The Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway (MSG) is a hiking trail that traverses the highlands of southern New Hampshire from

Mount Monadnock Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the towns of Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County. It lies southwest of Concord a ...

in Jaffrey to

Mount Sunapee Mount Sunapee (or Sunapee Mountain on federal maps) is a mountain ridge in the towns of Newbury and Goshen in western New Hampshire, United States. Its highest peak, at the north end of the mountain, is above sea level. The mountain has three ...

in Newbury. Located approximately from the city of

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

, the trail traverses a rural, heavily glaciated and metamorphic upland studded with lakes,

heath barrens A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

, the rocky summits of several

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

s, and dense woodland of the northern hardwood forest type. The trail is maintained primarily through the efforts of the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club.''Delorme Topo 6.0'' (2006). Mapping software. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme.''Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Guide,'' fifth edition (1994). Concord, New Hampshire: Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. Notable features along the route include the summit of Mount Monadnock; Eliza Adams Gorge; the classic New England town commons of Nelson and Washington; the New Hampshire Audubon Society's Nye Meadow Refuge; Otter Brook and Andorra Forest; the high heath barrens of

Pitcher Mountain Pitcher Mountain is a 2,153 feet (656 m) monadnock located in southwest New Hampshire. The mountain is traversed by the 50 mile (80 km) Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and offers 360 degree views from its open summit. Lower elevations are wooded ...

, Hubbard Hill, and Jackson Hill;

Lovewell Mountain Lovewell Mountain is a mountain associated with the Sunapee Ridge in southwest New Hampshire. The mountain is traversed by the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and offers vistas from several ledges near its summit. Much of the mountain is wooded with ...

; of the Sunapee Ridge; and Lake Solitude, a mountaintop tarn near the summit of Mount Sunapee. A number of lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and other wetlands are also located along the route.

Trail description

The MSGT extends from the summit of Mount Monadnock to the summit of Mount Sunapee through Cheshire County, Sullivan County, and

Merrimack County Merrimack County is a county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 153,808, making it the third-most populous county in New Hampshire. Its county seat is Concord, the state capital. The county was organi ...

. The MSG passes through the following incorporated communities: Jaffrey, Dublin, Harrisville, Nelson, Stoddard, Washington, Goshen, and

Newbury, New Hampshire Newbury is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,172 at the 2020 census. Newbury is home to part of Lake Sunapee, including Mount Sunapee State Park Beach. Mount Sunapee Resort, a ski area in Mount Sunape ...

. Mount Monadnock, the southern terminus of the MSG, is the most prominent peak of southeast New England. At high, it is higher than any mountain peak within and rises above the surrounding landscape. Its bare, rocky summit provides expansive views. Eliza Adams Gorge is a scenic and rocky eastern hemlock-clad ravine located just below the dam spillway on Howe Reservoir. The Nye Meadow Refuge is an important

great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...

rookery managed by the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. Otter Brook and Andorra Forest, , collectively the largest conservation area in southwest New Hampshire, are cooperatively managed by The Nature Conservancy and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and include extensive tracts of northern hardwood forest, wetlands, and rare plant communities. Pitcher Mountain, , Hubbard Hill, , and Jackson Hill, , offer wide views from upland heath barrens and

blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

fields. Lovewell Mountain, , is a rugged monadnock contiguous with the southern part of Sunapee Ridge; several scenic outlooks on ledges provide views of the surrounding countryside. Mount Sunapee, , is the high point of a mountainous ridgeline that spans four towns. The ridge offers scenic vistas from more than a dozen distinct peaks along its length and from the Mount Sunapee ski area on the summit. Other notable peaks along its length include White Ledges, , which overlooks Lake Solitude; Lucia's Lookout, ; an unnamed southern summit, ; and Kittredge Hill, . The commons of Washington and Nelson are small and bucolic classic New England town centers with little commercial development and with architecture dating back to the early 19th century. Washington, , is the highest incorporated town in New Hampshire; it is higher than the next-highest town, the ski resort community of

Waterville Valley Waterville Valley is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 508 at the 2020 census, up from 247 at the 2010 census. Waterville Valley attracts many visitors in the winter months with alpine skiing at Watervil ...

Notable bodies of water along the trail route include Seavers Reservoir, Howe Reservoir, Chesham Pond,

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

, Childs Bog, Center Pond, Halfmoon Pond, and the mountaintop Lake Solitude. The MSG is primarily used for hiking, backpacking, and in the winter, snowshoeing. Portions of the trail are suitable for, and are used for,

backcountry skiing Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which i ...

