Cohos Trail

The Cohos Trail runs north through Coos County, New Hampshire. It starts in southern Crawford Notch in the White Mountain National Forest, crosses the Great North Woods, and ends at the Canadian border in Pittsburg. The Cohos Trail Association gives its length as 170 miles, from Notchland in Harts Location to Fourth Connecticut Lake on Prospect Hill, and more if you take side spurs. Without the spurs the main route is nearly 165 miles. Most hikers walk 170 to 175, and taking every spur out and back could approach 190. Most hikers take 12 to 14 days, and some finish in nine or ten, but most people walk it in sections. The association says the terrain is arduous in places but not terribly difficult on average. The hard part is resupply. The rules change with the land you are on, so plan for each section. In the White Mountain National Forest you need no permit to backpack in Wilderness unless you are an outfitter or guide, and Wilderness groups are limited to 10 people. The Forest Service bans camping and fires within 200 feet of certain trails and water bodies, within a quarter mile of shelters, huts and trailheads, within a quarter mile of certain roads, and in the alpine zone, where trees are 8 feet tall or less (unless there are two feet of snow). The Dry River Trail enters the Presidential Range-Dry River Wilderness at 0.7 miles. In that Wilderness, there is no camping and no wood or charcoal fire within 200 feet of any trail, except at designated sites. The trail crosses Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge past Cherry Pond, and the refuge allows no camping and no campfires. Most national forest land is free to use, but some developed sites need a recreation pass. North of Route 110, from Stark to Canada, you may camp only at designated sites: the association's shelters and tent platforms, the Coleman, Lake Francis and Deer Mountain state campgrounds, and private campgrounds. The association says these tend to be within a day's hike of each other. State campgrounds are reserved through ReserveAmerica, online or at 1-877-647-2757. In the Kilkenny, the Mt. Cabot watchman's cabin is first-come, first-served and holds up to eight. The Forest Service lists no restrooms and no potable water there. Erving's Hideaway, a shelter about a mile north of the former Baldhead Shelter site, helps close a 22.5-mile gap between Old Hermit and Panorama shelters. South to north, the shelters are the Dry River Shelter (just off the route on the Dry River Trail), the Mt. Cabot cabin, Devil's Rest, Old Hermit, Erving's Hideaway, Panorama, Little Diamond Pond at Coleman State Park, and the Neil Tillotson Hut at Moose Alley. Tent sites include Cherry Mountain Road, Unknown Pond and Roger's Ledge on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail, and Percy Loop Camp on North Percy Peak. Ramblewood Cabins and Campground keeps a lean-to for a fee, and Deer Mountain Campground has a four-sided camp you can reserve. The association's shelters have moldering latrines, so pack out wipes, hygiene products, trash and food. The association says fires are forbidden on the trail. Anywhere in New Hampshire, lighting a fire outdoors takes a permit from the local warden. Much of the trail runs through private and public woodland that is often logged, and the association requires hikers to respect property rights. Dogs are not allowed on the Fourth Connecticut Lake Trail, which crosses Nature Conservancy land at the northern end. Arrange care for your dog or skip that short section. Coos County runs five to ten degrees cooler than southern New England. The association says ice and snow have been recorded in the mountains in every month, so pack for cold in summer and fall and carry rain gear. Black flies can be a real nuisance along the whole route in late spring, and August is largely bug-free. Ticks stay mostly in the lowlands, and mosquitoes are thick in lowland bogs but rarely a nuisance on the ridges. In the Kilkenny, the ridges between Mt. Waumbek and Mt. Weeks are exposed to winds that can reach hurricane force, and early in the season, before July 4th, expect blowdowns there. The association calls the Dry River the most dangerous stream crossing on the route. Two people have died there in the last 50 years, swept downstream. If it is raging, think twice about crossing. Retreat to the heights and go around the upper Dry River Wilderness on the northern Davis Path and Crawford Path above timberline, or move well upstream to find a place to rock-hop. The western Isolation Trail has