Three small mountains in the Plymouth area

Yesterday a friend who had driven up for Thanksgiving wanted to do a small hike on the way back to Boston (she had hiked Lafayette -- up Skook, down Greenleaf -- on Friday). It had to be south of Thornton and not too far away as I was not going south. Three hikes seemed possible, I would be curious to know if we left anything out:

• Plymouth Mountain. Two options here: an easy two mile hike with about 1,200 feet of elevation gain to the viewpoint called Pike's Peak, optionally followed by a more challenging half mile with 300 feet of elevation gain along rocky ridges to the true summit. Interesting views from Pike's Peak to the north, east and south.
  
• Rumney Rattlesnake. This is a rather short loop (2½ miles and 1,000 feet of vertical). There are views from the ledges, as I have only hiked this once several years ago I cannot comment on them.
  
• Stinson Mountain. A rather easy 1.8 miles with 1,400 feet of elevation gain, good views to the south from the summit. Views to the north almost completely blocked by trees.

As I have often hiked Plymouth Mountain I excluded it from the choice yesterday, and the Rattlesnake loop seemed a bit too short, so we went to Stinson Mountain. An enjoyable short hike, we left one car at Hannaford as the parking is limited, and on returning to the car we found the lot full with one car parked on the road. I should note that Rattlesnake also has limited parking; on the other hand Plymouth Mountain has a very large parking area (alas, not plowed in winter).

If you want a short hike in that area, think of these three interesting hikes!

Plymouth Mtn from N or W
Bald Knob/Crosby
Prospect Mtn in Holderness
Carr or 3 Ponds
Welch-Dickey

I was stunned by the view from Pike's Peak last winter! Wasn't expecting it at all, wonderful surprise! The area around Pike's Peak is also popular with moose in the winter, as their tracks were the only ones out there that day......until we came along!!! We never went to the true summit that day, so I have a good reason to go back!!

We hiked Pike's Peak today and I was also impressed with the views. We skipped Plymouth Mtn since it may have been icy. Nice trailwork on the Plymouth side! I had hiked Plymouth mtn proper from the 3A side in hebron back in the 90's. Good to see that area is now in conservation. Looks like it has been logged over pretty good.

I've always wanted to hike Stinson since I see it from I-93 heading north near Plymouth. It has an interesting little cleft in the summit, and I'd like to see what that is like from the top. I didn't know about Pikes Peak, and since I've hiked the one in Colorado, I now have to hike it here.

erugs said:

I didn't know about Pikes Peak, and since I've hiked the one in Colorado, I now have to hike it here.

Click to expand...

Let's say that our local Pike's Peak is a little less impressive than the original

My post from a couple of years ago: Plymouth Mountain, May 15, 2010.

Ellen - the cleft that you can see from the highway is the area of ledges that was once the home to a firetower... It does help to make the mountain distinguishable
Its a very enjoyable hike! But, if you do it in the winter, be wary of the snowmobiles - the trail is intersected several times by snowmobile trails in the lower part, then shares the trail for a bit on the old tractor road, then the hiking trail splits off for another bit and rejoins the snowmobile trail just below the summit... Keep your eyes up and your ears open - they tend to go way too fast.
-DR