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 secondary peaks, White Ledges at ; North Peak at ; and South Peak at . The north end of the mountain, including the summit, is within

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 ...

, which encompasses and is home to the popular Mount Sunapee Resort. The mountain extends south to

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 ...

in the towns of Goshen and Washington. The entire mountain ridge is traversed by the

Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway The Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway (MSG) is a hiking trail that traverses the highlands of southern New Hampshire from Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey to Mount Sunapee in Newbury. Located approximately from the city of Concord, New Hampshire, the tra ...

, a hiking trail that links the summit of Sunapee with that of

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 ...

, to the south in the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Also crossing the summit in an east–west route is a section of the Sunapee- Ragged- Kearsarge Greenway, a trail linking ten towns in west-central New Hampshire as it circles the Lake Sunapee region and crosses the summits of the three mountains for which it is named. The two Greenway trails meet at Lake Solitude and use the same trail to the summit.

Hydrology

The ridgeline of Sunapee Mountain forms the divide between the Merrimack River and

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

watersheds. Lake Solitude, a body of water, lies just southeast of the White Ledges summit, at an elevation of . The lake flows into Andrew Brook, a tributary of the Warner River in the Merrimack River watershed. Farther south along the ridge, the east slopes of the mountain drain via the West Branch of the Warner River into the Warner and Merrimack rivers. The northern and western sides of the mountain drain to the Connecticut River. Johnson Brook flows down the north slopes of the mountain, entering Lake Sunapee, the outlet of which (the Sugar River) flows west to the Connecticut in

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Claremont Football Club, West Australian Footba ...

. On the western slopes of the mountain, Gunnison Brook, Blood Brook, and Baker Brook flow to the South Branch of the Sugar River. The southwestern end of the mountain drains via Cherry Brook into the headwaters of the Ashuelot River, which reaches the Connecticut River near the Massachusetts border. U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic map series: Newport, NH (1984)

Recreation

Snow skiing and snowboard riding are popular winter activities at Mount Sunapee Resort & Ski Area. The ski area lies within

, but in 1998 the state leased the ski area of the park to be operated by Tim and Dianne Mueller, who own Okemo Mountain Resort. In 2018 the operations contract was bought by Vail Resorts. The state park's extensive trail system is used in all seasons for hiking and in winter for snowshoeing. The park is linked to

and southern New Hampshire by the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and to the ten-town Lake Sunapee region by the "emerald necklace" of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge (SRK) Greenway which connects Mt. Sunapee to

Wadleigh State Park Wadleigh State Park is a public recreation area located on the south shore of Kezar Lake in Sutton, New Hampshire. The state park has a bathhouse and playing fields and offers opportunities for swimming, picnicking, fishing, and boating. Histor ...

in Sutton and to Winslow and

Rollins State Park Rollins State Park is a public recreation area on the southern slope of Mount Kearsarge in Warner, New Hampshire. The state park is at the entrance to an auto road that ascends to within of the summit. Picnic facilities are available, and hiking ...

s on Mount Kearsarge in

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

and Wilmot. From the ski area parking, the Summit Trail travels along the western slope to the summit, where it meets the Solitude Trail for a walk to Lake Solitude and White Ledges. The Solitude Trail then links to several trails, notably the popular Andrew Brook Trail and the steeper Newbury Trail, both heading eastward, and to the M-S Greenway as it heads south along Sunapee Mountain toward Pillsbury State Park.

References

External links

Mount Sunapee State Park

Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition
{{clear Sunapee, Mount Sunapee, Mount Sunapee, Mount Sunapee, Mount Tourist attractions in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Newbury, New Hampshire Goshen, New Hampshire