Hiking in Pittsburg, NH

[WhiteMTHike]

I have a trip planned in July to Pittsburg, NH. I've been there once before about a half dozen years ago but did not do any hiking. I will be with my family and it looks like Mount Magalloway trail will be a nice little hike. Has anyone ever hiked this trail? It doesn't look like a big hike but the views look good. How about any other trails in Pittsburg that any of you have done? Are there any good trails just over the Canadian border, perhaps in the Chartierville or La Patrie area?

Finally, I know ATVing is popular in the Great North Woods region. Do the ATV's present any problems for hiking in that area? I know the ATV's have their own trail system up there but is it far enough from the hiking areas so there are no problems?

Sorry to ask so many questions but the information I always get from this board is always valued. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[RoySwkr]

Magalloway is probably the only real mountain hike for a family, there are also short trails to Fourth Connecticut Lake, Garfield Falls, and Indian Stream gorge.

The trail to Deer Mtn fire tower was badly chewed up by ATVs last time I was there and not a good hike but that may have changed.

If you wait a few years, more of the Cohos Trail may be built but right now the Pittsburg section is mostly old roads.

PB can tell you about the new trail on the Quebec side.

 

[Papa Bear]

PB can tell you about the new trail on the Quebec side.

There is a Quebec based group (Sentiers Frontaliers) that has published a map and laid out trails along the boundary and up to Mont Gosford and Mont Megantic. These generally are near the Maine section, not the NH section of the border. Many of us who have climbed the Hundred Highest "Boundary Peak" from the Canadian side have used these trails. They are in the best shape around Mount Gosford. In most other areas I have sought them, such as out to Marble, down past Twin Peaks, Barker and down to the Magalloway Road they are not in great shape. The swath is there to be sure, but elsewhere these trails are sometimes hard to find. I remember one 3k bagger group a year or two back, trying to go out to Barker, gave up and just whacked to the swath.

Certainly not for families. But at least they have good intentions and are way ahead of COHOS in implementation.

 

[dentonfabrics]

There's not a whole lot of hiking trails up there. The road to Magalloway is now clear all the way to the trailhead and as I recall it's only a little more than a mile up to the summit. There's another (unmarked) trail that starts just beyond the dam at 2nd CT Lake which goes out to a remote pond, and the hike out to 4th CT Lake is awesome, but short.

I go up there a couple of times each summer and drive the fire roads to some backwoods ponds, some of which are not even on the map, (where there's great fishing and paddeling) and I've never had a hassel with ATVs. There is a North Country ATV/Snowmobile map you can buy at the Mountain Wanderer. These roads are also excellent for mountain biking. Watch out for logging trucks.

And if you're staying at a hotel up there, don't even think about getting a room at The Buck Rub (aka, The Butt Plug).


bob

 

[peakbagger]

A bit south of Pittsburg but along the way is the other "monadnock" just across the river from Colebrook. The restored fire tower has great views up and down the Connecticut River as well as most of Northern NH and a good chunk of the Northeast Kingdom of VT. Its a well graded trail but the finding where it goes in the woods is a bit of a challenge.

 

[Papa Bear]

And if you're willing to cross the river at Colebrook (Monadnock is indeed a gem and definitelyy a family hike) turn the other way and go east to Dixville Notch.

A nice short hike opposite the hotel to Table Rock (hold the hands of small children) and a longer hike from the ski are to Dixville Peak. Nice views. maybe 2.5 miles of easy trails (although wet in season). Just the drive through the notch is worth it. (Certainly more exciting than Rte 3).

 

[Papa Bear]

And if you're staying at a hotel up there, don't even think about getting a room at The Buck Rub (aka, The Butt Plug).
bob

But ... make sure you do go there for Pizza (especially on a weekend night). Better than the Bronx Zoo! (And the pizza is not bad).

 

[Mattl]

Boundary Pond!

 

[carole]

Magalloway has some excellent views and you can make a nice loop hike along with a worthy summit side trail. Sadly the summit around the fire tower was trashed when I was there but that was the only downside. The drive in was even very pleasant.

I did 4th Conn. Lake at sunset and it was a treat. Coming out seeing the lights over in Canada was quite pretty.

 

[askus3]

I did a trip to this area in August 2006. We were based at Maidstone State Park campground. We did four days of hiking

1. Balsams Resort/Dixville Notch (including Table Rock that was previously mentioned. Photo album #1.

2. Nash Stream Valley including the Percy Peaks & Sugarloaf Mt. Photo Album 2

3. Mt. Monadnock & Mt. Magalloway (photo album of your original request)
Photo album #2 - back portion

4. Rogers Ledge - Photo album #3.

As always all pictures are captioned so scroll down each picture for a description.

In my opinion Magalloway is worth the drive if you are driving thru the north country on US 3. The dirt roads and road signs are clearly marked from US 3 to the fire tower (trailhead) parking lot. However, once in the lot, the recommended route of ascent (the trail is not signed, not the fire road) is back down the road you drove in on to the parking lot and is about 50 yards back and then look for trail into the woods on your left (as you are driving up, it would be on your right).

Also, on this trip I bagged several of these peaks including Magalloway, which were on the "52 Peaks with a View" list. Great trip!

 

[jrichard]

There's a bunch of trails, although not many are well known.

The Cohos Trail runs though Pittsburg. There's more information about the section hikes in the Cohos Trail Guidebook, at http://www.cohostrail.org, and various sites on the web. You can check trail progress and ask questions on the CT Forums .

If you're into wildlife, you can drive to a back logging road, and just walk. Bring a camera. You're almost guaranteed to see something interesting. The roads around Magalloway are my favorite. But be careful, if you're not used to them they can be tricky to navigate.

Anyway, the trails in Pittsburg that I'd personally recommend are:
Magalloway Mt
Fourth Conn Lake Loop (Nature Conservancy & CT)
Hellgate falls
Garfield falls
Ben Young Hill (CT)

I'd also strongly recommend these nearby hikes also on the CT:
North Percy (in Nash Stream Forest)
Table Rock