Bean Mountain * Kennedy Hill * Patten Hill * Jones Hill (Hillsborough): 12/12/2015

Brian was going to originally hike up in the Mount Carr/Mount Kineo area up north in New Hampshire but I convinced him to do some peaks with me in southern New Hampshire, closer to our homes. We both did not want to be out for long Saturday for various reasons, so it was an easy choice for what to attempt to do. Plus, the weather was calling for 50 degree temperatures and sunny so how can you beat that kind of hiking weather in late fall/almost winter.

Bean Mountain - Kennedy Hill

Mileage: 5.75 miles

Elevation gain: 1430 feet

Trails used: none. bushwhack, road walk.

Highlight(s): open woods bushwhack, register on the summit of Bean Mountain and Kennedy Hill.

We tried Bean Mountain earlier this summer but were turned back by access issues on the southwestern approach we were going to use. This time I had good information to attempt it from a different direction and it would be quite a bit shorter than what I originally planned.

Bean Mountain and Kennedy Hill are located in Lempster, New Hampshire. Bean Mountain is also the highest point in Lempster. These two peaks are two of the twelve wind turbines and are part of the Lempster Mountain Wind Power Project. There are no trails that run to the summit of Bean Mountain and Kennedy Hill, so it requires a bushwhack to reach the wooded view-less summit of both peaks. There are views just below the ledges of Bean Mountain and along the turbine access road. We also noted ATV/snowmobile signs so a portion of the access road is used by them. 

We parked at the gated Pillsbury State Park Road off of Route 31 and headed into open woods.

It was early morning so we started getting alpine glow in the trees as we headed up towards the summit of Bean Mountain.

The woods on the bushwhack up to the summit of Bean Mountain turned into this, but still stayed open and easy to walk through.

The views from some ledges just below the summit of Bean Mountain looking towards May Pond in Pillsbury State Park, with Kittredge Hill and the long southern ridge of Sunapee Mountain.

Hiking up this ledge area as we near the summit area of Bean Mountain. We could hear the wind turbines on the way up to the summit.

The views from some ledges just below the summit of Bean Mountain looking towards Lovewell Mountain and May Pond. The sun was shining pretty good this early in the morning.

The tree where the canister on the summit of Bean Mountain used to be.

This cairn rests on the high point of Bean Mountain (elevation: 2326 feet).

We did a short bushwhack from the summit of Bean Mountain down to the wind turbine access road to begin the walk over towards Kennedy Hill.

Brian signing into the jar register on the summit of Kennedy Hill (elevation: 2159 feet).

Heading back up the access road and back towards Bean Mountain, where we would begin the bushwhack back down to the car.

On the way back down to the car, we hit open woods like this complete with a nice defined herd path/trail.

It was a quick hike back down although we had to divert off of the herd path as it led down to someones property. Once back at the car, it was still early enough for us to attempt to do another peak or two. What we ran into though, was access issues for several peaks. Dirt roads that turned into 4WD roads, access issues, dead end roads, and houses along the route with sketchy access. So we did what we usually do. Consult the gazetteer for suggestions.

Patten Hill

Mileage: 1.20 miles
Elevation gain: 360 feet
Trails used: none. ATV/snowmobile trail.
Highlight(s): none.


Sometimes there are those peaks or hikes where you aren't sure why you are doing them, other than they are there and you can do them. This was one of those hikes. We drove around and tried several peaks but what is sometimes on a map or gazetteer doesn't always pan out in real life. So we finally found something quick to do that hopefully we could get pretty close to the summit.

Patten Hill is located in Antrim, New Hampshire. There are summer houses surrounding the area where we parked off of an un-named road just off Gregg Lake Road. There is an ATV/snowmobile trail that goes to the wooded, view-less summit of Patten Hill and beyond.

We parked just below some summer homes on and walked a woods road, and probable ATV/snowmobile trail to the summit of Patten Hill.

The ATV/snowmobile trail passes over the summit of Patten Hill (elevation: 1380 feet).

Brian walking back down the ATV/snowmobile trail back to the car.

Walking back down the semi-private road and back down to the car.

An easy round trip hike. We walked past numerous summer homes, and a few had people that still reside there year round. It was a short walk just to stretch our legs after driving around for awhile. We looked for something else to do as we still had some time left.

Jones Hill (Hillsborough)

Mileage: 3.30 miles

Elevation gain: 690 feet

Trails used: none. road walk, bushwhack.

Highlight(s): open woods bushwhack.

Our last hike of the day after we drove around looking for things to do, and striking out more than once. There were two peaks in the area that I wanted to do but since neither one of us wanted to be out late (for various reasons) we decided it was one and done. Actually I decided to leave the other one for another day as it would have added another 1.5 miles to the day. This still turned out to be a pleasant enough walk in the woods.

Jones Hill is located in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. There is active logging going on down the Class VI road that begins at the end of Smith Pond Road. I imagine with a higher clearance vehicle, and less mud, we could have driven in further thus making the hike a bit shorter. There is no official trail to the wooded, view-less summit of Jones Hill so it was a mixture of logging road hiking and a bushwhack.

Walking up this active logging road at the end of Smith Pond Road. We parked just at the junction of Smith Pond Road and the boat ramp for Smith Pond.

Once we started the bushwhack, there were wide open woods all the way to the summit of Jones Hill. A perfect area for deer/moose hunting as well.

We are nearing the summit of Jones Hill. This whole area is being logged or has been in the recent past, which made it fun to walk through.

The high point of Jones Hill (elevation: 1654 feet). At this point, we headed back down to the road and then back to the car to end the days hikes.

Overall, a productive day hiking wise. Bean Mountain and Kennedy Hill I have wanted to hike for some time so it was a good day to get both of those peaks done. Patten Hill was fluff in the middle of those two hikes and Jones Hill, which added a distinct woodsy feel to the end of the day. The weather was also perfect; I think we both shedded heavier shirts and coats for most of the hikes and we went sans backpacks for Patten Hill.