Signal Ridge Trail to Mount Carrigain is a 9.7 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Campton, New Hampshire that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, nature trips, and birding and is best used from February until November. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
dog friendly
birding
hiking
nature trips
walking
forest
views
wild flowers
This peak has a wooded summit but the very cool ridge climb and observation platform make up for it. This peak is thickly wooded at the top but there is a great section of exposed ridge near the top and an observation tower at the top that offers 360 degree views so despite the woods you'll have great views on this hike.
Decent hike. First two miles are flat and easy and the remaining three miles, while a fair grade, were along a narrow and rocky trail, which was difficult to navigate at times.
I'll start off by saying the sights at the top make everything worth it. Absolutely breathtaking-- 360 degrees of beautiful views of mountains while you gaze on top of a fire watch tower. 5/5 experience once you reach that ridge and up to the summit. However, the path there is a SLOG. The first mile is a stroll through the forest with beautiful views of creeks and waterfalls (we even dipped in at the end of the hike). The next three miles are a long, steep journey mostly on broken rocks with very little to no views because of the thickness of the surrounding forest-- this really detracted from our experience. Despite this, though, we could hardly be angry with how gorgeous the view at the top is.
We also brought a medium sized dog who handled the trail very well.
Breathtaking views !
Completed my last 48 4000 footer on Carrigain. Beautiful hike! There's an awesome ridge prior to the summit and a fire tower at the very top. There is a small creek towards the bottom to cool off in afterwards. Great 360° at the top and an awesome way to finish this epic list!
Amazing view from the top!
Great hike. The observation tower at the summit was amazing.
Robert P.
beautiful hike
I thought we got pretty lucky hearing all the horror stories. Took a little more time but gorgeous hike. Open woods to blow doens to herd path to talus field and more herd path to the open area to have a beer next to the cannister. Great "herd" of people :)
As of Oct 2013, Sawyer River Road is open again, and they have changed the beginning of the trail. The trail now starts on the south side of the bridge, and a new trail sign marks the entrance to the woods. Leaving the North entrance to the parking area, the trail head is about 50 feet up the road to the left now, not to the right where the information kiosk is. We missed the sign at the beginning of our trek, but the trail led us to the right location on the way out. In few places the trail is deceptively erratic, so much so that we thought we weren't on the trail a few times, but it became pretty easy to follow as soon as we crossed the little bridge by the swamp at about 2 miles. The remainder of the hike was great, and the views from Signal Ridge and the summit platform were even better than expected. It was pretty cold at the summit, even warranting winter gloves to keep the chill off. Keep your eyes out for the Gray Jays. They'll eat food right out of your hand if you let them, and even try to steal a granola bar once in a while!