Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine Trail Guide

Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine Hike Trail Guide

August 11, 2020 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 1 comment

Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine is widely known as one of the most difficult hikes in New England. Mt Washington is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River and north of North Carolina at 6,288ft. This is an incredibly popular day hike with hundreds of people flocking to the summit each day. Hikers taking the Huntington Ravine trail will travel up slabby class 2 rock and scramble up class 3 sections on the way to the summit.

Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine

Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine Rating: ★★★★ (4/5 Stars)

Distance: 10.15 Miles RT

Elevation Start: 2,042ft

Highest Point: 6,288ft

Total Elevation Gain: 4,800ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 8-10 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult Difficulty System Explained

Class: Class 3 What does this mean?

Season: Late June- Early December (Expect snow outside of this period)

Weather: Check the Weather Forecast

Directions to Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine

Trailhead: Pinkham Notch AMC

Getting Here: With so many different ways to get to Mt Washington, it’s best to just put the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor’s center into your GPS. As you get closer to the trailhead, cell phone service is not great though.

Fees: There is no fee to hike Mt Washington via the Huntington Ravine.

Parking: The lot to park at Pinkham Notch AMC is MASSIVE but crazy enough will fill up on most weekends. If you do have difficulty parking in the lot, there are some ample spots along the road or just down the road worst case scenario. The turnover at these lots is usually pretty good but an early start is always recommended. There is a visitors center and restrooms at the base of this hike.

Summary

Camping: If you plan on hiking anywhere on the east side of Mt Washington (all of the standard day-use trails) there is only one legal spot to camp: The Hermit Lake shelters. You can read more about here. If you are not looking to camp on Mt Washington, camping options are fairly easy to find in the area both through official campgrounds and dispersed options.

Dogs: Dogs are allowed on Mt Washington, but I would highly recommend NOT bringing one on the Huntington Ravine trail. I am usually very liberal with bringing dogs on hikes, but this trail is just not suitable for them. Even if you plan on just hiking Lionshead trail, I would still recommend against a dog unless they are very experienced in the mountains.

Make it a Loop: When hiking Mt Washington, you typically want to create a loop if the Huntington Ravine trail is part of your plans. You have several options to descend, but typically hikers will descend via the Lion’s Head or Tuckerman Ravine trail. View a full map of the area here. View a map of the area here.

Trail X Factors: Moisture on Rock

Like many of the best scrambles in New Hampshire, Mt Washington via the Huntington Ravine has plenty of rock scrambling through boulder fields and up slabby sections of rock. These sections of hiking rely almost solely (pun intended) on the friction between your footwear and the rock. If the rock is wet with rain, frost, mist etc. I would not want to be scrambling up the Huntington Ravine trail. A lot of the rock all over the mountain has lichen, moss and other forms of plant life that soak up water and make for terrible conditions. Its best to hike this on a dry day with excellent grip on your footwear.

Hike Tip(s): When hiking Mt Washington via the Huntington Ravine I think that many hikers think the hardest part is the ascent to the summit. Sure, the technical grade of Huntington is harder than anything else on the mountain, but if you descend via the Lions Head or Tuckerman Trail, both are tough trails in their own right. Be sure to save energy, food and water to get you all the way down back to the car. Expect loads of people on the summit and on all of the trails if you visit on a weekend, so if possible its best to visit on a weekday or try to be on the trails very early or very late in the day.

Best Views: This is a beautiful hike and the good views start with the various water crossings before reaching the treeline. Once above treeline the valley to your east is the permanent breathtaking backdrop until you reach the summit shoulder. In my opinion the best views on Mt Washington are not the summit itself but on the way up in basically all directions.

Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine Hike Route

Ascent via Huntington Ravine, Descent Via Lions Head

Gear Needed

Mickey’s Mountain Kit
Backpack
Food & Water
Hiking Shoes or Hiking Boots – good traction is key!
Map of area or GPS – I use the Garmin inReach
Bug Spray
Optional: Hiking Poles
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Our Trip to Mt Washington via Huntington Ravine: July2020

After many trips to New England with plans to re-hike Mt Washington but none of them panning out, 2020 finally made the trip happen! The day was beautiful but crowded and muggy. Jackie, Juno and my sister Katelyn set out to hike Mt Washington via the Huntington Ravine. The hike went well until the boulder field when we realized this was just too much for Juno. Jackie fell on the sword for all of us and decided to take Juno back to the car while Katelyn and I went on for the summit. The hike was some of what I remembered from my youth but there was a serious class 3 section that closely resembled a chimney.

We spent a handful of hours working up the slabby headwall of Huntington Ravine and were blasted in the face by winds as we neared the summit. Like any summer weekend, but amplified because of COVID-19, the summit was an absolute clusterfuck with hundreds of people walking around. Though crowded, the winds broke through the muggy air and left us feeling refreshed and the views were beautiful with almost no clouds. The hike down the Lionshead trail was just as crowded and full of people who had absolutely no trail etiquette. Overall, I enjoyed the day but think it will be a very long time until I re-visit Mt Washington.