On Saturday, I took advantage of the spectacular weather to bag another mountain.
Blueberry Mountain is one of six mountain summits in the Benton Range, only two of which have hiking trails to their summits.
The Blueberry Mountain Hiking Trail is a point-to-point hike, which means that, if you want to hike its entire length, you need two cars , one on each end of the trail. I decided to hike up to eastern flank and back down the same way.
That eastern trailhead is accessed by turning onto Sanatorium Road in Glencliff—there was no street sign when I was there, but it’s the only possible road you can take—from NH 25. After about a mile (1.6 kilometers), turn left onto North and South Road—no sign again, but it’s an unpaved road and there’s a hiking trail sign.
The Blueberry Mountain Hiking Trail, New Hampshire
The trailhead lies on the left of the road. First, it follows a rough logging road, before entering a dense coniferous forest. This was when the trail got interesting.
As the trail entered the evergreen wood, it started to ascend. I hiked up and up, on the relatively moderate trail and eventually reached the first ledge, which offered some excellent views to the south and east. Although the views weren’t panoramic, I didn’t have any complaints whatsoever.
After 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers), the Blueberry Mountain Hiking Trail then reached the summit. There was no clear summit sign, nor were there are trail signs anymore. Though the Blueberry Mountain Trail did continue down the other side, it wasn’t officially maintained and was rather hard to find and follow. I simply turned back the same way.
The way down offered pretty scenic views as well, views that I had failed to notice on the way up.
The eastern Blueberry Mountain Hiking Trail roundtrip is 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) long. Hiking it is a wonderful Saturday afternoon activity. It took me about three hour to complete the trip, including a few (long) breaks.
