Mount Tom
Mount Tom – White Mountains, NH
Elevation: 4,052 feet (1,235 meters)
Prominence: 331 feet (101 meters)
Location: Whitefield, NH (Grafton County, New Hampshire)
Range: Willey Range
Coordinates: 44°12.64′ North 71°26.77′ West
Rating: Easy/Moderate
Features: Brooks, Ripley Falls, Limited summit views
Distance of highlighted hike: 11.2 miles with Mt. Field and Mt. Willey
The way we did this trip was with two cars and we parked one at the end of the A-Z trail, well specifically at the Saco Lake parking section, which is near the AMC Highland Center. Then we drove the second car to the trailhead on Willey Station Road (look for signs for the AT and Ripley Falls). We started on the Ethan Pond Trail which is also the Appalachian Trail and headed toward the Willey Range Trail. The first mile wasn’t too hard but the last mile was pretty steep to Mount Willey.
After the summit of Willey (which is marked by a giant Cairn, no views at the summit) we Continued on the Willey Range Trail to Mount Field. The section in between wasn’t too difficult but, definitely steep getting up to Mount Field. Mount Field didn’t have views at the summit but did have a lookout off to the side. From Mount Field, we continued on the Willey Range Trail to Mount Tom. Just like Mount Willey and Mount Field, no views at the summit but some nice outlook spots nearby.
Mt Tom is a dog friendly hike. Java didn’t struggle with any of the inclines up to the summit. Mount Tom was the easiest mountain summit of the three (Willey, Field, and Tom).
We then went down the A-Z Trail until we got to Mt. Avalon. We grabbed Mt. Avalon quickly (was only an extra mile to grab from the trail) Mt. Avalon had the nicest views of the entire day. The summit is all rocks but offers nice seating for everyone. We then got A-Z Trail and took the Avalon Trail back down to the car.
Note:
Mount Tom was a little confusing where the summit was but if you hang left on the trail you’ll see the cairn and if you go right it’s an outlook. Also, there is another outlook if you continue straight after reaching the summit. We saw lots of pups on the hike and was pretty dog-friendly. It didn’t require much climbing of boulders and I never had to help Java up any of the climbs. There were rocky sections so be mindful of your pup’s paws!
