Magalloway Mt, Pittsburg NH


• 5-star hike
• 2 mile options
• Moderate | Gain 850 feet
• Pittsburg, NH | Great North Woods
.   NHFT   A sweeping view from a high mountain vantage point reveals a vast wilderness of densely forested hills and distant ridges. The foreground features a steep, rocky slope dotted with coniferous trees, their dark green needles contrasting against the lighter tones of exposed stone. Beyond, layers of rolling terrain stretch into the horizon, each ridge fading into bluish haze. Sunlight filters through a partly cloudy sky, casting shifting patches of light and shadow across the landscape, emphasizing the elevation changes and natural contours. The scene evokes a sense of scale, solitude, and the quiet grandeur of untouched nature.

Perched on the northern edge of New Hampshire's Great North Woods, Magalloway Mountain rises to 3,383 feet through dense forest, offering one of the state's most remote summit experiences.

Two trails lead from the trailhead to the summit. The Coot Trail is the most direct and slightly steeper than the narrower Bobcat Trail. We recommend a loop beginning with an ascent via Coot and a return on Bobcat. The two trails converge near to the summit, which is reached along a mostly level final stretch.
⬤ 5★ Mt Magalloway Loop   1.9 mi loop, moderate, gain 850 ft
GPX File · AllTrails · Directions GPX?
 P  Free parking

The summit features a fire tower that stands as part of New Hampshire's century-old forest fire detection system, revealing 360-degree views across the mountainous landscape, extending across three U.S. states and into Quebec In 1910 the New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association, the State of New Hampshire, and the U.S. Forest Service worked together to build a system of fire towers in the White Mountains. This network emerged following 'the Year that New Hampshire Burned' in 1903 when over ten percent of the forests in the White Mountains burned and over 500 forest fires blackened a quarter million acres. The summit area includes a former watcher's cabin alongside the active tower.

There are over twenty fire towers remaining in New Hampshire, all of which are mapped and linked on our Trailspotting Fire Tower List. See the link at the bottom of the page for more details, and for information about the New Hampshire Fire Tower Quest Patch that explorers can earn.

Split image showing a forested hiking scene on Magalloway Mountain. Left side: a wooden trail sign mounted between two trees reads “Magalloway Mountain, Elevation 3383', -71.163439 45.063281,” with dense greenery in the background. Right side: a person in a red shirt and dark pants walks away along a wooded trail surrounded by tall trees and underbrush.
Coordinates listed backwards. | Short trail with a great payoff.

Before returning to the trailhead, be sure to visit the overlook on the northern flank of Magalloway Mountain. This viewpoint offers further expansive mountain vistas and reveals reveals the precipitous cliffside of the mountain's edge.

Magalloway Mountain's trailhead is most easily reached by approaching from Route 3 to the North and following nine miles of unpaved logging road. We found these roads to be a relatively easy drive for our two-wheel drive sedan on a dry, late-summer day - though conditions are likely to vary by season.

A person in a red shirt and dark pants walks along a grassy path toward a tall metal fire lookout tower in a forest clearing. The tower has a white observation room at the top and is surrounded by lush green vegetation and dense coniferous trees. The sky is partly cloudy with patches of blue, suggesting a bright daytime setting.
Approaching the 37 foot tall 1935 tower.

View from a fire lookout tower showing rusted metal crossbeams and a mounted observation device in the foreground. Beyond the structure, forested hills and distant mountains stretch under a partly cloudy sky. The landscape is densely covered with evergreen trees, creating a layered, expansive vista of natural terrain.
Views from below the locked cabin.

A small, weathered wooden cabin with red-brown shingles and green trim sits in a dense forest. Its windows and door are boarded up, suggesting abandonment. Tall evergreen trees and thick underbrush surround the cabin, while sunlight and scattered clouds highlight the textures of the wood and foliage in a remote wilderness setting.
The former watcher's cabin.

Elevated view from a rocky, tree-covered cliff overlooking a vast wilderness of forested hills and distant mountain ranges. The landscape is densely packed with coniferous trees, and the partly cloudy sky casts soft shadows across the terrain, adding depth and contrast to the expansive natural scene.
Another view from the northern overlook.

A rocky forest trail descends through dense evergreen trees, with a wooden signpost in the foreground showing two directional arrows labeled “BOBCAT” to the left and “COOT” to the right. In the distance, a scenic valley with a body of water and rolling hills is visible under a partly cloudy sky.
Choosing a path for the descent.

Panoramic view of layered mountain ridges fading into the distance beneath a partly cloudy sky. The forested slopes are dark and textured, while cumulus clouds cast soft shadows across the terrain. Sunlight highlights the peaks and clouds, creating a sense of depth and vastness in the natural landscape.
Distant skyline viewed from the tower.

Tangents:
• AllTrails Public: Magalloway Mt
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