Sugarloaf

The forecast for today called for perfection. So I wanted to go big on views. I also was going to have my 14 year old son with me (reluctantly). Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but they're not enthusiastic hikers. Mr 14 is fine once he gets going, it usually takes some sort of negotiation (ie bribe) to keep him moving and once he reaches the top he seems happy, then he crushes the descent in order to get back to the car. This was a last minute call on where to actually go. Everything I was looking at had recent reports of being super crowded, or had sections of trail that I was somewhat nervous about with Mr 14. He is a phenomenal hiker, which means he can often get a little ways ahead of me on the trail, and me being the helicopter parent that I am, I like to have them in my line of vision if there are going to be sketchy sections. Thus we ended up on Sugarloaf in Groveton. Double whammy as it's on the NH Fire Tower list and the 52 With a View list. It was a little more elevation gain than I had been looking to tackle, but the trail descriptions (aside from the steepness) were all reading super non-technical. It ended up being perfect. The trail head is 8.3 miles down a dirt road/ATV road in Groveton, NH. I thought this would be a quiet road as far as cars go, maybe ATVs.. however we saw zero ATVs and the road was actually quite busy with cars! I guess not surprisingly it's Labor Day weekend with perfect weather. The Sugarloaf Mountain Trail starts on a private driveway for a camp called "Finally Inn". There are enough spaces for 2 cars at the end of the driveway, which unfortunately were already occupied when we arrived. I was able to park off the road at the very end of the driveway without blocking the parked cars/road or driveway thankfully. Head up the driveway, around a closed gate preventing ATV traffic (this is a snowmobile trail in Winter) and 0.1 miles to the first intersection. For that 0.1 miles you are also on the Cohos Trail, which continues straight at the junction. We took a right on the Sugarloaf Mountain Trail. Another 0.3 miles is an unmarked fork. Yellow arrows point left for the snowmobiles, Sugarloaf Mountain Trail continues straight. At this point the trail starts to get a little steeper and a little rougher in some places, however overall the trail has great footing and is never technical. Any moderate or hard rating it may get is purely for the grade. There are no views or anything exciting on this trail, it's just a good hard slog up the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere! Around 1.7 miles from the road is a cleared area with the remains of the old fire wardens cabin alongside the trail on the right. Past this, the trail heads through some waist high grass (at this time of year) and appears rather overgrown, however the path is still fairly easy to follow. Keep right at the fork with cement blocks and head up the final 0.5, which does not let up with grades until the very top. Just remember it's all worth the work! At 2.2 miles you reach the ledgey summit with views for miles. So spectacular. I was so glad to have chosen this mountain on this perfect day. There is an old cast iron stove and some artifacts from the old fire tower. My son and I enjoyed a snack while taking in the views before heading back down. This is a hidden gem not to be missed. 

Strava Activity

Remains of the fire wardens cabin