Stinson Mountain, Rumney NH
• 4-star hike
• 3.5 mile out-and-back
• Medium difficulty | Gain 1,348 feet
• Rumney, NH | White Mountains
• Driving directions: Trailhead
Looking South from the summit over Rumney, Plymouth and a peek at Newfound Lake.
Trailspotting's NH Summits
Are you a peak bagger or looking for the best views? Trailspotting has a growing list of summit hikes.
Are you a peak bagger or looking for the best views? Trailspotting has a growing list of summit hikes.
Looming 2,300 feet above the town of Rumney at the very Southwest tip of the White Mountains, the forested Stinson Mountain (2,900ft) is a great local hike, and even better when combined with a trip to nearby Stinson Lake or the talus caves of Polar Caves Park.
The foot trail is a moderately inclined route through very typical New Hampshire woodland, passing alongside a small creek and switchbacking a couple of times before reaching the summit. Views beyond the woods are non-existent, but thankfully the bald round summit of the mountain offers some excellent Southerly views and some occasional sightings of larger White Mountain ranges to the North.
Clearly apparent from the foundations that remain, a fire tower was once positioned here. The steel tower was erected here in 1927 but after falling out of service it was dismantled in 1985.
Stinson Mt Trail
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Stinson Mountain Trail 4★3.5 mi, Out & Back, Medium, Gain 1348 ft
Trailspotting Map at AllTrails
Although the trailhead is clearly marked, the trail itself is bereft of blazes or any other kind of markings. If trailfinding becomes difficult and your tracking skills are lacking, then downloading our trail to your smartphone will help you out. Note that the trail meets a forest service road after about a mile - bear left along the road for a short while until the trail diverges to the right at a signed junction. We've traced out the service road in full, should you want to return along this easier route. The service road is maintained all the way to the summit by an organization of snowmobilers, so you may be sharing the mountain with them in winter and spring seasons.
Trailhead parking has space for around three vehicles. Note that there are a couple of sections of dirt road approaching the trailhead which could be sketchy for some vehicles during spring mud season.
We'd mark this trail with three-and-a-half stars if we'd had the foresight to build that kind of a scoring system into our website. The trail itself is pleasant if unremarkable, but the relief of finding some great views at the summit is what earns this trail an extra star.
We hiked this on a snowy, icy, "mashed potato" kinda day in March.
Southern panorama, with two of the foundations from the 1927 steel fire tower.
Stinson Mountain from the distance of Baker River.
Tangents:
• Trail Links: Official, Public Map at AllTrails
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Nearby Trails:
• Show on map: All nearby trails
