New Hampshire trails · Metacomet-Monadnock Trail

Metacomet-Monadnock Trail

A 15.7-mile out-and-back in New Hampshire, with 881 ft of climbing. Reaches Gap Mountain and other summit destinations. Managed by New Hampshire GRANIT.

Open in the interactive map →

Length

15.7 mi

Elevation gain

881 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

40%

Steepest mile

+633 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

3.8 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Bikes

Horses

Managed by

New Hampshire GRANIT

Elevation profile

The climbing leans toward the final third: 47% of the ascent falls between mile 10.5 and mile 15.7. It gives back about 2,062 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

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Terrain graded T3 (SAC scale) — exposed or hands-on hiking reported on part of this route.

Getting there

Gap Mtn side trail access — parking nearby. About 30 min drive (16 mi, 1 of them unpaved) from Keene. 42.82941, -72.13038 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:31 a.m., the sun rises at 7:00 a.m. and sets at 6:08 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:36 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 08 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 31.4-mile round trip works out to roughly 12 h 30 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

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