Fall in Full Force on Hedgehog Mountain

Greetings from Hedgehog Mountain!

My wife and I had our 5th wedding anniversary this past weekend, and for this year we decided to celebrate it by checking out the fall colors in the White Mountains. After living in New Hampshire for four years, we had yet to even take a hike up there yet during this season, given all we'd heard about how the traffic and crowds could get. Either way, we decided to brave the buses and packed parking areas and set off on a few hikes.

We got up to the mountains Thursday night, giving ourselves a three-day weekend to enjoy as much of the fall colors as we could. Since we knew the crowds would be thin on Friday, we decided to drive down the Kancamagus Highway to hike Hedgehog Mountain. It was listed as one of the best day hikes in two of our guidebooks (Hiking the White Mountains and AMC's Best Day Hikes in the White Mountains), so we thought it was great trip to combine a scenic drive and nice hike. I mean, how can you go wrong with a mountain named Hedgehog!?

When we arrived at the parking area around 12:30 p.m. it was about 75% full. The parking area for Hedgehog Mountain also serves as the start of the trail up Mt. Potash and the Downes Brook Trail, so that didn't surprise us. We passed maybe 5 or 6 groups during our whole hike, which made us think the cars were split pretty evenly among the main hikes of Hedgehog and Potash.

The start up the UNH trail was wide, flat, and easy, a gentle stroll in the autumn woods. After 0.2 miles, I had to double check our White Mountain Guide to make sure we continued the right direction, as the signage at this juncture as to what was the cross-country ski trail and what was the hiking trail was little confusing. A quick read reassured us to turn right and we were on our way. From here, the rest of the junctions were clearly marked to make the loop around the UNH Trail easy to follow.

After 0.8 miles, we arrived at the loop junction and decided to follow it clockwise as was recommended by all three books we'd referenced. From here, we finally started to gain elevation at a steady, moderate clip over your traditional New Hampshire rooted, rocky trails. The colors of fall were in full force, with vivid yellows, oranges, and reds in the leaves on the trees and on the ground. There were a few short steep pitches mixed in along the way to really get our lungs and legs going as we headed toward the first views of the day.

Fall in full panoramic splendor from the east ledges

My wife taking in the view from the ledges

Stepping out onto the first ledges on the east side of the mountain, we were overjoyed with the foliage and peaks stretching out before us. The deep reds and oranges of the trees losing their leaves were in stark contrast to the rich dark greens of the conifers holding strong in the higher elevation, creating quite the colorful landscape. By our recollection, these ledges had the best views of the day, and would be worth a trip all to themselves. However, with the full loop in mind, we continued onward for the summit.

Headed into the forest to reach the summit seen at center

From the east ledges it was quick drop back into the forest, followed by a steep climb up some rocky switchbacks to the high point of the mountain. We were thankful for very dry trail conditions, as a day of rain beforehand would have made some of these steep, smooth rocks very difficult to manage.

View near the summit

The view from the summit was basically a different perspective of our first views of the day on the ledges below, along with some views out to the west. We stayed there for a while to eat a late lunch before heading down to complete the loop. The descent off the summit was almost as steep and rough as the climb we'd just done, but more rooted and worn as opposed to smooth and rocky.

View from Allen's Ledge

Just before completing the loop we made the quick side trip to Allen's Ledge. This side trail was clearly marked with a sign, and it was a quick (read steep and rooted) climb to the viewpoint. More fall colors stretched out before us here making both sides of the loop worth the journey.

Hedgehog Mountain was as awesome as a mountain with such a name should be. It mixed in great views with a good variety of hiking over roots and rocks with varying levels of elevation gain to make for a well-rounded hike. As mentioned before, the highlight of the trip was definitely the first set of ledges. I could definitely see taking a hike just to that point and back when you want a quicker trip in the area. Overall, it was a great start to a fall weekend in the Whites.