. Site-specific activities enjoyed along the route include

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, fishing,

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

, and swimming.New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation
Retrieved January 27, 2008.

Intersecting trails

The

Metacomet-Monadnock Trail The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (M&M Trail) is a hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Although less than from Boston and ...

in southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts continues south where the MSGT leaves off. This extends the overall hiking possibilities another via the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and its logical extensions, the Metacomet and

Mattabesett Trail The Mattabesett Trail is a long, hook-shaped Blue-Blazed Trails, blue-blazed hiking trail in central Connecticut and a part of the New England National Scenic Trail. One half of the trail follows the high traprock ridges of the Metacomet Ridge, ...

s in Connecticut.''Massachusetts Trail Guide'' 8th edition (2004). Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club To the north, the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Trail continues from the northern terminus of the MSG via a loop trail to Mount Kearsarge, Ragged Mountain, Bog Mountain and back to Mount Sunapee.Sunapee-Kearsarge-Ragged Greenway Coalition
Retrieved January 27, 2008.

History

The MSG was first suggested by Allen Chamberlain, president of the Appalachian Mountain Club, in 1919 and was laid out in 1921 by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF). But the

hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

and World War II "effectively ended the original trail; it was not maintained again." The trail was re-established after a study by the SPNHF in 1974.Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club
Retrieved January 27, 2008.

Hiking the trail

The MSG is blazed with white rectangles. It is regularly maintained, and is considered moderately difficult hiking. Mount Monadnock is regarded as a challenging hike for novice hikers during favorable weather conditions.Baldwin, Henry I. (1989). ''Monadnock Guide,'' 4th edition. Concord: Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests As the crow flies, the MSGT route is never more than a mile or two from a public road, however, cliffs and steep terrain make access much more difficult in some areas. Trail descriptions are available from a number of commercial and non-commercial sources, and a complete guidebook with topographic maps is published by the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club. Weather along the MSG is typical of southern New Hampshire. Conditions on exposed hill tops and summits may be harsher during cold or stormy weather.NOAA.
Retrieved January 10, 2008 Weather atop the exposed and isolated summit of Mount Monadnock can be much more severe than conditions below; high winds are common year round and winter storms on the summit can be life-threatening. Lightning is a hazard on exposed peaks and ledges during thunderstorms. Snow is common in the winter and may necessitate the use of cross country skis or snowshoes. Ice can form on exposed ledges and summits, making hiking dangerous without special equipment. Snow and ice tend to linger on Mount Monadnock well into the spring.''Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide'' (1999). Boston: The Appalachian Mountain Club Biting insects can be bothersome during warm weather. Parasitic deer ticks (which are known to carry Lyme disease) are a potential hazard. The trail passes through black bear habitat, although problems with bears are rare. More likely are problem encounters with domestic dogs.

Skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...

s, raccoons, and

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

s are common and active after dark.

Poisonous snake Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...

s are considered extinct along the route. Poison ivy is uncommon on the MSGT and it does not thrive on Mount Monadnock at all. Some water sources along the trail flow through inhabited areas or swamps and may be contaminated.

Camping

Vehicle-accessible campgrounds with basic amenities are located off the MSG via side trails at

Monadnock State Park Monadnock State Park in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, United States, is a state park located on and around Mount Monadnock. The park is surrounded by thousands of acres of protected highlands. The park is open to hiking, picnicking, camping, backpac ...

on the south side of Mount Monadnock, and at

Mount Sunapee State Park Mount Sunapee State Park is a public recreation area in Newbury, New Hampshire. The state park's nearly include most of Mount Sunapee and a beach area on Lake Sunapee. Park activities include swimming, hiking, camping, skiing, fishing, picnickin ...

and

Pillsbury State Park Pillsbury State Park is a state park located mainly in Washington and partially in Goshen, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is home to the headwaters of the Ashuelot River The Ashuelot River is a tributary of the Connecticut River, ap ...

on the west side of Sunapee Ridge. The MSGTC maintains several backcountry campsites and four

lean-to A lean-to is a type of simple structure originally added to an existing building with the rafters "leaning" against another wall. Free-standing lean-to structures are generally used as shelters. One traditional type of lean-to is known by its Finn ...

s available to backpackers. Campfires are generally prohibited on the MSG, except in established fire rings in state park campgrounds.

Trail description

Intersecting trails

History

Hiking the trail

Camping

See also

References

External links