Lake of the Clouds from Mount Washington Summit via Crawford Path is a 2.9 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Randolph, New Hampshire that offers the chance to see wildlife and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking and nature trips and is best used from April until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
January 6, 2021Went up ammo. Above clouds up top. Came down jewel. Amazing day. Met our guy mike on top, good vibes. On to 27!
November 7, 2020Started at Appalacia trailhead at 3:45 AM 11/7. Dropped off second car at AMC highland center a few hours prior. With the whole traverse planned for one day, we quickly realized that was out of reach when we hit Washington at mile 12 at sunset. Most beautiful sunset. We decided to bail down by lake of the clouds hut and not hike the remaining 6-8 miles in the total dark. Even though we had plenty of headlamps the full traverse was tricky. We would have finished with a moving time of close to 16 hours. Wind was our enemy all day long. Met a trail angel at the hut who saved our night and blessed us. Shout out to you Jonathon
October 3, 2020A very challenging trail. First two miles are easy last two are strenuous! Great summit too foggy to see.
September 28, 2020Very rocky , watch your step Lake of clouds may be clear while the summit is not.
September 26, 2020Very rocky but worth the effort. Way down from the summit is hard but way back up was much easier! Need to balance a lot and take plenty of breaks. Not much of a view but our drive up to the summit was full of pretty foliage.
September 26, 2020Definitely recommend counterclockwise. Jewel is much easier to come down. Parking at the Cog saves you some distance, but costs $10. Bring warm clothes as it’s always windy up top. Beautiful views once you get above the tree line on both trails.
September 24, 2020Slippery appoints windy and cold at the top cleared up as we got to the lake in the clouds
September 22, 2020September 20, 2020We planned on doing Monroe but stopped at the Lake of The Cloud and the weather was so good we opted for Mount Washington 1.4 mile hike. Definitely a workout for my 60 year old legs . The hike from the base to lake of the clouds started out reasonable and then about 1.4 mile of nonstop climbing with some foot and hand climbing over rocks. Most people in decent shape can accomplish this. Total time from the start to Mount Washington Summit about 4:15. Took the last cog railway down.
September 12, 2020September 12, 2020Amazing day! Highly unusual weather sunny and no wind! I'm not a hiker but in good shape. The hike to the summit via the Jewell Pass was gradual. After the Summit which was crowded, we hiked to the Lakes of Clouds, a set of tarns located at the 5,032 ft between Mount Monroe and Mount Washington. The lakes form the source of the Ammonoosuc River. We followed the Crawford Path, which was all rock and a bit technical for me during the climb down which eventually turned into the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail.
September 10, 2020Pretty cool spot, if you join the AMC, you are able to book a bed in the shelter. Tap at the top for fresh water.
September 7, 2020September 6, 2020September 3, 2020We did this two days ago in the thick of the fog. Definitely a work out, loved it!
August 29, 2020Due to less daylight . Returning via train .have done the trail in the past . Hope to do it again soon
August 22, 2020August 22, 2020August 22, 2020August 17, 2020INCREDIBLE VIEWS very challenging rock scramble but absolutely worth it for the views. I recommend taking jewell trail back
August 15, 202015Aug2020 Today was 78F Summer day with a nice breeze. The Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail starts next to the Restrooms in the trail head parking lot. The trail starts out moderate with a few muddy areas, 1.5 miles in the trail gets difficult after the nice water fall crossing (Jem Pond) As you continue to climb the steep rocks you will find a unmarked Outlook trail on your right. Continue straight up the steep rocks if you want to avoid the outlook. The Ammonoosuc trail then changes to slabs of stones to climb that may require some hand holds. From this point the views start to show you the rewards of the hike. Soon you will reach the Lakes of the clouds Hut, here you will find a friendly staff that has restrooms, food and water during daylight hours, note the water faucet is outside the building next to the bench. We headed for the Washington summit using the Crawford Path Trail, this trail has many rocky steps with lots of breath taking views along the way to the Mount Washington summit. Hopefully it’s a clear day to enjoy the summit views. You will find restrooms, food, water, gift shop, post office, and additional attractions here. After taking your picture at the summit marker, hike forward towards Trinity Heights Connector trail via (Gulfside) Jewel Trail, stay right at the first crossing heading towards the train tracks that you will be climbing over. Stay left after the train rail crossing, continue your descent following the moderate-difficult Jewel Trail, for the next 1.5 miles watch your footing, many loose table top stones. A trail marker is on your left after the 2 bridge water crossing, stay on the Jewel Trail to complete the loop to the parking trail head (Not the Jewel LINK trail). Overall this hike was an excellent mix of challenges with many great views along the way. I recommend the loop direction described above. The 10 mile loop took us 8 hours total with lunch and summit viewing stops (6.5 hours moving time). Ammonoosuc trail is very slippery in wet conditions. Don’t ignore any quick bad weather changes on Mount Washington. Parking trail head lot is $5. Have a great hike B-Safe.
August 13, 2020stopped for a short hole on my way to Maine. drove the auto road then hiked to the lake and back. stunning day.
August 11, 2020August 7, 2020Beautiful waterfalls up, beautiful views on top
August 7, 2020Great! Jewel is tough
August 7, 2020August 6, 2020August 1, 2020Very rocky at the top, beautiful views along the ridge line, very rocky then nice & soft trail for about 4 miles down.
