Mount Monadnock
3,165 Foot Summit Within Monadnock State Park, Designated A National Natural Landmark In 1987, Often Described As One Of The Most Climbed Mountains In The World, And Climbed And Written About By Ralph Waldo Emerson And Henry David Thoreau. · Jaffrey, New Hampshire
A lone, bare-topped mountain rising 3,165 feet above the hills and lakes of southwestern New Hampshire, and so often described as one of the most-climbed mountains in the world that the claim has become part of its identity. It stands apart from any range, so its summit looks out on all sides, to Boston's towers on a clear day, the Green Mountains and the White Mountains. The word monadnock, from the Abenaki, has become the geologists' term for an isolated peak left standing after the land around it wore away. Fires in the nineteenth century stripped the upper slopes of soil, leaving the open rock slabs that make the climb feel far higher than it is. Emerson wrote a long poem to it and Thoreau camped on it several times, and it was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1987. Most hikers start from Monadnock State Park headquarters in Jaffrey on the White Dot or White Cross trails, about two miles and 1,800 feet of climbing to the top. It is about two hours from Boston, dogs are not allowed, and on foliage weekends the parking fills early.
116 Poole Road, Jaffrey, New Hampshire, 03452, United States
The park is open all year, generally from about sunrise to sunset for day use, with the gates at headquarters and the trailhead lots staffed or fee-collected on a daily schedule in the main season. Winter parking and fee collection are reduced, and the park may close lots or trails in icy conditions or mud season. Online day-use parking reservations have been required or strongly advised on busy days; check before driving. Gilson Pond Campground is open from about late spring to autumn and is closed in winter. The headquarters visitor center and store keep daytime hours in season. Overnight parking and camping outside the campground are not allowed.