Mud season trail closures - new to me

srhigham · May 3, 2023

Oddly enough, in many decades of hiking, I've never, until now, run into the concept of trails that don't open until Memorial Day. By chance ,this year, two of my early plans have been nixed due to apparent mud season closures: Squam Range trails in N.H. and Willoughby trails in Vt. For the Squam Range, I drove up there before learning that. Before this, I always thought of mud season as being March and maybe some of April, but never considered it to go up to June!

Lone Stranger · May 3, 2023

The GMC has done it for a long time, but I am seeing more places doing it this year. Some smaller preserves here in ME have closed for a little bit. Makes sense to protect the trails. First warm weather brings a lot of feet just as things are wettest. Damage adds up fast.

I think of March as prime winter camping month, April is rotten snow month and May is mud month. Have to go out to do trail work, but I know that mud is waiting for me.

Ken MacGray · May 3, 2023

The Squam Range closures happen every year around this time. Keep an eye out here for updates:

https://squamlakes.org/mudseason

rocket21 · May 3, 2023

I don't like mandatory closures, but nowadays the trails are getting trashed during shoulder season. There are a lot of places that need to be left alone for a few weeks while the footbed (and adjacent ground) is vulnerable. The resulting damage is lasting.

I think a lot of the standard 4K approaches should be avoided for the next few weeks.

peakbagger · May 4, 2023

Back when I moved to the whites in 1987 I planned to carry snowshoes until Memorial Day. Some years I got way early but it was very trail dependent I remember once being on the summit of Carrigan around Memorial Day when an exhausted group of backpackers made it the to summit, They had come up Desolation trail which is well known to hold snow late in the spring and they were in 3 to 4 feet of snow in spots.

Various forecasts call for measurable snow to be deposited down to under 3000 feet this week. With the increase in hiker traffic the trails are taking it hard and closures are one way to try to reduce the damage.