Mount Kearsarge
Bare Summit Of About 2,937 Feet With A Fire Tower, Reached From Winslow State Park On The North And Rollins State Park On The South; The Civil War Sloop USS Kearsarge, Which Sank The Confederate Raider CSS Alabama In 1864, Was Named For It. · Wilmot, New Hampshire
A bare granite summit of about 2,937 feet between Lake Sunapee and the Merrimack valley, standing alone above the hills so that it can be seen from much of central New Hampshire. A fire tower and a radio tower share the open top, and the ledges look out to the White Mountains, Monadnock, the Green Mountains and, on the clearest days, the hills of Maine and Massachusetts. Two state parks reach it. On the north side, Winslow State Park in Wilmot has a road to a picnic area on the old site of a mountain hotel, where the short, steep Winslow Trail and the longer, gentler Barlow Trail climb about a mile or two to the top (confirm). On the south side, Rollins State Park in Warner has a winding road that climbs most of the way to a picnic area, leaving a walk of about half a mile to the summit; the road is open in the warm season only (confirm). The Civil War sloop USS Kearsarge, which sank the Confederate raider CSS Alabama off France in 1864, was named for the mountain, as were later warships. It is a popular half-day hike and a classic foliage outing.
Kearsarge Mountain Road (Winslow State Park), Wilmot, New Hampshire, 03287, United States
The trails and the summit are open all year. Both state parks collect day-use fees and keep staff or self-pay stations roughly from late spring to mid-autumn (confirm). The Rollins road on the Warner side is typically open from about late May to early November and gated in winter, when hikers must walk the road (confirm the dates). The Winslow access road in Wilmot is generally reachable longer but not always plowed to the top lot in winter (confirm). The summit fire tower is staffed by state lookouts on high fire-danger days in spring and summer; otherwise the cab is closed. Parks are for day use, roughly dawn to dusk.