This trip's focus is to get you familiar with layering clothes for cold weather hiking. We’ll also be carrying MicroSpikes if we encounter icy conditions. It's an exciting moderate winter hike with the open ledges of Owl's Head is home to perhaps the best view anywhere of the entire Presidential Range! You can purchase either Kahtoola MicroSpikes or Hillsounds Crampons from your local outdoor outfitter such as REI or EMS; or online.

Mt. Marth [3573'] and Owl's Head [3258'] are just 0.8 mile apart on a stand-alone ridge. From the summit of Mt. Martha, there is a good view of the Presidentials from one spot, and a superb panorama of the western White Mountains from another, with over two dozen 4,000-footers visible in one glance!

Total distance: 5.4 miles
Book Hiking Time: 5 Hours
Vertical Rise: 1,500 ft.

Pack a turkey sandwich and gather your winter hiking gear. We will have Thanksgiving lunch on the summit. We may have time on the return to visit a nearby Christmas Tree Farm where you can help us choose and cut our own Christmas tree!

We may encounter winter like conditions this time of year so be prepared! Please have the appropriate gear/clothing to hike this time of year and the appropriate amount of layers to keep your core body warm. We recommend WINTER hiking boots, MicroSpikes, wool hat, gloves, hand warmers, rain/wind gear, warm layers and NO COTTON. Carry at least 1 liter of water, lunch and snacks.

Winter Hiking Clothing/Gear Tips and Recommendations

Winter conditions will be in effect so this moderate hike is ideal for anyone on their first winter hike. Winter travel offers unique challenges to any hiker and we can provide tips and answer any of your questions during the hike. We are here to help you!

For winter hiking, you are basically wearing the same clothing/gear you did in summer except you need to have additional layers to keep your core body warm, dress in synthetic layers [no cotton], wool hat, and gloves [we highly recommend buying the chemical hand warmers for your gloves]. The only piece of gear you will have to buy is MicroSpikes [Kahtoola is a popular brand], which are essentially cleats that you attach to your boots to prevent falls from black ice encountered on the trail.  

One of the biggest mistakes beginner winter hikers do is overdress. You don’t need a heavy winter jacket since you will be heating up naturally during the hike. Wear thin, insulated layers so you can easily regulate your temperature. If you overdress, you will start sweating and actually make yourself get colder. Assess if your summer daypack is big enough to put your clothes in as you warm up and if not, then that is probably another investment you’ll have to make for this trip.

Winter hiking boots is something you may want to invest in later on, since it helps keep your feet warm, dry and comfortable. Snowshoes will not be needed for this hike, and we rarely use them in general, but are definitely needed to break trail if we recently had any significant snowfall. We like to carry a very small thermos with some sort of hot beverage which is so comforting to drink on a very cold day.

Event Coordinators: Mike Boisvert and Jon Normand

Trailhead is approximately 152 miles from Boston and 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Take I-93 North, then U.S. 3 to Twin Mountain. From the traffic lights at the junction of U.S. Highways 3 and 302 in Twin Mountain, drive 2.0 miles north on US 3 and then turn right onto New Hampshire Route 115. Continue north on Route 115 for 1.9 miles. A gravel parking lot is located on the right directly across the highway from the intersection with Lennon Road.