| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Rowe, Gunstock Mountain, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Ridge Trail, Brook Trail, Saddle Trail, Overlook Trail, Round Pond Trail, Connector |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, January 31, 2026 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of space at the Gunstock ski area. It was crowded with skiers, so we had to use the Pistol lot, but that was fine. There are restrooms in the main lodge. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The only one that required a little bit of thought was the one near the bottom of Overlook Trail, right next to where it meets up with the first XC-ski trail. Running water was visible, and the trail was untracked. I tested out each step to find the rocks so I could step on them, and crossed successfully. All other crossings are minor and trivial. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Signs are all in place, and there weren't any blowdowns that were above the level of the snow. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
They could flounder in the unbroken snow. |
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
Upon reaching the base of Ridge Trail, we were gratified to see that it had been broken out, mostly by skiers and possibly a vehicle or two but we did see a couple of snowshoe tracks ahead of us as well. Therefore, the climb up to Rowe was straightforward. Past Rowe, Ridge Trail had been packed out mostly by skiers, so it was still soft in places, especially where a hiker without snowshoes had come up from the Gilford Elementary School and postholed it, but it was fine to hike in snowshoes. Past the junction with Mt. Rowe Trail, it continued to be fairly soft but still pretty good and without the postholes. Just after the col between Rowe and Gunstock, the trail splits into two and then rejoins in two places.
The gradual ascent up to Gunstock was fine, still packed out but soft in places. There were no recent tracks on Marge's Trail or Ledges-Iron Mine Trail. It was a cold day everywhere, but the upper section of Ridge Trail going around the summit of Gunstock was particularly cold. The snow was also especially soft there, and not always supportive, but we took it slow and made it through. There were plenty of tracks coming up the Winter Shortcut, but just one set of snowshoe tracks on the main Gunstock Mountain Trail where it met up with Ridge Trail. The final section up to the summit of Gunstock was easy. As we expected, the summit area and Panorama Pub were crowded with skiers. The view was exceptional - it was a clear, crisp day, and Washington and its snowcap was clearly visible, along with Whiteface and Passaconaway in front of it, and a lot of other mountains as well.
We descended Brook Trail going in the direction of Belknap Mountain. In the next few tenths of a mile, the hiking trail intersects, joins, and diverges with backcountry ski routes in several places, and following the hiking trail takes significant attention. At one crucial right turn, there's a prominent yellow blaze and an arrow, but at another turn soon after it, there's no marking, and we accidentally followed the backcountry ski trail for maybe a tenth of a mile before realizing we were going the wrong way. Major care and use of a GPS or Alltrails is recommended in this section. Once we were back on the hiking trail, it was relatively well packed out to the junction with Saddle Trail. Brook Trail had just one set of snowshoe tracks continuing down it - most traffic had followed Saddle Trail, and this is what we did, down to the four-way junction with Blue Trail and Overlook Trail. Blue Trail continuing up toward Belknap Mountain looked packed out, but Blue Trail descending toward the top of the carriage road was totally untracked. We were considering heading up to Belknap to grab that summit, but ultimately decided not to.
Overlook Trail looked very choppy but followable. We headed down it. The choppiness disappeared soon, and was replaced by an untracked trail. For the first section, down through the ravine, we mostly followed a set of old ski tracks, and they gave a little bit of support but not that much. They also didn't follow the exact route of the trail - they generally stayed on the left side of the ravine (descending) while the actual route of the hiking trail is mostly on the right side. But we followed it anyway until the hiking trail turns away from the ravine, and from this point on, the trail was completely untracked and we were breaking trail through about 18" of snow. It was tiring, but we left the trail in better condition for future snowshoers. The orange blazes helped us stay on track - there were only a few places where we couldn't see the next one, and we were generally still able to follow the trail in those places. The eponymous overlook was very nice, and then we were careful to follow all the twists and turns of the trail in the descent from there down to the brook and the XC-ski trail on the other side. To our relief, the XC-ski trails were all nicely groomed, and our pace picked up significantly once we could simply follow them back to the parking area. So Overlook Trail is broken out, but by only two pairs of snowshoes, so it is very soft and will need more snowshoe use to pack it down properly.
The moral of the story here is very simple: WEAR SNOWSHOES!!!!!! If you wear snowshoes (or skis, I suppose, on the sections that are suitable for them), you will have an enjoyable hike. If you try to hike in the Belknaps with bare boots or spikes, you will be miserable the entire hike, not to mention that your postholes will destroy the trail. The only other people we saw on the trails were skiers - four on Ridge Trail and a group coming out on the combined Overlook/Round Pond Trail at the end. We had a great conversation at the summit of Gunstock with a Marylander who wants to do more skiing in New Hampshire - I hope he comes up here again! |
|
 | Name: |
GN |
|
 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2026-01-31 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
|
