Oak Hill Tower Trail, Concord NH
• 4-star hike
• 3.8 to 5.0 mile options
• Easy difficulty | Gain 580 to 780 feet
• Concord, NH | Merrimack Region
• Driving directions: Trailhead
The view from the top of the fire tower steps is great even though the building is locked.
Popular with Concord residents, the trail up to the newly-restored fire tower atop Oak Hill is very pleasant, not too rocky and easy to navigate. Until you reach the top however views are mostly limited to the canopy of oak trees for which the hill was named.
The payoff is worth the 650 feet ascent. Be sure to climb the stairs to the underside of the locked fire tower hut for the best panoramic views. The fire tower is one of around 27 standing fire towers in NH, and one of the goals of the state's Fire Tower Quest Patch. See Trailspotting's Fire Tower List for a map of all standing New Hampshire fire towers and links to fire towers that we've visited.
The fire tower shares the summit with a picnic table, an ancient rusted grading machine and three ugly (but no doubt necessary) microwave and radio towers. I worked hard to keep them cropped them out of my photos, of course.
Tower Tr,
Tower & Loop Tr Tower Trail 3★3.8 mi, Out & back, Easy, Gain 570ft | The shortest route from trailhead to tower and back again along the same trail. We'd rate this as a 3-star trail.
Trailspotting Map at AllTrails
Tower & Loop Trail 4★5.0 mi, Loop, Easy, Gain 770ft | Add a couple more miles to your hike and you'll find even better trails on a more circuitous return route - including Swope Slope Vista on the Dancing Bear Trail and Oak Hill Vista on Vista Way. These viewpoints provide great northerly views as far as Mt. Kearsage and Ragged Mountain, which is particularly impressive when still so close to the city of Concord.
Trailspotting Map at AllTrails
Although we identify these trails as easy in difficulty because the trail involves only a fair incline and poses no rocky challenges, be aware that there is still elevation gain which might be a little much for some.
The best views are at the Oak Hill Vista on Vista Way.
Previous visitors clearly weren't familiar with the meaning of 'leave no trace'.
Tangents:
• Trail Links: Official (PDF), Public Map at AllTrails
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article
Nearby Trails:
• Show on map: All nearby trails
NH Fire Towers
See Trailspotting's Fire Tower Map for list of towers, locations and links to best nearby trails.
See Trailspotting's Fire Tower Map for list of towers, locations and links to best nearby trails.