A Complete Trail Report on Mount Tecumseh, White Mountains
Mount Tecumseh is apart of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. It is the shortest and probably easiest 48 peak to hike. A lot of people start their 48 journey with Mount Tecumseh. If you don’t know, New Hampshire has a hiking challenge, the New Hampshire 48 in the White Mountains. It consists of all the peaks above 4,000ft. There are a couple different ways to hike Tecumseh, which I will talk about later in this article. Each way is not too difficult but there is a significant amount of elevation gain difference. Thus, even though this is an “easier” peak, please make sure you are in good enough shape to climb this mountain.
I hiked Tecumseh with my friend over the fall and it was beautiful. The trail is very well maintained and well marked. The forest area is beautiful, however, the summit is pretty small and most of the trees cover up the view. Also, the trail is pretty crowded, so, if you can, I would try to hike this on a weekday.
In this article you will learn about Mount Tecumseh weather, Mount Tecumseh trailhead, Mount Tecumseh winter hike, is Mount Tecumseh a 4000 footer, hiking Mount Tecumseh, Mount Tecumseh NH, Mount Tecumseh trail conditions, Mount Tecumseh Trail, Mt. Tecumseh Trail from Tripoli Road, Mount Tecumseh history, Mount Tecumseh camping, and more.
This article is all about Mount Tecumseh.
Mount Tecumseh :
New Hampshire 48 Hiking Challenge : How to Become a NH 48
As previously state, the 48 Challenge consists of all the peaks within the White Mountains that stand taller than 4,000ft. Mount Tecumseh stands just over 4,000ft at 4,003ft. There is a patch you can receive after completing this challenge. If you go to the AMC website, it will provide you with the papers to fill out and where to send your completed sheets when you finish this challenge. Here you will find the sheet you will need to fill out along the way.
Mount Tecumseh History
The name Tecumseh comes from the Native American chief and warrior, who died at the battle of Thames (a battle during the 1812 war). In 1832 the majority of what is known as the White Mountain National Forest was purchased in Hadley’s Purchase. This article will provide you with more information about how all the 48 high peaks challenge came about. In addition, the ski resort, Waterville Valley, began in 1934, which is on the same property as Tecumseh. This ski resort is a very family-friendly mountain, and has a lot of diverse terrain that it offers.
{Related Articles : Different Ski Resorts Throughout New Hampshire}
Different Ways to Hike Mount Tecumseh : Mount Tecumseh Trailhead
You can hike this trail either via the Waterville Trailhead or via the Tripoli Trailhead. I hiked it via the Waterville Trailhead which is a little shorter and less elevation gain. I had no issues with this hike, I thought it was well marked and maintained. We did hike it on a Saturday and it was crowded. It is a small summit area too, so keep this in mind if you want to hike this mountain. It didn’t take too long, about 4 and a half hours including breaks. You could easily hike this in less time. My friend and I took our time and spent about an hour at the summit.
There is plenty of space to park here during the summer and fall seasons. However, you will park at the Waterville Valley ski resort if you hike Tecumseh via the Waterville Trailhead. Thus, in the winter during ski/snowboard season, the parking lot might be super full at 8am on a weekend. When my friend and I hiked it in the fall, we got there a little after 8am and there were maybe 2 other cars in the parking lot. By the time we finished it was pretty crowded and so was the summit. This was also on a weekend. I would keep this in mind if you are trying to decide what time to get to the trailhead.
The Waterville Trail is about 5 miles long with a little over 2,000ft of elevation gain. Whereas, the Tripoli Trail is almost 5.5 miles with almost a 2,500ft elevation gain. The summit of this mountain is not the best. There is a little view but the trees cover a lot of it. Thus, if you hike this in the rain or on a cloudy day, you won’t be missing much.
Mt. Tecumseh Trail from Tripoli Road
I have not hiked Tecumseh this way, so I’m not entirely sure how much more difficult the trail is from this road. All I can look at are the stats and it does say that via Tripoli Road, it’s about 5.5 miles round trip with almost a 2,500ft elevation gain. So, yes, looking at the stats, this is the more difficult way to hike Tecumseh. The Tripoli Road trailhead is only 20 minutes away from Waterville, so if the Waterville parking area is full, then you could always drive and see if Tripoli is open.
Directions to Mount Tecumseh Trailheads
There are many ways you can get to New Hampshire. Now, if you’re staying in New Hampshire, I recommend staying in Lincoln. It is by far the best town in New Hampshire and most central location for hiking in the White Mountains. Tecumseh (both trailheads) are only about 30 minutes away.
I live in New York, so the directions consists of a ton of back roads, which is really annoying. However, if you live in Vermont or Massachusetts, it much more straight forward. If coming from Vermont, you will get on I-89 South until Exit 7 and then stay on Route 62 for awhile. Then again, it is mostly back roads. Now, if coming from Massachusetts, you will get on I-93 and stay there for awhile until Exit 32. At Exit 32, you will get off of I-93 and continue on NH Route 112 and stay there until you arrive in Lincoln, New Hampshire (best place to stay if hiking Mount Tecumseh).
Like I said above, the Waterville Trailhead has plenty of parking if you get there early. Again, if you’re trying to climb Tecumseh winter hike on a weekend, keep in mind you will park in the same area as the ski resort. Thus, if you start at 8am, on a weekend, don’t be surprised if there’s a lot of other people there to ski/snowboard. Some people only ski in the mornings, so another option would be to start your hike around 11am-12pm. But since daylight is limited in the winter, I don’t think it’s smart to start a winter hike anytime after 12pm unless it’s a small hike.
Which, if you are in good hiking shape and the trail is broken in, you should be able to climb Tecumseh in at most four hours. Technically, you could get away with it. However, if you have to break trail I would add at least an hour to your hike time. So, again, these are things to consider if you’re trying to climb Tecumseh in the winter.
Mount Tecumseh Hike
The hike from Waterville is very straight forward and easy to follow. You will follow the different trail markers for Tecumseh, again, there are a lot of signs and trail markers that are very easy to follow. There will be rock stairs that you will climb up in this hike as well. They are pretty helpful, as they keep you from having to climb over all the roots and branches on the trail. Like I previously said, the summit is small and there’s not much of a view because the trees block a lot, but I think this is the easiest and most straight forward New Hampshire 48 high peak. Which is why this is a great peak to start with on your 48 journey.
Mount Tecumseh Camping
While there isn’t any camping at this mountain, there are many campgrounds nearby. For example, you could camp at Osceola Vista, Big Rock Campground, Lafayette Campgrounds, Basin Campground, Cold River, Blackberry Crossing, Hancock Campgrounds, and more that you can find here. Although, you will still have to drive to the trailhead, as you cannot hike to it from the campgrounds listed above.
Waterville Valley Ski Resort
Now, if you are skiers/snowboarders, or you’re interested in learning, the ski resort located at the Mount Tecumseh Trailhead, Waterville Valley Ski Resort is a great place to learn. It has 62 trails, a little over a 2,000ft vertical drop, 11 lifts, glades, lessons, night skiing, terrain parks, and more. They have a great beginner area, as well as more difficult trails on the upper mountain.
Final Thoughts of Mount Tecumseh
Overall, I didn’t mind Mount Tecumseh, I thought it was a nice introduction to the White Mountains and the NH 48. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more of a view. But, I know there are better views to come on this challenge, especially with Mount Washington (tallest peak in the east) and the whole Presidential Range and much much more. Thank you for reading and I hope this article was helpful to you!
