Non-Summit Sunrise Hike Suggestions

I like doing sunrise/sunset hikes at this time of year and was looking for some non-summit ideas such as open fields up in the mountains, "remote" ponds, etc for a sunrise. Like my regular hiking, I also do these as day trips from CT so doing a sunrise summit every week is a bit taxing on the body drugging myself to sleep FRI afternoon, driving overnight with coffee in hand, heading out on the trail at 2AM, etc, etc. The combo of Unisom and caffeine leaves me useless the following day (but is still totally worth it like my hike up to Mt Franklin last weekend). So I was thinking of other possibilities where the walk wasn't quite as long or demanding as a summit for the sunrise and the ride not excessively long (my ride "sweet spot" is generally up Rte 93 from Lincoln to the AMC Highland Center). Any ideas? 2-3 hour hike of easy to moderate walking is what I'm targeting.

Was considering Shoal Pond or Ethan Pond as possibilities because they have easterly exposure on the proper angle but the views are limited and I've been out in that area several times this year already. Any other ponds or meadows off the beaten path that anyone can think of with exposure to the sunrise and possibly better views? At a loss coming up with a hike for this weekend. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Very much on the beaten path, but if you pick a midweek non-summer season day to avoid people as much as possible, I still like the view of the Franconia Ridge across Lonesome Lake.
Maine has great options (more ponds) but is outside your preferred zone.
Make sure that Unisom is metabolized completely before you head up the road!

Not quite what you're asking but there's a big "pond" to the east of you. If you haven't seen Cape Cod National Seashore, sunrise is a great time to remedy that. Miles of hiking available, including some small hills (dunes).

You could try Mt. Greylock. If you drove the Mass Pike to Lee and headed north on US 7, you could drive up the auto road from the south to the Jones Nose or Campground parking lot and take a couple of hour hike to the summit. Nice view of the sunrise from up there (weather permitting).

Breakfast is served at Bascom Lodge this time of year. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/trails/greylock.pdf

The map shows that the Jones Nose parking is Day-Use Only. You should call the Visitor Center to be sure where to park.

jfb said:

You could try Mt. Greylock. If you drove the Mass Pike to Lee and headed north on US 7, you could drive up the auto road from the south to the Jones Nose or Campground parking lot and take a couple of hour hike to the summit. Nice view of the sunrise from up there (weather permitting).

Breakfast is served at Bascom Lodge this time of year. http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/trails/greylock.pdf

The map shows that the Jones Nose parking is Day-Use Only. You should call the Visitor Center to be sure where to park.

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I might be camping out that way in mid-October and I've never done Greylock so I'll have to keep that in mind.

There's a beautiful meadow up on the side of Bemis with a easterlyish view. However, I am not sure you would want to follow the old Bemis trail by headlamp due to the multiple blow downs. Although other than this the trail was easy to follow to this point. When I was there a few years ago, I remember thinking how much I would love to camp here and wake up with the sunset.

Not sure what you'd get for a view of the sunrise from Ethan or Shoal Ponds. Mountain Pond should give you a pretty good sunrise. Not much of a hike for that drive unless you spend the night there. Sawyer Pond may be a good spot too.

I know this is a much longer drive then you are asking for, but pretty much anything on the west shore of Lake Champlain. I used to jog on the South Hero recreational path (aside from a 100 foot cut, it is a rail trail that cuts across the Lake from the Champlain Islands to Colchester in VT) when I lived up there. This time of year I would catch the sunrise over Mallet's bay over the Green mountains with Mallett's bay in the foreground. That said, maybe you could search out something similar around Squam Lake or Winnipesaukee ? Never been there at Sunrise, but I would have think the Lonesome Lake suggestion would be a great one too. Jennings peak in Waterville valley (I know, it is a peak).

yogi said:

I would love to camp here and wake up with the sunset.

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Really? Interesting. ;-)

Agamenticus is a summit but well under your hiking time requirement. Nominally opens at dawn but you could probably sneak in a bit early and nobody'd say boo. http://www.agamenticus.org/

DayTrip said:

I like doing sunrise/sunset hikes at this time of year and was looking for some non-summit ideas such as open fields up in the mountains, "remote" ponds, etc for a sunrise. Like my regular hiking, I also do these as day trips from CT so doing a sunrise summit every week is a bit taxing on the body drugging myself to sleep FRI afternoon, driving overnight with coffee in hand, heading out on the trail at 2AM, etc, etc. The combo of Unisom and caffeine leaves me useless the following day (but is still totally worth it like my hike up to Mt Franklin last weekend). So I was thinking of other possibilities where the walk wasn't quite as long or demanding as a summit for the sunrise and the ride not excessively long (my ride "sweet spot" is generally up Rte 93 from Lincoln to the AMC Highland Center). Any ideas? 2-3 hour hike of easy to moderate walking is what I'm targeting.

Was considering Shoal Pond or Ethan Pond as possibilities because they have easterly exposure on the proper angle but the views are limited and I've been out in that area several times this year already. Any other ponds or meadows off the beaten path that anyone can think of with exposure to the sunrise and possibly better views? At a loss coming up with a hike for this weekend. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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My first suggestion is to drive up Friday afternoon and stay overnight in your "sweet spot" (car camp, camp or motel) rather than drug yourself Friday only to be useless the next day. We did much of our WMNF peakbagging that way and were happy with the routine.

As for specific suggestions, most have favorite sunrise or sunset locations and maybe one we'd rather not reveal but I don't mind mentioning Guyot leanto and Cape Cod National Seashore ... OK so that last one is not in your sweet spot but you can do it from home.

My preference over sunrise locations is a location for both sunset and full moon rise. Any 2-3 hour open summit will do but astronomical events over relatively undeveloped and unlighted areas are best in my book.

