New Hampshire trails · Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
Metacomet-Monadnock Trail
A 15.7-mile out-and-back in New Hampshire, with 913 ft of climbing. Reaches Gap Mountain and other summit destinations. Managed by New Hampshire GRANIT.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 46% of the ascent falls between mile 10.5 and mile 15.7. It gives back about 2,089 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Gap Mountain (summit)
- Little Monadnock Mountain (summit)
- Fern Hill (summit)
Heads up
Getting there
Gap Mtn side trail access — parking nearby. 42.82941, -72.13038 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:42 a.m., the sun rises at 6:11 a.m. and sets at 7:25 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:54 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 14 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 31.4-mile round trip takes roughly 12 h 32 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 6:43 p.m. — 42 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Blue trail (Widow Gage) + Metacomet-Monadnock Trail + Red trail (Widow Gage) — 1.6 mi loop, 271 ft gain
- Metacomet-Monadnock Trail — 2.0 mi loop, 638 ft gain
- Metacomet-Monadnock Trail + Unnamed trail — 3.7 mi loop, 536 ft gain
Across the border
- Continues into MA as Metacomet-Monadnock Trail — view on the map
- Continues into MA as New England National Scenic Trail — view on the map
Nearby trails
- Wapack Trail — 12.5 mi
- Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway — 18.2 mi