The White Mountains - Sugarloaf Mountain - New Hampshire's North Country

From Nash Stream Road, a 2.25 mile climb brings you to the mostly open summit that offers stunning views of the North Country region and the high peaks of the White Mountains to the south.

The trail begins on the left side of Nash Stream road (as you head north from the trailhead parking area) and turns left off the road, just before a private residence. Just past the home, the trail enters the woods. Shortly thereafter the Cohos Trail continues to the left while the trail up Sugarloaf Mountain goes right.

From here you follow the old fire tower road to the summit. The trail begins climbing gradually, but the climb gets more intense as you ascend. The old road ends at the remains of the fire tower observers cabin. Today all that’s left of the cabin is some timber and rusting metal pieces at the edge of the field

Once past the remains of the cabin, the trail narrows, becoming a footpath and climbs rather steeply. After reaching the crest of the ridge, the trail follows it to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain at a much more relaxed grade.

As you reach the summit area, the trail brings you to the rocky summit and extensive views open up to the south.

The summit, while not above treeline, has open ledges that offer a spectacular view of the White Mountains to the south and the surrounding north country area.

If you’re in the North Country or exploring other peaks in the Nash Stream area (such as the Percy Peaks), Sugarloaf makes a great add-on destination. This little visited peak towers above the surrounding environment and offers a commanding view of the entire region.

Note that Nash Stream Road is not maintained in the winter for vehicle traffic, so unless you have access to a snowmobile, this Sugarloaf Mountain Trail is only accessible during the summer months.

On this trip you briefly travel on the Cohos Trail, which is a roughly 170-mile long-distance hiking trail that begins in Crawford Notch in the south and ends at the United States/Canada Border in the north. This area of the Cohos Trail is roughly about halfway through the length of the trail.

This hike is a roughly 4.5 mile hike with about 2170’ of elevation gain. The trail is easy to follow and while it gains just over 1000′ of elevation in each mile climbed, the tread is solid and the climbing, while not rough is very steady.