Ahead of this hike, I read how the Ferncroft Road Trailhead parking lot fills before 9 am on the weekend, which turned out to be a fact. I arrived at 8 am and got one of the last 5 or so spots. There’s a privy at the far corner of the lot as well as a few other trailheads.
Perhaps the most scenic trailhead I have experienced so far this hiking season.
Hiking Mount Whiteface
Actually, the hike starts about .5 miles from the lot. You walk over private land to a variety of trailheads. I took the Blueberry Ledge Trail up Whiteface.
The weather on this early June hike was super hot. Temps were in the high 80’s with the added weight of humidity.
Stats
Total hike time for the loop: 5:23
Total elevation gain: 5,335 ft
Total miles: 10.7 mi
Hike Experience
The trail starts relatively mild on the rooted forest floor, but it’s quick to start gaining in elevation. You can see from the topographic map above, it’s about 1-1.5 miles, and then you start climbing, and the elevation gain is felt.
Mount Whiteface has a variety of trail features
One of the features I was looking forward to hiking Mount Whiteface in the area not far from the summit that requires rock scrambling up a slide. You reach this section of the hike about 3 miles in. The scramble was awesome and so too are the views at that elevation.
Hiking Mount Whiteface Slide
There were two guys behind me on the trail who had a dog with them. I could hear them discussing how to get the dog up the slide, and from what I could gather, they took turns carrying and hoisting the pup. This, and one other section near the summit, are the only areas of the trail where a dog would have trouble.
Not far from the top of this slide, you reach a cliff with a great view.
Mount Whiteface Summit
The summit of Whiteface offers decent views and is relatively flat. It’s comprised of large rocks, and there’s a lot of room. And a lot of bugs!
Mount Whiteface Summit
Hiking Mount Passaconaway
The hike over the ridgeline to Passaconaway is about 2 miles and is your typical wooded ridgeline experience. There were glimpses through the trees back toward Mount Whiteface and Waterville Valley Ski area in the distance.
The trail conditions were a bit rough in sections, with downed trees and other obstacles, but nothing too serious.
Mount Passaconaway trail conditions
Mount Passaconaway Summit
It’s a pretty quick hike between the summits, and due to the fact Mt Passaconaway’s summit is wooded, there really isn’t much to admire from the top. Just short of the summit, which is just a small clearing in the forest with a modest cairn making the top, there is an overlook spot that offers a chance for a view.
There was a guy at the top with me; we arrived at the cairn at about the same time; his comment sums up the underwhelming feeling of this wooded summit, “well, I guess this is it.”
Hiking Down Mount Passaconaway
The hike down the Dickey’s Mill Trail was easy. In fact, it’s this hike down that I, for the first time this year or ever, started trail running. If you are a trail runner, you’ll like this trail. As described in the guidebook, the loop mentioned that it would take 7 hours to complete. Due to the running down, I was able to complete it in just over 5 hours.
When you emerge out of the forest at the bottom, you arrive in a private residence backyard. It feels a little awkward, but it’s clear by all the signage it’s something they support, which is super cool of them.
Arriving Back to Parking Lot
Here’s what the lot looked like at the end of my hike. It’s certainly a popular trailhead parking area.
