New Hampshire trails · Carter-Moriah
Carter-Moriah
A 10.1-mile out-and-back in New Hampshire, with 3,813 ft of climbing. Reaches North Carter Mountain and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 50% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 3.4. It gives back about 1,978 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- North Carter Mountain (summit)
- Middle Carter Mountain (summit)
- Mount Moriah (summit)
- Mount Surprise (summit)
- South Carter Mountain (summit)
- Zeta Pass (pass)
Heads up
Getting there
CARTER / MORIAH — parking nearby, restroom, water. About 36 min drive (13 mi, 3 of them unpaved) from Berlin. 44.38320, -71.16854 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:28 a.m., the sun rises at 6:58 a.m. and sets at 6:02 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:31 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 20.2-mile round trip works out to roughly 11 h 18 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- Wild River Trail + Wildcat River Trail + CARTER-MORIAH — 10.6 mi loop, 2,780 ft gain
- CARTER DOME + CARTER-MORIAH + Carter-Moriah Trail — 9.5 mi loop, 2,784 ft gain
- NINETEEN MILE BROOK + CARTER DOME + CARTER-MORIAH — 14.3 mi loop, 5,240 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Mahoosuc — 2.0 mi
- Mahoosuc Trail — 2.4 mi
- Carter-Moriah Trail — 8.6 mi
- Tuckerman Ravine — 9.6 mi