Hall Mountain (NH) 4/10/2016

Hall Mountain

Location: Candia, New Hampshire
Mileage: 2.15 Miles
Elevation Gain: 475 Feet
Trails Used: Hall Mountain Trail, Bushwhack
Views: None, Wooded Summit

Hiking Lists: None

The weather was supposed to be nice, so a Sunday morning hike sounded perfect. I thought we could do something short with minimal elevation gain, close by, and still have time for errands afterward. Having hiked Bear Hill a few years ago, I figured we could visit the high point in Bear Brook State Park. We pulled into the Hall Mountain Trailhead parking area off Podunk Road, hopped out of the car, and started the hike without backpacks.

Hall Mountain is located in Candia, New Hampshire and also in Bear Brook State Park. Hall Mountain is also the highest point in Candia. There are no trails that go to the wooded, view-less summit of Hall Mountain so it requires a combination of trails and a bushwhack to reach its high point. There are no views, or diminishing views, from the summit of Hall Mountain-Northwest Peak.

The Hall Mountain Trailhead parking area is just off Podunk Road, and the trail begins between two large boulders.

The Hall Mountain Trail begins as an old forest road, then transforms into a snowmobile route in winter, winding its way around the summit of Hall Mountain.

The pill bottle register sits at the highest point of Hall Mountain, at an elevation of 941 feet.

We chose to bushwhack our way to Hall Mountain-Northwest Peak instead of taking the Hall Mountain Trail, mostly because we didn’t realize it led to the lower summit.

The summit of Hall Mountain-Northwest Peak is crossed by the Hall Mountain Trail, which continues beyond it. There’s not much to see from up here, as the views are pretty limited.

The wooded summit of Hall Mountain-Northwest Peak reaches an elevation of 920 feet.

This geocache is located at the summit of Hall Mountain-Northwest Peak, so be sure to bring something to write with.

While the views from either summit weren’t much to speak of, I did manage to snap this shot of Fort Mountain from a random bump along the bushwhack to the Hall Mountain Trail.

We returned to the Hall Mountain Trail for a quick round trip from start to finish. It was a pleasant hike through the woods, and the bushwhack was about as easy as it gets in New Hampshire. We only covered the route from Hall Mountain to Hall Mountain–Northwest Peak, but the trail continues on, with more paths in the park to explore another time.

Hall Mountain is the highest point in the town of Candia, New Hampshire and is located in Bear Brook State Park