Is the Oldest Hiking Trail in the USA Really in New Hampshire?
For all of the summer and fall weekends I have spent up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, you would think I would know this super unique fact about the Granite State.
The oldest continuously-used hiking trail in the country is in New Hampshire.
It is called the Crawford Path.
According to path's Wiki page the 8.5-mile trail was built in 1819 by Ethan Allen Crawford and his father, Abel.
Just one year after carving the trail out, Crawford took the trail to the summit of Mount Washington.
Even though the trail was built well over 200 years ago, it still remains a popular hiking path. Today, you can take the Crawford Path up to the top of Mount Washington, or use a side trail to reach Mt. Pierce, Mt. Eisenhower, or Mt. Monroe.
You can also take the Crawford Path to reach the highest elevated lake in New Hampshire: the Lakes of the Clouds.
The Lakes of the Clouds consists of multiple bodies of water (with two larger lakes) located between Mount Washington and Mount Monroe. So it is a series of lakes at 5,000 feet of elevation along the Presidential Range.
To learn more about the Crawford Path or see the starting point/address, check out the USDA website.
Look: 28 Popular Maine Mountain Hikes
Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka