This moderate hike near Benton, New Hampshire offers a great way to experience the iconic White Mountains without needing a full-day commitment. A nicely wooded trail takes you gradually up to this long summit, where you have a premier viewing platform of Mount Moosilauke and other prominent peaks in the Whites. This is certainly a hike where you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Trail Info
Know before you go
The road to the trailhead is not maintained. It is mostly gravel and bumpy and could be treacherous (or impassable) during winter and mud season. Cars with high clearance are best to reach the parking area.
The parking area is limited. While this trail is not highly trafficked, it may be hard to get a spot during a peak time since the shoulder where you park can only hold ~7 or 8 cars.
CHECK YOUR GPS BEFORE LEAVING. I used the AllTrails coordinates and it took me to the complete wrong trailhead and a closed road. The above linked location on Howe Hill Road will get you to the trailhead described in this post.
Alternate routes
Hiking to Black Mountain via the Chippewa Trail provides a shorter, but steeper route (3.9 mi / 6.3 km) to reaching this summit.
The Trail
After parking your car, you will start along this old logging road. It's a chill incline for the first mile or so, but then it steepens slightly as you near the summit. While this hike is easier than many others in the Whites, you still have to earn that peak!
As you can tell by the photos, I was doing this in late March, when there was still plenty of snow on the ground. However, I felt the trail was well marked, with several blazes like this guiding the path. Getting lost isn't really a concern on this hike.
And if you haven't taken a stab at winter hiking, I highly recommend it. There are of course some extra precautions you should take, and gear you will need, but it totally changes the vibe of a trail. A trail in summer and a trail in a winter wonderland like this are basically different trails.
The main forks on this trail appear near the summit. It should be apparent by the sign, but this fork marks where the Chippewa and Black Mountain trail intersect, just below the summit.
Heading up the trail, you must take this fork to the left to reach the official Black Mountain Summit.
And here we are, 2,782 feet (848 meters) above sea level on the western edge of the White Mountains.
Something I found quite unique about this summit was it's long spine. You could spend several minutes walking from one end to the other getting different perspectives of the mountain views.
And those views are a plentiful up here. Since you are on the western edge of the Whites, you can see numerous peaks from this summit. Looking Southeast, you can see Mount Moosilauke, an iconic 4,000 footer.
And Northeast, the towering and snow-covered Mount Washington, the highest peak in the entire state. Soak it all in, it doesn't get much better than this.
SS Reflections
I hate to admit it, but I'm addicted to peak bagging. In my near 2 years living in New Hampshire, I made it my goal to complete the New Hampshire 48 before I moved out west. And I did it, and am proud of the accomplishment.
But this hike was a perfect reminder of why sometimes you need to ignore that next item on your to-do list, pick a trail, and simply get out there. That's exactly how I found myself hiking this trail. From the winter wonderland vibes, to the long summit, to the epic vantage point of the rest of the Whites, this trail had everything I could hope for in a hike. And list or no list, it's something I need to remind myself that as long as I'm out on a hike, it's a good day.
Other Helpful Resources
Hiking Up With the Pup's post about this trail
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