Mount Osceola & East Peak NH


• 4-star hike
• 6 to 8 mile options
• Moderate | Gain 2,070 to 3,000 feet
• Lincoln, NH | White Mountains
.   NH 4,000 Footers   Hiker sitting on the top of of an expansive granite summit, looking out over jagged peaks covered in a carpet of green trees.
Outstanding Waterville Valley views from Osceola.

Completing the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club’s list of peaks is a milestone for many New England hikers, and finishing the list within a year is a tougher challenge. The hike from Tripoli Road to the summits of the Osceolas covers about 8 miles round trip with close to 2,800 feet of elevation gain, offering White Mountain views while allowing you to check off two summits.

The trailhead for the Tripoli Road hikes has a large parking lot with a restroom, a well-maintained unpaved road off I-93. Tripoli Road is closed in winter months – usually between November and May - we include a link to the US Forest Service road status page at the bottom of this article. Mount Osceola's summit can also be reached via the Greeley Ponds Trail off Route 112 which is open all year round. We haven't explored this route yet, but thanks to Open Street Map data we're able to share with you the route information until we find the time to hike it. There's also a link to the AllTrails article on this route linked at the foot of the page.
4★ Mt Osceola Trail   5.7 mi out & back, moderate, gain 2,070 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions* GPX?
4★ Mt Osceola Trail & East Peak   7.5 mi out & back, moderate, gain 2,840 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions*
Greeley Ponds Trail to East Peak  Y    6.8 mi out & back, gain 3,000 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions**
 $  *Paid parking    P  **Free parking    Y  Yet to review

Mt Osceola Trail
The trail to Mount Osceola’s 4,340 foot summit delivers gradual elevation gain, which means this is not a thigh burner. Conditions are mostly rocky, with occasional granite caps that can get quite slippery in wet weather or when passing over mountain streams. Trees surround you all the way to the summit, so views are rare along your journey. However, the summit of Mount Osceola is thankfully bare and provides outstanding views of the entire Waterville Valley.

Mt Osceola & East Peak   For those wanting to bag a second 4K peak, or just to extend their hike, the trail continues in a North Easterly direction for another 0.9 miles to Mount Osceola’s East Peak. This route includes a rock scramble down a 20-30 foot chimney which is moderate in difficulty, before tracing the ridgeline to the second summit. The trail provides more impressive views, although the summit does not.

A panoramic view of the Mount Osceola ridgeline.
Mt. Osceola in the center, East Peak to the right.

Tangents:
• Official: WMNF Road Status
• AllTrails Public: Tripoli Rd Route, Greeley Ponds
• Facebook Group: Comment, Follow Us


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