Crotched Mountain, Francestown NH
• 4-star hikes
• 3 to 7 mile options
• Moderate | Gain 840 to 1,410 feet
• Francestown, NH | Monadnock Region
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The distinctive Crotched shape just visible from the Shannon Trail.
Named for its distinctly V-shaped peak and pronounced in some oldie-worldy manner (Crotch-ed); Crotched Mountain sits equidistant from the New Hampshire towns of Bennington, Greenfield and Francestown. Away from the ski resort that utilized the mountain's northern flanks, the southern side is a much quieter and unspoiled haven with great hiking.
Below the summit you’ll reach the best southerly overlook of the hike; providing excellent views of Mount Monadnock and Pack Monadnock. There’s also a picnic bench here in the event that you want to lay out a spread and munch away while enjoying the views. From here scrambling to the summit is worth it to bag the peak, which you'll have to share with a bunch of telecommunications equipment. Slightly to the west can also be found the remains of the old fire tower footers, with some old tangled metal members strewn in the woods behind.
| ⬤ 4★ Shannon's Loop
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions GPX? |
| ⬤ 4★ Bennington Trail
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions |
| ⬤ 4★ Greenfield Loop
AllTrails · GPX File · Directions |
The Bennington Trail is the quickest way up to the peak and also offers a 0.6 mile out-and-back side trip to the northerly views from the ski runs. The Shannon Loop covers more ground and offers more variety, while for us at least the Greenfield Road loop adds mileage but without additional interest. We've added additional trails on the mountain too, including another route to the mountain from Campbell Hill Road shown at a gray track. This trailhead is best suited for a trip to Brennan Falls, but it can be extended to Crotched along an old rocky forest road. All trails are marked as Medium difficulty as the mountain's terrain is mostly forgiving, with the exception of a few minor rock scrambles up the west side of the Summit Loop.
⬤ Shannon's Loop
The beginning of this hike offers some of the best views of the mountain, visible by taking a right turn off the service road and onto a single-track trail that meanders through a meadow before reconnecting with the road again. The lower part of the trail also offers accessible hiking and a couple of great interpretative signs identifying the mountain silhouettes on the horizon.
We recommend a counter-clockwise route to tackling some minor rock scrambles on the ascent. If you'd prefer to avoid these scrambles you could instead turn the west side of the loop trail into a 3.3 mile 840ft gain out-and-back trail (AllTrails, GPX File).
Heading back down Shannon's Trail.
⬤ Bennington Trail
Though a lesser-known trail, this is the shortest route to the summit as long as you don't mind breaking through trail-spanning cobwebs on your journey. The gradient is gentle, and the trail is mostly easy going with few rocks. Follow the blue blazes along the trail, but keep an eye out for some unmarked side trails that could quickly have you heading in the wrong direction. Close to the summit, we strongly suggest you take a 0.6 mile out-and-back spur trail to the top of the quad ski lift, which provides excellent northerly views that are difficult to find at the top of the mountain.
⬤ Greenfield Loop
This longer route is best tackled clockwise up West Summit trail, followed by a one mile out-and-back spur to Crotched Mt summit, before returning on East Summit trail. This route benefits from the views available when tracing the mountain ridgeline in an Easterly direction, but suffers from 2½ miles of mostly featureless and flat town forest below the mountain.
Northerly views from the ski run spur.
Nearby Sunset Lake reflecting Fall colors.
Tangents:
• Public Maps at AllTrails: Shannon, Bennington, Greenfield
• Facebook Group: Comment, Follow Us
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