Hedgehog Mountain Winter Hike

Don't underestimate Hedgehog Mountain (2,532 ft). Despite being the lowest elevation peak on the “New Hampshire 52 with a View“ peak-bagging list, this mountain has great views and lots of open ledge!

Mt Hedgehog is uniquely situated next to Mt. Passaconaway, which towers over its western flank. Just beyond Passaconaway, there are awesome views of the Tripyramids, with views of Mt Carrigain to the north and Mt Chocorua to the south east. It really doesn't get much better than this!

The parking lot was almost full when we arrived with 19 cars. We saw about 7 groups during our hike. Even so, we had all 3 viewpoints to ourselves as we arrived at them!

Nine GO members climbed Hedgehog and managed to only use MicroSpikes. The snow was wet and sticky …there was hardly any ice. The path follows the UNH trail named after the University of New Hampshire camp that used to be situated here.

We started around 11:15 AM.  The hike started on this great old railroad with pines on each side covered with snow. After 0.2 miles we took the right turn and headed up the 0.6 miles to loop junction. 

The UNH trail creates a loop around the mountain: we hiked clockwise on the east side of the UNH Loop.  After we passed the loop junction, the UNH Trail became a steady incline. Nothing too bad though, as a matter of fact, the whole loop trail wasn’t too bad.

We had lunch on the eastern ledges which happened to be sunny when we arrived. It was an awesome place for lunch. The ledges were nice and the views were great even if the tops of the summits were covered by clouds. As we were getting ready to leave we saw the summit of Hedgehog looming in front of us. We then continued our ascent along the ledge which was our favorite section of this loop.  Once we started up the cone of the summit, the trail became a fun scramble in sections.

The summit has some views and there were more a little further down along the trail.  

It was a steep descent so there were opportunities for some butt surfing. It wasn’t long before we hit Allen’s Ledge. We were very impressed with the views. The summit of Mt. Chocorua finally appeared.

Total mileage for this hike was 5 miles with 1450 feet of elevation gain.

Afterwards, most of us returned to the Sandwich Dome Lodge for drinks and appetizers beside the fireplace followed by another delicious dinner prepared by Jon!

All and all it was a great day to be out on the trails. Hedgehog Mountain was VERY good to us today.  This spectacular mountain should be on every passionate hiker’s wish list!!!

>>CLICK HERE TO VIEW SLIDE SHOW WITH MUSIC!!!

Trip Report by Mike Boisvert

Photos taken by Jon Normand

Hoping this is our first real butt surfing hike - pray for some snow! The hike is moderate but the butt surfing is easy. Get your butt surfing skills tuned up for some advanced butt surfing later this winter! 

We will take the UNH loop to Hedgehog Mtn. [2,532'] which offers fine views from several viewpoints. The first section of the trail, an old railroad grade, has the broad stateliness of a promenade, and is an excellent warm-up for the hike. A 2 miles, the sun-washed East Ledges, spread out before us, with views south and southeast. Reaching the summit at 2.9 miles we'll have a closer view of the mountains we saw at East Ledges, as well as the eastern slope of Tripyramid...a bit past the summit we can even see Mount Washington. On the descent we'll check out Allen's Ledge, where we'll see the Presidential Range, the Carrigain Range, North and South Twins, Franconia Ridge, Mount Willey and the Bonds! 

Distance:      4.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 1450 feet

What to wear/bring: Wear warm clothing suitable for the hike in layers...no cotton or blue jeans.  Wear a warm hat and gloves and bring hand warmers as a precaution. Bring along plenty of water (at least 2 liters), lunch, snacks and anything else you may require for a day hike. Make sure your pack is big enough to place your jacket and excess clothing into it as you warm up. For footwear, have winter insulated boots and MicroSpikes in case we encounter icy trails. We may need snowshoes if we had a snowstorm just prior to the hike…we’ll let you know a few days before. Contact us if you have any questions. 

Afterwards:  Everyone is welcome to join us back at our house in Waterville Valley to relax by our fireplace [BYOB and bring snacks] followed by one of Jon's delicious dinners. We ask $10 per person to help pay for our food costs. Showers are available so bring a change of clothing to make your visit with us more comfortable.

Lodging Option: Bunk beds are available at our house [with Wi Fi] near Waterville Valley, NH. It's $35 for Saturday that includes dinner. Coffee/bagels each morning and linen/blankets/towels are provided. Space is limited so email ASAP to reserve a bunk!