been scoured by storms, so expect to walk in water at times. The Pond Brook crossing on the Pond Brook Falls Trail can be dicey in very high water. Move upstream, or take the Trio Ponds Road (northbound) or Nash Stream Road (southbound) on a short road loop around it. Active logging is an extreme hazard: approach machines and trucks with caution, and make sure each operator has seen and acknowledged you. ATVs use a considerable amount of the trail between Coleman State Park and Cedar Stream Road, on the Kelsey Notch Road, and on the wind-turbine lane on Dixville Peak. North of Route 26, much of the route follows old logging lanes, snowmobile corridors and logging cuts, where grass and dew soak you in the morning or any rain. The association suggests three or four changes of socks. Cell service has dead spots in the mountains and long stretches with little or none north of Coleman State Park. In an emergency, call 911 if you have signal. Backcountry rescues are expensive and you may be billed; the association points to New Hampshire's Hike Safe card. If you meet a big bull moose in the fall, move quietly and quickly away from it. In the White Mountain National Forest, feeding bears, even by accident, is prohibited. Approved storage includes a hard-sided, IGBC-certified bear-resistant canister, and the Forest Service lends canisters free at its visitor centers in Lincoln, Campton, Conway and Gorham. If no approved method is possible, hang food at least 12 feet up and 6 feet out from any object. In very dry summers, the association says water can be hard to find on the high Kilkenny ridges and between Gadwah Notch and Dixville Notch. It reports a water source a tenth of a mile north of Erving's Hideaway and reliable water on the north side of Kelsey Notch Road. The Forest Service lists potable water at South Pond Recreation Area. The association's FAQ lists general stores directly on the trail at Bretton Woods, Jefferson Village and Happy Corner in Pittsburg. Between Jefferson Village and Happy Corner, nearly 90 miles, there is no store within three miles of the route. The association's cache page also lists Dube's Pitstop in Pittsburg village, a limited store at Lake Francis Campground, and the Diamond Peaks Store 3 miles west of Dixville Notch. The three state campgrounds on the trail sell only a very limited choice of food. To hike it in one push you need caches. Lodges, inns and campgrounds along the route will hold them, free or for a small fee. The association lists the Stark Village Inn, about 2 miles west of the trail, and Robie's Kitchenette Cabins and Ramblewood Cabins and Campground in Pittsburg. Confirm with each before you ship. To hide your own caches, the association suggests the Dixville Wayside area, the Bell Hill bridge off Route 110 in Stark, the Owls Head trailhead lot on Route 115 in Jefferson, and the Route 3 pullout where the Round Pond Brook and Bog Bridge trails meet in northern Pittsburg. At Happy Corner the FAQ names Young's Store as a full-service market; the association's cache page puts it half a mile south of the trail on Route 3. Northern Coos County has no mass transit. Buses reach Gorham, Littleton and North Conway, and no farther. The Stark Village Inn offers shuttles arranged in advance, and Trail Angels Hiker Shuttle in Berlin takes online bookings. The trail ends at the source of the Connecticut River, a small fen on the border. By road, the north end is on Route 3, 22 miles past Pittsburg village at the border. Park across from the U.S. Customs station; the trail starts about 50 yards to the right of the building. Across the border, the Sentiers Frontaliers trails continue into Quebec and end at a rest area 200 yards north of the Canadian customs office. The route has changed in places. The north end of the B & M trail near Bretton Woods is discontinued; northbound from the Edmands Path lot, stay straight past the sign to the nordic center. A reroute to Coleman State Park uses a new trail, Nilsen's Leg, and the northern Kelsey Notch Trail now crosses Kelsey Notch Road to meet the Dixville Bypass Trail. Check the association's Trouble Spots page before every hike, along with its Trail Changes and Updates page. It also posts almost daily in its Friends of the Cohos Trail Facebook group. In the White Mountains, check the White Mountain National Forest alerts page. The 2023 Cohos Trail Map is the association's most current, and the association has corrected it: Sanguinary Summit Trail to Panorama Shelter is 3 miles, and Panorama Shelter to Coleman State Park is 6.