Upper Greeley Ponds via Kancamagus Highway is a 2.9 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Lincoln, New Hampshire that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism, P.O. Box 1856 , Concord, NH, 03302-1856, Phone: 603-271-2665
Directions from Waterville Valley, NH: Travel SR 49 to the northern tip of town and take Livermore Road (Forest Road 53) to a parking lot. Greeley Ponds Trail branches off the Livermore Trail about .3 mile up the path.
A nice gentle trail leading to beautiful ponds in the Mad River Notch. Trails were muddy today with lots of puddles forming in the rain. Very small patches of ice—tonight’s freeze will make things slick by tomorrow. Ponds are starting to freeze over. We did some exploring on the ski trails and saw some trees felled by beavers quite recently. We were socked in on this hike but there was still plenty to see!
Nice easy trail. Got past both ponds and continued on but hit a spot where the trail crossed the river where we didn’t have the confidence to cross safely and turned around. We followed the blue ski trail back. It was very wet and we made a number of small detours to avoid getting our boots wet. I would still recommend but suggest a late summer Berk early fall if you want to avoid getting wet in the cold streams of water
Great trail, I think it’s one of the best in the Forest. The two lakes are absolutely stunning and the trail itself is a lot of fun.
Really nice, easy trail. Clearly marked yellow and new bridges to cross mud. Ended up continuing to Lower Greeley Pond where we saw a moose in the water! Ran away from us once it heard us. Great scenery especially this time of year. Pretty empty - only saw 3 other groups (Sunday AM). Total a little over 4 mi and about 2 hrs. Hiked with our dog - he loved the water!
Fantastic. Went on Monday afternoon (Labor Day). Not that many people on the trail. Perfect early fall weather. Trail wasn’t muddy at all but could see how it could be. A very slow incline to a great payoff - the picturesque pond.
Nice easy trail but can be very muddy. From the start, after you cross the first river, the trail turns right and immediately crosses another stream. Don't continue straight or left after the first crossing as the trail openings seem to show - look for the yellow blazes on a tree showing the turn. A section about one third of the way has cut logs that have collapsed into the mud. Go around to the left , thru the sparse woods, over a tiny stream to avoid this section - don't try to walk on the logs, trekking poles will sink into the mud. Coming back, remember to follow the yellow blazes, not the blue ones.
Very doable as far as 4000’ers go, but I definitely agree with the Hard rating. Kind of a quintessential white mountain hike if you ask me! Some scrambling up and down, couple easy river crossings, lots of rock-stepping, and a little mud, but well worth the views at summit. Foliage was dope. Worth exploring past Osceola a few feet for a view looking the other direction. With the sun going down earlier I might’ve rather done the longer hike coming up from the south via Tripoli.
One of my favorites. This trail definitely has a few challenging areas but overall a very gradual grade and doable for a beginner.. Absolutely amazing views at the end. Hiked in late Oct. Accessed via trailhead on the Kancamangus and it was about 3 miles out & back.