Hiking Black Mountain, New Hampshire

Black Mountain is one of my favorite mountains we’ve climbed so far. The mountain is located in East Haverhill in eastern New Hampshire and is actually not that well-known outside of the Upper Valley. That’s really unfortunate, because it’s a wonderful mountain with great views and a fairly challenging hike to the summit.

My backpack having a rest at one of the lookout points

The two trails to the top are the Black Mountain Trail and the Chippewa Trail. The latter is by far the most scenic and interesting one, but is also a bit more difficult. The Chippewa trailhead starts off Lime Kiln Road at the parking area (there’s room for about three or four cars). It’s small indeed and easily missed, which is what happened to us too, and you should look for a sign with a hiker logo and a sign saying ‘Haverhill Heritage Trail 13: Lime Kilns’.

Flowers near the brook at the beginning of the trail

The trail itself is well-marked with yellow paint and for about half a mile (800 m) it runs through a brook and climbs the bank towards an old logging road. After a couple of minutes on this road, you will head left into the woods – which consist mostly of red pines – and begin your ascent of Black Mountain. Soon you will notice that the trail gets steeper and steeper as you climb up the ledges and ridges of the mountain.

It’s a steep hike through a pine forest

After about a mile (1.6 km) of hiking your efforts are rewarded by some wonderful views. 1.3 miles (2 km) in, the trail runs upwards on ledges offering excellent viewpoints. It continues to do so until you reach an outcrop from where you can see the actual summit. Just before the trail reaches the summit, it joins the Black Mountain Trail coming from the other side of the mountain.

Fantastic view from one of the ledges near the summit

My walking stick having a rest

The summit itself is fantastic. Its bare rocky surfaces are surrounded by small pine trees and dotted with small patches of soft grass and moss, which in my opinion would make for ideal spots to take a nap or even camp out. The trail is surprisingly steep and challenging, but that summit was absolutely worth the effort. There’s a great view of Mount Moosilauke from the summit. I did in fact lie down in a grassy patch for a bit, while Caroline was carving her walking stick, and closed my eyes.

Caroline carving her walking stick at the summit next to a soft and inviting patch of grass

Great lookout at the summit

Nice view of neighboring Mount Moosilauke

The descent is – obviously – steep as well and on your way down you should watch out not to slip. The forest floor is covered in a thick blanket of pine needles which don’t allow for much grip.

Although the mountain is covered in pine forest, the summit’s bare rock offers wonderful views

1.8 miles (2.9 km) one way, the Chippewa Trail is not the longest of all hiking trails, but it’s surely worth it. Because of its steepness it still took us an hour and fifteen minutes to reach the summit; the way back down is about an hour. Including some time to enjoy the views, you should count on three hours for a roundtrip. It’s definitely a great morning or early afternoon hike.

If you happen to be around, go check it out.