Monadnock State Park Headquarters - Jaffrey, New Hampshire

Brandon F.

Beautiful mountian to hike. It's a little more on the difficult side, but so worth it. Go in autumn if you want to see some beautiful foliage. On a clear day, you might actually be able to see the Boston skyline.

Sean R.

The rangers are always helpful and polite. Lots of parking (in winter). Relatively modern rest rooms at the headquarters. Also they have a number of picnic tables in the area around the headquarters building.

The white dot trail is the quickest way to the top but hikers should be prepared for worse weather up the mountain, especially in winter. The peak can be covered with rime ice while it is raining at the headquarters.

Googler 1.

Hard
Avoid heavy clothing, carry only what’s required and wear
sturdy shoes.
Be careful on a Rainy day hike.
Do not step on twigs, tree roots. They are slippery.
Habitat - Orange lizards and woodpeckers.

Bernadette S.

Park was clean and bathrooms were nice. Great hike but definitely not beginner. Parts of it are literally climbing the face of a rock. I'm afraid of heights so we didn't make it all the way up but stopped just short of the summit.

Linda

A popular hiking place as it’s only 1 hour plus driving from Boston area, parking has to be pre-booked online in advance, it’s not really as described “easy” because the huge rocks closer to the peak are slippery and I crawled up literally, hiking pole recommended, windy on the top, brought sandwiches up there and enjoyed a lunch break with gorgeous views!
Somehow lost the GPS signal when approaching the town near the mountain, should have downloaded an offline map.

Zach T.

Very nice park for hiking. We use the Old Toll Road entrance off Rt. 124 (coming from the east you have to drive pass the main entrance). We like hiking Cliff Walk. Start on the access road. Half way up is Parker Trail. Take that to Cliff Walk. Follow cliff walk to bald rock. Then cut back to white arrow. About 2.5 hours going up. There are two tiolets are this entrance.

Dani J.

Mt. Monadnock white dot trail on the way up to the summit and down white cross (loop) is the perfect loop as far as difficulty and length. Not too hard and not too long. The 360 view at the top is amazing but keep in mind the other mountains in this region are on the smaller side. At least you're not looking at cities.

No waterfalls on the route but some water pools at the summit. Look for tadpoles! I saw thousands!

4 mi round trip. It took me from 2:05pm-3:40pm (1h35m) to summit. Then I spent a long time (35 min) enjoying and eating (a full lunch and snacks) at the summit. It was soooo windy. From 4:15pm-5:50pm (1h35m), I hiked down but I'm a super slow down hiker because I have bad knees.

I used 2.5L to get up Monadnock and another 1L to hike down (I'm obsessed with hydration). It was 80 degrees to 55 degrees on this day in June 2022. I was thankful for a light long sleeve at the top. Bugs were minimal.  Definitely glad I wore sunscreen and a hat because much of the hike is a scramble (rocks) so there aren't a lot of trees in those areas and there are none at the summit.

Parking was $15. Very well maintained route and well marked. The path isn't super wide which I appreciate because it makes me feel closer to nature.  I was worried it'd be too crowded but it wasn't at all. Apparently it gets crowded but they have an option to buy a parking pass (I think) so that might be security for next time. Bathrooms were very clean and multiple water bottle filler stations at the base by the restrooms. Loved it!

Justin C.

Beginners/Intermediate trails. Beautiful scenery, very clean, friendly staff, the park store has good sections and accepts cards. One of my favorite New England trails highly recommend without a doubt.