Stan said:

My first suggestion is to drive up Friday afternoon and stay overnight in your "sweet spot" (car camp, camp or motel) rather than drug yourself Friday only to be useless the next day. We did much of our WMNF peakbagging that way and were happy with the routine.

As for specific suggestions, most have favorite sunrise or sunset locations and maybe one we'd rather not reveal but I don't mind mentioning Guyot leanto and Cape Cod National Seashore ... OK so that last one is not in your sweet spot but you can do it from home.

My preference over sunrise locations is a location for both sunset and full moon rise. Any 2-3 hour open summit will do but astronomical events over relatively undeveloped and unlighted areas are best in my book.

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I've been doing 99% of my hikes as day hikes since I started hiking seriously about 5 years ago, including the 48 4k's. Unfortunately family and other obligations usually keep me from staying overnight much so I have to take advantage of the one day as best I can. Sunrises are the hardest because of the wacky hours for the drive but they're still very doable on occasion. Sunsets are easier. I did do much more overnight camping this year than I ever had (2 solo trips to ME and NY as well as a few weekend trips with friends where I was able to hike). Definitely nice waking up and already being at or close to the mountain. And as crazy as it sounds I really like the huge days. Just seems to add a level of challenge on the endurance front. About 6 weeks ago I did a 17 hr, 23.5 mile hike with 7300' of vertical (my longest hike to date) and 8 hours of driving back and forth. Had a blast. 20-22 hour hiking days are not that unusual for me in the Summer. A regular hike, even a very long one, usually gives me a tremendous amount of energy after. I often have trouble falling asleep when I get home and rarely need to drink coffee on the ride back.

Regarding Guyot lean to I have never taken the time to go down to it and check it out. Is there an outlook or exposed area there? May have to check into that on my next trip in that area. I've heard it gets pretty crowded though so I'm not sure it would be for me. As I drove by the fog laden ponds on my way to work today it made me think that the sunrise pond hike may be an epic buzzkill at this time of year too. Putting all that effort in to stare into white nothingness is probably a deal killer now that I think about it. It's not that I don't love the summit hikes. Was just looking for a change of pace.

Guyot leanto has an easterly exposure and though, not clearly visible, I believe at the center of the horizon is Nancy and the Pond. Any autumn fog would probably be deep in the valley below.

I've racked my brain trying to think of which pond(s) in the WMNF have some elevation to the west and drop off to the east but can't come up with one but there are certainly many I haven't been to. Sawyer Pond is a candidate though there are some hills to the east and a decent sunrise as I recall from the leanto on the west shore.

Boarstone Mountain, a Maine Audubon Sanctuary near Monson, has three ponds at its base aptly named Sunrise, Middle and Sunset. Any disappointment in the ponds would be made up for by the spectacular view from Boarstone itself.

Speaking of Maine, I always seek out a place where both a paddle and a hike can be done on one trip. Lobster Lake has several campsites and a trailhead to Lobster Mountain where I'll bet the sunrise over Katahdin is worth the effort. This is north of Greenville and Moosehead Lake.

That CCNS I mentioned at first is a good family outing. Many years ago when we were staying on the Cape, "sunrise on the beach" was on the to-do list. Erik, little more than a toddler then was the only one "signed up" for the event but we enjoyed it, even after being stopped for speeding on rt. 6. We did a long walk on the beach and took a nap.

Your routine is one that can only be envied by me who was once infamous for my 24 hour day trips ... proving once again as Oscar Wilde said, "Youth is wasted on the young."

Stan said:

I've racked my brain trying to think of which pond(s) in the WMNF have some elevation to the west and drop off to the east but can't come up with one but there are certainly many I haven't been to. Sawyer Pond is a candidate though there are some hills to the east and a decent sunrise as I recall from the leanto on the west shore.

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Yah it didn't seem like it would be that hard until I started looking at my maps. Star Lake I bet would an incredible sunrise when the sun is at the right angle although I'm not sure how much water is left in it right now. Not really a short climb but I love that area so pretty much any time I go there I enjoy it. Guess I'll have to stick to summits. Thanks for the suggestions.

This is a SSE view on Mountain Pond form the shore in front of the shelter. But there are easterly views to be had.



This is east on Sawyer Pond.

Foss Mt. In Eaton NH is a very short but rewarding view. always a great spot for any terrestrial event. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/foss-mountain-sunrise-eaton-nh-jeff-sinon.html

JustJoe said:

This is a SSE view on Mountain Pond form the shore in front of the shelter. But there are easterly views to be had.

This is east on Sawyer Pond.

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These seem like some good possibilities. Never been to either one. Thanks for the photos.

2 to 3 hours walking is about what it would take to get to the fire tower on Kearsage North. It has 360 views and its location slightly offset from the main core of the whites means long views especially east. More than few folks camp overnight in the tower and its even equipped with an outhouse (but water needs to be carried up). The North Conway strip does contribute some light pollution to the south.

peakbagger said:

2 to 3 hours walking is about what it would take to get to the fire tower on Kearsage North. It has 360 views and its location slightly offset from the main core of the whites means long views especially east. More than few folks camp overnight in the tower and its even equipped with an outhouse (but water needs to be carried up). The North Conway strip does contribute some light pollution to the south.

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In was looking more for non summit options, although I do like that hike and I haven't done it in a long, long time. Used to go to the North Conway area quite a bit when I was younger. Two of my uncles had a place in Center Conway right near Conway Lake. I love the Moats too for a great hike, particularly South and Middle and that lengthy ridge walk with all the great views.

NH just isn't like out West I guess where they have all these panoramic lakes and fields filled with wildflowers overlooking incredible mountain ranges. Was looking for a mini-version of such a thing closer to home.

Greeley Ponds