Red Hill via Eagle Cliff Trail

Going up Eagle Cliffs was the best part of this trail. The rest of the trail went up and down too many times to make the fire tower worth it. The parking area is just a pull off on the road.

Pretty solid. First portion (3/4 mile or so) was the most difficult/steep and had the best views. After that it levels out for the most part. At the end of Eagle Cliff you stay on Red Hill for a hundred feet or so until you hit the tower. Definitley climb up the tower and soak in the views.

For whatever reason the trail map on this site also has you do the entire Red Hill trail which is a waste of time. I'd recommend just taking Eagles Cliff back down as opposed to doing another out and back with Red Hill. There are no views and you just go straight to a parking lot.

So in reality if you do Eagles Cliff and only a hundred feet or so of Red Hill just to get to the tower the entire hike will be around 4 to 5 miles.

Overall I'd consider this a moderate hike as opposed to difficult.

The views are incredible! The hike had decent elevation with some definite challenges at some spots, but all together was straightforward and has a great reward at the top! The fire tower can be climbed and provides an amazing view. Lots of diversity in the trail and also spotting of random wildlife. The trail provides lots of fantastic spots to sit and gaze at Lake Squam below. A phenomenal hike!

Absolutely spectacular. One of my absolute favorites. The Eagle Cliff trail has one section that will require the use of hands on steep ledges, but you can choose the bypass instead. I took the bypass on the decent. The first 0.5 miles are steep and get you to an amazingly close view of Squam Lake very quickly. The rest of the trail is less challenging and less steep until you reach Red Hill with the Fire tower. Amazing 360 degree view from the top of the tower. Took me 95 min to get to top, 75 to descend.

Nice, challenging trail.... reward: tower view! Enjoy!!

This hike had a few areas that were rocky and lots of tree roots. It was a good workout too. As you climb up, you can choose the bypass route which is far less rocky than the alternative ledges route. We took the ledges route back down and it was slow going in a few spots. This trail is very buggy even with strong bug spray which was a negative. The views from Red Hill are great and you should climb the fire tower, you can see so much further from the top of the tower. When you get to Eagle Cliff and continue on to Red Hill, the markers are on the rocks and a little faded. Up until that point, all the markers were posted to the trees and the trail was very well marked. Once you get through the short section with the faded markers, the markers on the trees resume.

Surprised at the rating of "hard". I would rate the hike as moderate. It is a good climb, with a nice view from the fire tower at the top. Nice reward.

Trail run up Eagle cliff trail (difficult). And then across to Red Hill Fire tower.

This hike was really really easy , if your looking for a harder/ steeper hike this is not the one . the terrain is very flat and straight forward . took me less than an hour up to red hill . Although the view at the top is pretty sweet with the surrounding lakes

Great 360 view of lakes and surrounding area from the tower.

went up the red hill trail...didn't do the entire loop...nice view at the top!

Steep hike but the views of the lakes are well worth it! Used to run Red Hill with my cross country team in high school. Fire tower at the top is a fun outlook.

Unprepared to do this hike which make it difficult but rewarding views at the top. And a nice fire tower. Trail was slightly busy as it was 4th of July weekend in 2013.

Nice trail. It was a bit strenuous at the start up to Eagle Cliff, but after that, it was an easy walk. One area that required a little climbing and navigating around loose or slippery rocks. Great views atop Eagle Cliff and Red Hill. It took us 4 hours to go up and back at a moderate but steady pace.

This hike is very difficult. Steep rocky areas, narrow with some tree root climbing involved. Would not recommend for a beginner or a person that is out of shape because the trail does not level off. Difficult to keep dogs on leash due to rough terrain. Beautiful views from Eagle cliff of Squam Lake. If you make it to Red Hill tower you can see Lake Winni too!

Amazing view, quite the workout!

A very nice hike with rewarding views at the summit. There is a picnic table and fire tower at the top.