How to Hike Owl’s Head Mountain in New Hampshire Apart of the NH 48’s
Owl’s Head Mountain is quite the hike. Located in New Hampshire, in the White Mountains, just outside of Lincoln, Owl’s Head is one of the longest hikes apart of the New Hampshire 48 peaks. It is a total of 19.5 miles with just over 3,000ft of elevation gain. This is the longest hike you will have to do for just one peak.
Physically, this hike is not too bad however, mentally, this hike is brutal. There is no break from the woods there is no topography change. This hike is straight nine miles in the woods one way and then nine miles back. On the summit, there is no view or summit sign. This hike really is NOT for the faint of heart. DO NOT attempt this hike unless you want to hike all the New Hampshire 48 high peaks.
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This article is all about Owl’s Head.
Owl’s Head:
{Related Article : How to Hike Allen Mountain in the Adirondacks}
Owl’s Head Trail
To start, it would probably help if you had directions to get to this hike, so here are the directions. I have found, that most people who hike the White Mountains are from Massachusetts, which makes sense, because it’s pretty convenient/easy drive. From Boston, MA, you will stay on 93 North for 57 miles and then get on Route 112 East (Kancamagus Highway) for 72 miles. Then in 5.1 miles, turn left into the Lincoln Brook trailhead parking lot. Here are directions if you are coming from other cities (just click get directions). Once you park, you will want to walk towards the left to find the self-serve pay to park machine. You can pay with card and it costs $5 for the day.
Once you pay for parking, you will walk straight towards the welcome center, where you can find the weather forecast for the day. There are also bathrooms here and in the middle of the parking lot. Finally, to start your hike, you will walk to your left, down the stairs towards the suspension bridge that you will cross.
Owl’s Head Hike
My friend and I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30am. The parking lot wasn’t even close to full but we did this on a Tuesday in July. Also, Owl’s Head is not a very popular hike to begin with, so you can expect less crowds then normal. Once you pass over the bridge, you will stay to your right towards the Lincoln Brook Trail. You will stay on the Lincoln Brook Trail for about 4 miles. There will be a trail intersection where you want to stay left towards the Lincoln Brook Trail. Then in about 3.5 you will stay right towards the Owl’s Head Path. The start of this path is indicated by a cairn of rocks. This is where ALL your elevation will hit. We followed my friend’s physical map of the 48 peaks and my AllTrails Map (have to have pro version to use and download offline map).
Owl’s Head Slide
Okay, the slide/steep part of Owl’s Head, is not really a “slide” it’s more of a really steep rock scramble that lasts for .6 of a mile. If you are use to hiking the Adirondacks (like myself), this is not a slide. It’s very similar to the last section of hiking Dix Mountain from Round Pond. That being said, you will gain about 1,500ft in .6 miles, so it is incredibly steep and should not be hiked by beginners. After the elevation gain, the trail flattens out for about .3 of a mile then, you will finally reach the summit. The summit is marked by a SMALL rock cairn. It feels like it takes FOREVER to get there. My friend and I took some time at the summit to relax, eat, and prepare for another little over 9 miles back to the car. Yes, it took a little over 9 miles to just reach the summit. AllTrails mileage is off by 2 miles or so. To get back to your car, you will go back the same way you came up.
Other Routes
There are some other routes that you can hike this peak. You will still start from Lincoln Brook, however, instead of taking the Lincoln Brook Trail all the way to Owl’s Head herd path, you can hike the Black Pond Bushwhack and the Brutus Bushwhack. From what I’ve heard, both these bushwhacks are pretty much trails at this point because the path is so trafficked. To get to the Black Pond Bushwhack you will start at the same starting point as for Lincoln Brook. However, about 2 miles in, you will take a left onto the bushwhack.
Now, the Brutus Bushwhack is very steep, and you won’t hit until 7.1 miles into the Lincoln Brook Trail. You will stay to your right instead of straight for this bushwhack. Brutus is probably just as steep as the Owl’s Head herd path. We did not do this. We kept following the signs for Lincoln Woods Trail then Franconia Brook Trail then to the Lincoln Brook Trail, and then finally to the Owl’s Head herd path. Basically, you will follow the Lincoln Brook Trail for about 7.5 miles then, come across a small cairn of rocks. Here, you will want to turn right to start your only ascent up to the summit of Owl’s Head.
Overall Thoughts
In total, this hike is about 19.5 miles with just over a 3,000ft elevation gain. In total this took us about 10 hours to complete including break time. I hated this trail mainly because of how boring it was. There is no topography changes, no ridge lines, no views at the summit, and no summit signs. There is a little bit of a view on the rock scramble but that’s it. Otherwise, you are in enclosed in the woods for the WHOLE time. Mentally, this trail is EXTREMELY boring and I would NOT advise attempting it unless, you are trying to complete your 48. Also, you cannot pair this hike with any other peak. Although, my friend and I did meet people on the trail that paired it with Galehead.
It is possible to do this, however, it is a ROUGH day. There are TONS of ups and downs throughout your day. It just seems like you would creative so much extra work for yourself than necessary. I have not seen any peaks that would make sense to pair with Owl’s. So, for now, I’m going to say this is a one and down peak.
Owl’s Head Mountain Trail Head Reviews
We got back to the parking lot/car around 5:30pm. You can complete this hike in nine hours. On AllTrails it says you can complete this hike in just over 8 hours. I think that’s pushing it, although, we did not climb the bushwhacks, so maybe they really do save you that much time. I would allow yourself summit, break, and stream crossing time. Which is why I would prepare to hike for about 10 hours. This trail is well maintained and physically easy until you get to the Owl’s Head Path (last .6 miles).
I would allow yourself about an hour to climb this last section. Overall, I did not like this hike because of how boring it was. The boringness made it mentally, a really hard trail for me. Especially, since there was no view or topography changes. That was really tough for me. In conclusion, I would NOT hike this unless you are trying to complete the New Hampshire 48 Challenge.
And that wraps up our post about Owl’s Head hike in New Hampshire. There are about five different Owl’s Head hikes within the northeast, so make sure when you look up “Owl’s Head,” you’re looking at the right one. Otherwise, thank you so much for reading, take care, and I hope this article was helpful to you if you are interested in this hike.
