Up in the White Mountains, winter hangs on long past its official ending date, especially this year, when most of the snow fell in March and April. Even as I write this post in mid-May, iced-covered trails and unstable snow bridges are the rule and not the exception. But this is a great time of year to hike in New Hampshire Lakes Region, when the snow is gone and the black files have yet to hatch.
For that first spring hike, I highly recommend 2,990-foot Mount Shaw, tallest of the Ossipee Mountains and part of the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area (in which Mount Roberts also offers a great hike). Last October, I hiked Mt. Shaw with my husband a few days after a massive wind storm wiped out power to much of northern New England and wreaked havoc on many hiking trails. Some quick internet consulting revealed that Mount Shaw’s trails were passable, so we packed a lunch and headed north.
The 7.7-loop trail on Mount Shaw is definitely a hike, not a walk, but because of its relatively low elevation and its Tuftonboro location south of the White Mountains, Shaw is a great three-season hike in regular boots, and, in the winter, a nice option for a snowshoeing adventure (see trail map bottom of post).
Mount Shaw’s main reward are panoramic views of Mount Washington and the Presidentials. Other rewards include views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Ossipee Ring Dike, along with the joy of stepping off a rocky trail on to a grassy carriage road built by shoe magnate Thomas Gustave Plant, when he developed his Lucknow Estate in the early 20th century. Also, Mount Shaw is on the “52 With a View List”, a fine collection of New Hampshire mountains offering great vistas and fewer weekend crowds compared to the 4ooo-footers in the White Mountains.
Mt. Shaw and its neighbors are the remnants of the largest volcanic ring dike in New Hampshire, the Ossipee Ring Dike.
This geological map shows the Ossipee Ring Dike, the result of Jurassic-era volcanic activity.
According to the website NH Geology, a ring dike forms when the ceiling of an underground magna chamber collapses beneath a circular crack in the bedrock. The magma erupts in blobs that tend to be rounded in shape, so a bulbous circular dike emerges. These sorts of eruptions were typical of volcanic activity in New Hampshire 150 million years ago, when Pangea was breaking up, with Pawtuckaway State Park providing another example.
The trailhead for the Mount Shaw loop, including a small parking lot, is located on NH Route 171, and NOT at Castle in the Clouds.
After hiking .4 miles into the forest from the trailhead, picking up the Italian Trail is a little tricky as several old woods roads diverge. At .4 miles, look for this old log, marked with red blazes, that someone has carefully place on a makeshift cairn. The general direction is away from the brook, to the right, and uphill.
The Italian Trail heads up through the forest towards the flat and open perch of Mount Tate (about 1.2 miles from the fork).
Views of Dan Hole Pond and beyond, from the open flank of Mount Tate, also known as Big Ball Mountain. The pond is approximately in the middle of the ring dike. How amazing that we can view the remnants of the Jurassic-ear breakup of Pangea right here in New Hampshire!
From Mount Tate, we could see the ridge above us that included Black Snout and the summit of Mount Shaw. Surprisingly, we saw little evidence of the windstorm that left us in the dark a few days earlier. We picked up a couple of stray branches, but overall, the trail was in great shape.
From Mount Tate, we followed the blue-blazed Big Ball Mountain trail up towards the ridge of Mount Shaw. Along the trail, the roots of a big old red maple tree (I think) sprawled across the trail like the tentacles of a comic-book monster.
When the Big Ball Mountain Trail reached the ridge, we stepped on to the soft grassy path of the old carriage road, now part of the High Ridge Trail.
Thomas Plante built these carriage roads for sightseeing pleasure of his guests. The roads lace the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area, and make for hiking that’s easy on the feet.
At the ridge, we turned left towards the Black Snout Spur Trail, because you can’t come all this way and not visit a mountain feature called Black Snout, where we took in views of Lake Winnipesaukee.
The view from Black Snout.
The top of the ridge is fairly open, suggesting either a fire or extensive logging to create a park-like environment. Although filling in with small trees, the open ridge provides opportunity for winterberry to flourish.
Bright red winterberry, a relative of holly, stands out in the late fall after its leaves have dropped. Birds feed on the berries but they are toxic for humans.
After backtracking from Black Snout, we continued on the easy walking of the High Ridge Trail and after a half-mile reached the summit of Mount Shaw. The summit offers a sort of bench (as well as a literal log bench) for enjoying the panoramic view, almost like sitting in form of a big wide movie screen.
Northern views towards Mount Washington from Mount Shaw.
After enjoying the views, we backtracked on the High Ridge Trail, intending to return via the 2.5 mile Shaw Trail, a straight shoot downhill to the trailhead. At the junction, we
The Turtleback Mountain Trail follows one of the old carriage roads and eventually takes hikers back to Castle in the Clouds.
studied the map, t0 make sure we should head right towards the Turtleback Mountain Trail. We soon found the Shaw Trail, a hard left off the carriage road.
The Shaw Trail drops quickly from the ridge, with rough rocky footing, eventually reaching a mountain brook which the trail then follows for most of its length. On the downhill, we felt the 7.7 miles of the loop trail—i.e. “will we EVER get to the end of this trail?” (Again, this is a hike and not a walk).
Down, down, down the Shaw Trail, until we reached the brook, and hiked another 1.5 miles to the trailhead.
The Shaw Trail offers a pretty walk through the forest, but I definitely recommend going down via Shaw rather than up. Back at the car, we pulled off our boots, guzzled our water, and flipped a coin to see who got to nap first on the ride home. The best part: home, in Kittery, Maine, was only an hour and 15 minutes away, and Route 16 offered plenty of coffee opportunities. The second best part: it will be easy to return.
Map of 7.7 mile Mount Shaw loop (New England Hiking, 4000footers.com)
Driving directions: Get yourself to New Hampshire Route 171 in Tuftonboro. If coming from the east, you’ll find the small parking area just before the bridge over Fields Brook. If you pass Sodom Road on the left, you’ve gone too far.
If coming from the west, you’ll pass Sodom Road on the right, and then cross the bridge over Fields Brook, and turn left into the small parking area.
I highly recommend buying the waterproof trail map to the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area.
My other posts on hikes in the New Hampshire Lakes Region
Mount Roberts: The Legacy of a Bankrupt Millionaire
One hike, many discoveries: A plane crash, a fire tower, and stone-age couches
Exploring caves and climbing ladders in the New Hampshire Lakes Region
