Winant Park, Concord NH
• 3-star hikes
• 1.6 to 2.8 mile options
• Easy difficulty | Gain 270 to 320 feet
• Concord, NH | Merrimack Region
• Driving Directions: Trailhead
Information kiosk by the Fisk Road trailhead and parking lot.
Named for the relatives of benefactor of the park’s land, Winant Park sits in the Northwest hills above and on the outskirts of New Hampshire’s capital city.
The forested land has been used for many years for hiking, horse riding and skiing. The City of Concord has doubled-down on the park’s development in recent years with new signs, frequent wayfinding blazes and formalization of the park’s trails; while requesting that older informal trails be left grow over and return to nature. What exists today is a pleasant small network of trails that string around and over the park’s highest hill and into the backwoods beyond.
Hill Loop,
Hill Loop 3★
1.6 mi, Loop, Easy, Gain 270 ft
Trailspotting Map: AllTrails, GPX File
Hill & Backwoods Loop 3★
2.8 mi, Loop, Easy, Gain 320 ft
Trailspotting Map: AllTrails, GPX File
Views from the summit of the round, unnamed 650 foot hill are partial at best and likely close to nil in summer when the forest’s foliage is in full force. The Mountain Vista points towards some distant peaks between a light row of tree trunks, and the cut-back vegetation at the State House Vista leads the eye to the gold-topped building some 1.6 miles away to the East. Reaching the top of this hill is relatively easy for most, and there are a couple of benches at the top if you need to get your breath back, or if you just want to sit back and enjoy some peace and quiet in the forest.
The aptly named Backwoods, North of the hill provide opportunities for an additional forest loop. We've listed two separate routes on our map depending on how long of a forest ramble you're in the mood for. A side trip along a trail to the East leads to a large water tank, but there are no views or other features of interest over here.
The Winant trailhead also connects to the nearby Marjory Swope Park via the 1.6 mile (each way) Winant Connector Trail. Please see our Marjory Swope Park trail review for more information and a map for this route.
Mountain Vista from the hilltop.
Typical Winant Park trail. | Painted rock by the trailhead.
Tangents:
• Trail Links: Official, Public Map at AllTrails
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article
Nearby Trails:
• 2 miles away: Marjory Swope (4★ trails, 2-5 miles)
• Show on map: All nearby trails
Receive new articles around once a week with trail reviews, maps and photos.