Mount Willard, in Crawford Notch State Park just might be the perfect family hike. It's not too difficult even for young children, and the view from the top is utterly spectacular. To quote from the Appalachian Mountain Club's White Mountain Guide, “probably no other spot in the White Mountains affords so grand a view as Mount Willard for so little effort.”
Seen from Willey Pond, Mount Willard is an imposing wall of granite nearly half a mile wide and over a quarter of a mile high. It might look impossible, but trust me, it's an easy hike.
The top of Mount Willard is not a peak, but a wide grassy shelf - almost a lawn - set safely back from the edge of the cliff. There's plenty of room to spread out your picnic blanket, and the kids can run around and enjoy the mountaintop without too much worry.
The scenery includes a perfect view of Crawford Notch. Below is the Saco River and Willey Pond, where the Willey family died in a landslide in 1826. Nearby are the dramatic peaks of Mount Willey and Mount Webster. And off to the northeast, your eye can follow the Presidential Range up to Mount Washington and beyond.
The trail is just about a mile and a half long. It climbs steadily at about a 11% grade (that is, you climb about 11 feet for each hundred feet of trail). To put that in perspective, it's probably steeper than a typical driveway, but not nearly as steep as a set of stairs.
You have to cross Crawford Brook by stepping from rock to rock, and you might get your feet wet, especially in spring flood season. There is one other muddy spot, but other than that, the trail is not challenging at all.
To get to Crawford Notch from Manchester, take Interstate 93 north. In just about ninety miles, you'll pass through Franconia Notch State Park (which we can visit some other time). Take the first exit after the park, U.S. Route 3 north (Exit 35), toward Lancaster. After ten miles, in the village of Twin Mountain, turn right (east) on U.S. Route 302 toward Bretton Woods. After about 15 miles, the road climbs up the steep northern slope of Crawford Notch. At the top of the notch, park near the Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Center across from Saco Lake.
Find the Avalon Trail behind the Crawford Depot railroad station. About a hundred yards into the woods, you'll come to an intersection. Turn left (south) onto the Mount Willard Trail. From here, the trail descends slightly for a couple hundred yards until you cross Crawford Brook. Then it climbs steadily until you are almost at the top. When the trail levels out a bit, you can see the light of the cliff-top at the end of a tunnel of overhanging hemlock trees.
Bring the whole family! It should take the average couch potato less than half a day to hike up and down, even allowing an hour or so of kicking back on top. Young children might make the trip a little longer.
Author Resource:-
Chuck Bonner is a lifelong hiker and amateur naturalist, and webmaster of www.HikingWithChuck.com. For more descriptions of great places to hike, visit http://www.hikingwithchuck.com/Where/WhereIndex.htm
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