Little Mt. Washington – Grantham, NH
Little Mt. Washington is an odd name choice for this little known mountain. It’s certainly little. Other than that, it shares very little in common with the real Mt. Washington in the White Mountains. It might as well be called Little Mt. Kilimanjaro. That being said, the summit of Little Mt. Washington is actually more pleasant than that of its larger cousin to the north. The views are obviously not in the same league, but there’s no auto road or large crowds, so in a way it is a more enjoyable experience.
Trail Summary
Distance: 4 miles (out and back)
Difficulty: Easy
Max Elevation: 1,934 ft.
Read More: Best Hikes in the Dartmouth- Sunapee Region
Getting There
The trailhead is located at the end of Miller Pond Road in Grantham, NH. There is a small gravel parking area at the end of the road with a sign for Grantham Town Forest. Navigate here to find the parking area.
The Hike
The trail itself is less of a hiking trail and more of an unmaintained logging road that is frequented by ATV’s in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. For this reason, the hike itself can be very muddy and less enjoyable than a genuine hiking trail, but the views from the top make it worthwhile. The first 0.2-miles of the hike is relatively steep before taking a hard right turn onto a clear intersection of two snowmobile roads.
After about 1 mile, the trail arrives at Chase Pond on the left. This was a very scenic spot for Baxter to take a dip and look for fish.
At 1.5 miles the trail takes a right and begins a modest ascent to the summit of Little Mt. Washington. The final leg of the trail is not well marked and can be tricky to locate. From the wide grassy trail, there will be a trail on your right leading up through a wooded area that leads to a rocky ledge looking east. The views are some of the best in the area. You can see Mt. Cardigan as well as the northern section of Eastman Pond.
Fyi: the trail to Little Mount Washington can be accessed from the end of Croydon Turnpike in East Plainfield and connects with your access at Chase Pond. On a clear day I have actually seen the big Mt Washington from the rocky ledge!!! (Perhaps a reason for it’s ‘little’ name