff loop is the trade-up; if you want a waterfall, Sabbaday Falls off the Kancamagus is the easy one.
Getting there and parking
The trail network is accessed through Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, about 6 min from the lodge. The usual approach is to park at the resort, then travel east past the Octagon Lodge and the Mountain Club and bear left onto Black Mountain Road toward the South Peak / 'Landing' side, where the trailhead sits roughly a mile from the main lot. Signage on the network points you to Serendipity from there.
Because you are parking on a private resort, the access and parking rules can change with the season — the lots and roads are busiest and most restricted during ski season. Check Loon's current guidance for warm-weather trail access and where to leave a car before you go, and if in doubt, ask us the day before and we will point you at the current arrangement.
When to walk it
This is a three-season walk — roughly late spring once the mud firms up, through summer, into foliage season, when the riverside hardwoods turn. Summer weekend afternoons are the busiest for bikes, so a morning walk is calmer if you would rather not share the trail much. In foliage season it is a short, easy way to be among the color without driving anywhere.
In winter the network is snow-covered and used for other things; this guide is about the walkable seasons. For a cold-weather easy outing, the plowed Franconia Notch bike path or a snowshoe on the Lincoln Woods Trail (closed from June 15 into November 2026, so check before you go) are the better calls.
Safety & conditions
- Shared-use trail: it is part of Loon's mountain-bike network, so listen for and yield to riders, and keep children and dogs close on blind corners. It is calmest on weekday mornings.
- Footing is soft, rooty and can be muddy near the river after rain or in spring — trail shoes with grip are enough, but watch your step.
- Access is through a private resort; parking and trail-access rules change with the season, and lots are most restricted in ski season. Confirm Loon's current guidance before parking.
- This is a warm-season walk. In winter the network is snow-covered and used for other activities — pick a plowed path or a proper snowshoe route instead.
- It is a short, low walk, but it is still forest near a river: carry water and bug protection in summer, and note that surrounding White Mountain National Forest land has a fall hunting season.
Where to stay for it
This is the walk we point guests toward for a first afternoon or a rest day — it is the closest easy one to the door, it follows the river, and it asks nothing of your legs. It is shared with mountain bikes, so we tell people to walk it in the morning if they want it quieter. Ask us about current Loon parking before you head over.
Sources & official info: alltrails.com · trailforks.com · lincolnnh.gov
— Launchpoint Lodge, From the lodge
