Green Mt Fire Tower, Effingham NH


• 3-star hikes
• 3 mile out-and-back
• Moderate | Gain 1,150 to 1,360 feet
• Effingham, NH | Lakes Region
.   NH Fire Towers   A tall metal fire lookout tower rises above a forested landscape, anchored by support cables and topped with a small cabin featuring windows on all sides. The structure stands against a backdrop of clear blue sky, emphasizing its elevated vantage point used for spotting wildfires in remote, wooded areas. Trees surround the base, framing the tower within its natural environment.
Green Mountain Fire Tower at the 1,884 foot summit.

There are three routes to the summit of Green Mountain in Effingham, NH, where a historic - though no longer active - fire lookout tower is perched. Of the two most popular routes, we opted for High Watch Trail, drawn by its wide and comfortable path, which falls on the easier side of moderate, and is endorsed by the New Hampshire Fire Lookout Tower Quest Program.

The forest floor crunches underfoot as we wind our way along High Watch Trail, up Green Mountain's northern flanks. The trail steadily ascends through mixed hardwood forest on a mostly easy route, though with some marginally moderate sections where occasional steeper slick granite surfaces make things a little more difficult.
⬤ 3★ High Watch Trail   2.8 mi out & back, moderate, gain 1,150 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions GPX?
⬤ Libby Road Trail (Y)   3.4 mi out & back, gain 1,170 ft
GPX File · AllTrails Public · Directions
⬤ Dearborn Trail (Y)   2.7 mi out & back, gain 1,360 ft
GPX File · AllTrails Public · Directions
 P  Free parking    Y  Yet to review

Forest views persist all the way to the summit where the Green Mountain Fire Tower is perched. Climb the metal steps to the last platform before the locked cabin - watching out for some low head clearances near the top - and enjoy expansive panoramic views towards the White Mountains and the Ossipee Mountain range.

Parking for High Watch Trail offers two possibilities - an unmarked area at the end of the asphalt road paved High Watch Road, or a very large hardstanding area located further along the unpaved continuation of the road. Careful with AllTrails' directions to this trailhead, which incorrectly sent us onto an abandoned section of High Watch Road off State Route 25.

A person in a red shirt and dark pants walks alone along a narrow forest trail blanketed with pine needles and scattered leaves. Tall trees line both sides of the path, their dense green foliage forming a natural canopy overhead. Mounted on a tree to the left, a wooden sign marked 'HIGH WATCH TRAIL' points the way forward, accompanied by a smaller sign prohibiting dogs. The scene feels serene and shaded, capturing a quiet moment of movement through a lush, well-trodden woodland path.
Starting the High Watch Trail hike to the tower.

Of the two other trails to the summit of Green Mountain, Libby Road Trail is the most popular, with the Dearborn Trail reportedly much less used. We haven't explored these trails ourselves yet, but thanks to Open Street Maps data we're able to provide these routes in this article. We also link to AllTrails' pages for these alternate routes.

 MAP PACK:  NH Fire Towers  Complete the NH State Fire Tower Challenge or go even further and tackle them all with our Map Pack. Download this free smartphone map with trail reviews and route navigation that even works when you're offline.

A sweeping mountain vista stretches across the horizon, framed in the foreground by a dense line of evergreen trees. The mountains are cloaked in verdant forest, with subtle ridgelines layered in soft gradients of green, creating a sense of depth. Overhead, a partly cloudy sky filters sunlight through shifting patches of blue, casting a gentle glow over the landscape.
Whites and Ossipee views from below the locked cabin.

Tangents:
• AllTrails Public: High Watch Trail
• Facebook Group: Comment, Follow Us


New Hampshire Fire Towers
New Hampshire Fire Towers
Discover our map of fire towers and the trails to find them.
Rail Trail Map of New Hampshire
New Hampshire Rail Trails
The state's first and only complete rail trail map. Photos, reviews and downloads.
Mastodon Icon   Bluesky Icon   Facebook Icon   Flipboard Icon   RSS Feed Icon
Subscribe for new trail reviews

Trailspotting is non-commercial and ad-free.
Content provided without warranty of accuracy. Copyright © 2025 Stuart Green all rights reserved. About Trailspotting.com