Ferncroft is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

lying mostly in the town of Albany in Carroll County,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States.Johnson, Erin D., ed. ''History of New Hampshire Towns and Places''. 2nd & 5th ed. Hanover, NH: Dartmouth Press, 1969-1999 Some of the roads and houses in Ferncroft stretch into the towns of

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

and Waterville Valley.MyTopo.com
/ref> The hamlet is a widely spaced cluster of houses centered on several fields lying along the

Wonalancet River The Wonalancet River is a river in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the United States. Named after the 17th-century Pennacook sachem Wonalancet, it is a tributary of the southern Swift River, part of the Bearcamp River / Ossipee Lake / S ...

on Ferncroft Road. Ferncroft has about 50 seasonal residents and a few full-time residents residing in 11 houses and multiple barns and outbuildings. Ferncroft was named for the Ferncroft Family Inn which once stood in the area. The area became known as Ferncroft to differentiate it from nearby Wonalancet.Hunt, Elmur M. ''New Hampshire Town Names and Whence They Came''. Peterborough, N.H.: Noone Falls Publishers, 1972.

Location

Ferncroft lies northeast of North Sandwich and northwest of Tamworth, off

New Hampshire Route 113A New Hampshire Route 113 (abbreviated NH 113) is a east–west state highway in east-central New Hampshire. NH 113 begins in the Lakes Region at an intersection with U.S. Route 3 and New Hampshire Route 25 in Holderness, and stretches eastward ac ...

. Ferncroft is located in a

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

, dale, or

dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

, known as Birch Intervale.Wonalancet Out Door Club
/ref> It lies south of a

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...

known as "The Bowl". Mountains surround the hamlet on three sides, and Ferncroft Road is the only way in or out, aside from hiking trails. This makes the village rather inaccessible. In fact the closest town center by road is Tamworth, 7 miles away. The center of Albany, Ferncroft's main parent town, is away. Some of the houses in Ferncroft lie within the Waterville Valley town limits; however, the center of Waterville Valley is and 1.5 hours away by car.

Recreation

Ferncroft is a popular hiking center in summer, with several major trails beginning from a parking lot on the east side of Ferncroft Road.White Mountain National Forest official website
/ref> The trails travel into the Sandwich Range Wilderness and are maintained by the Wonalancet Out-Door Club and

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

.Tamworth Outing Club
/ref>

Mount Whiteface Mount Whiteface is a mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. The mountain is part of the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains. Whiteface is flanked to the northwest by Mount Tripyramid, and to the northeast by Mount Passaconawa ...

, Mount Passaconaway,

Mount Wonalancet Mount Wonalancet is a mountain in the town of Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, overlooking the unincorporated communities of Wonalancet and Ferncroft. It is named after Wonalancet, a 17th-century sachem of the Pennacook, a Native American peo ...

and Mount Paugus are just a few of the peaks easily accessible from Ferncroft. In winter many shorter trails in the area are maintained and groomed by the Tamworth Outing Club for

Nordic skiing Nordic skiing encompasses the various types of skiing in which the toe of the ski boot is fixed to the Ski binding, binding in a manner that allows the heel to rise off the ski, unlike alpine skiing, where the boot is attached to the ski from toe ...

. Every February a classic style Nordic ski race is held in Ferncroft on these trails, called the Wonalancet Wander.

Confusion with Wonalancet

Ferncroft can often be confused with the neighboring village of Wonalancet in the town of Tamworth. During the time when the Ferncroft Inn was operating, Ferncroft was considered a part of Wonalancet village. The general distinction today is that the area within Tamworth is known as Wonalancet, while the area in the remaining three towns of Albany,

and Waterville Valley is known as Ferncroft.Town of Sandwich, New Hampshire
/ref> The Wonalancet Chapel and post office are located at the beginning of Ferncroft Road.

Hiking trails in the Ferncroft area

*Blueberry Ledge Trail – Mt. Whiteface *Rollins Trail – Mt. Whiteface & Mt. Passaconaway *Tom Wiggin Trail – Mt. Whiteface *Dicey Mill Trail – Mt Passaconaway *Wonalancet Range Trail – Mt. Wonalancet & Mt Passaconaway *McCrillis Path – Whiteface Intervale Rd. *Mt. Katherine Trail – Mt. Katherine *Gordon Path *Kelly Trail – Carrigain Col (between Mt. Passaconaway and Mt. Paugus) *Old Mast Rd. Trail – Carrigain Col *Walden Trail – Mt. Passaconaway & Mt. Paugus Many other trails begin in nearby Whiteface village, Wonalancet and Fowler's Mill, leading to other peaks such as

Mount Chocorua Mount Chocorua () is a mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the easternmost peak of the Sandwich Range. Although the mountain is not outstanding for its elevation, it is very rugged and has excellent views of the surrounding lakes, ...

, Sandwich Dome and Mount Tripyramid.

References

External links

Wonalancet Out Door ClubTamworth Outing ClubNew England Nordic Ski AssociationWhite Mountain National ForestTown of Albany, NH
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Carroll County, New Hampshire Unincorporated communities in New Hampshire