Mt Roberts & Faraway Mountain, NH

• 3 & 4-star hikes
• 2 to 10 mile options
• Moderate | Gain 420 to 1,650 feet
• Moultonborough, NH | Lakes Region
. 52-With-A-View

A green sign with white lettering reads ‘MOUNT ROBERTS ELEVATION 2585 ft. Owned and Stewarded by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust.’ The sign is mounted on a post in front of a scenic view with dense green foliage, a clear blue sky, and mountain ranges in the background.

Snowcapped Mount Washington visible from Mt Roberts' summit.

Perched in the mountains east of Lake Winnpesauke, the century-old estate known as The Castle In The Clouds is home to 28 miles of hiking trails, including two prominent peaks of the volcanic ring dike that is the Ossipee Mountain range. We particularly enjoy the hike to Mount Roberts that meanders gently uphill on an easy going trail and rewards with excellent views across the lake and opposing mountains.

We also feature a shorter hike to a lake viewpoint on Mount Roberts' flank, and a long looping trail that continues on to the more remote Faraway Mountain and returns along a wide old service road that switchbacks its return to the trailhead.
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3★ Mt Roberts Viewpoint 2.4 mi out & back, moderate, gain 420 ft
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions

4★ Mt Roberts Summit 5.4 mi out & back, moderate, gain 1330 ft
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions

3★ Mts Roberts & Faraway Loop 9.7 mi loop, moderate, gain 1650 ft
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions

Mt Roberts Viewpoint
Short hike to first viewpoint.
For those with a preference for a shorter hike, the Mount Roberts viewpoint at around 1,640 feet above sea level is a good target to aim for. The views do get better as you hike upward, in case you're considering a stretch goal.

A person in a red top sits on rocky ground, overlooking a vast landscape with multiple water bodies and islands. The sky is clear with few clouds, and the horizon features hills or low mountains. The person is facing away from the camera, gazing at the scenic view.

Mount Roberts views across Lake Winnipesaukee.

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Mt Roberts Summit
Best trails and views.
This route captures the best of the estate's trails and all of the views. The trail progresses only gradually uphill as it winds through a lightly scattered and deciduous forest with some rocks, but mostly easy going. About half way through the ascent the views open up tremendously to reveal frequent sweeping vistas beyond squat evergreen trees.

The trail continues up a mountain ridge to the somewhat flat summit, where on a clear day you can see Mount Washington some thirty five miles distant. We prefer this out-and-back route to the loop trail in part because you get to see the great lake views all over again on your return leg.

A panoramic view of a mountainous landscape under a clear blue sky. The foreground features green shrubbery and small trees, while the background showcases rolling hills leading up to taller mountain ranges with some snow-capped peaks in the distance

White Mountain panorama from the top of Mount Roberts.

A panoramic view from a high vantage point overlooking a vast landscape. It features a large body of water with numerous islands scattered throughout. The foreground shows rocky terrain with sparse vegetation, mainly coniferous trees. The horizon is dominated by a clear blue sky with few clouds, and distant mountains can be seen along the skyline.

Best lake views are above the treeline before Mt Roberts summit.

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Mts Roberts & Faraway Loop
For completeists.
Good for peak baggers, the taller summit of Faraway Mountain is only a further 1.8 miles and 300 feet of elevation gain from the top of Mount Roberts. The trail is much wider and looks something like a service road, though it appears to be much less travelled than the route to the top of Roberts. We observed bear tracks in a rare patch of mud, but knowing how extremely unlikely bear attacks are we strolled on by.

The top of Faraway Mountain is at the end of a short out and back. Don't expect much - there's some communications equipment up here, but no views. Returning on the full loop trail proved to be uneventful and mostly uninteresting, making us wish we'd gone back the way we came for more of those lake views.

A person wearing an orange shirt and dark pants walks on a rocky trail through a forest. There is a red trail marker on a tree to the right. The scene is brightly lit by sunlight filtering through the bare trees, indicating a clear day.

Probably one of the rockiest sections on the Mt Roberts trail.

Mount Roberts is featured as part of the New Hampshire 52 With A View hiking list, which showcases peaks with some the best scenic views in the state. The link at the foot of this article takes you to Trailspotting's map of the peaks on the full list and shows all of the trails on which to reach them. Follow us as we explore all the peaks on this list and publish trail reviews featuring descriptions, photography and downloadable maps.

Tangents:
• Lakes Region Trust: Castle In The Clouds
• Public Maps at AllTrails: Mt Roberts, Roberts & Faraway
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article

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NH 52 With A View
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