New Hampshire 4000 Footers


The New Hampshire Four Thousand Footer list, officially known as the White Mountain Four Thousand Footers, was created by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). And the objective is to hike all 48 mountains on the list, and once completed a hiker may apply for a patch and scroll through the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club. For a mountain to be included on the list, it must be at least 4000 feet in height and have a minimum of 200 feet prominence. And yes, there are worthy mountains that don't make the list because of the prominence rule. Below is the list of 48 four thousand footers and random tidbits of history about each mountain.

 

Peakbagging in the White Mountains dates back to 1931 when Nathaniel L. Goodrich, in an Appalachia article, suggested a list of 36 mountains to hike. Goodrich’s list was the starting point for the White Mountain 4000 footers list we know today. The official White Mountain 4000 footers hiking list, published in Appalachia in June 1958, originally consisted of 46 mountains. Galehead was added in 1975, and Bondcliff added in 1980. At the time, Franconia Ridge and the Presidential Range were seeing heavy use, and the intent of this list was to disperse hikers across the White Mountains.

 

New Hampshire 48 4000 Footers
(officially known as the White Mountain Four Thousand Footers) 

#MountainElevation (feet)RangeCountyHistory Note
1Washington6288Presidential RangeCoos CountyHighest mountain in New England
2Adams5774Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after John Adams, 2nd president of the United States
3Jefferson5712Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of the United States
4Monroe5384Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after James Monroe, 5th President of the United States
5Madison5367Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after James Madison, 4th President of the United States
6Lafayette5260Franconia RangeGrafton CountyHighest summit on Franconia Range and was referred to as
the Great Haystack by earlier settlers
7Lincoln5089Franconia RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States
8South Twin4902Twin RangeGrafton CountySome say the Twins are named after the town, but there is
no verification of this information
9Carter Dome4832Carter-Moriah RangeCoos CountyFire Tower on summit form 1907-1947
10Moosilauke4802Moosilauke RangeGrafton CountyTip Top house on the summit burned in 1942
11Eisenhower4780Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President
of the United States
12North Twin4761Twin RangeGrafton CountySome say the Twins are named after the town, but there is
no verification of this information
13Carrigain4700Carrigain RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Phillip Carrigain, New Hampshire Secretary
of State from 1805–1810
14Bond4698Twin RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Professor George P. Bond
15 Middle Carter4610Carter-Moriah RangeCoos CountyNamed after Dr. Ezra Carter, a Concord physician OR named after a hunter named “Carter”. We may never find the answer
16 West Bond4540Twin RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Professor George P. Bond
17Garfield4500Franconia RangeGrafton CountyNamed after President James Garfield, 20th President
of the United States
18Liberty4459Franconia RangeGrafton CountyFlume, Lafayette, Liberty and Little Haystack Mountain
were referred to as the Haystacks by earlier settlers
19South Carter4430Carter-Moriah RangeCoos CountyNamed after Dr. Ezra Carter, a Concord physician OR named after a hunter named “Carter”. We may never find the answer
20Wildcat4422Carter-Moriah RangeCoos CountyWildcat Mountain consists of five sub-peaks - A, B, C, D, and E.
Only A and D qualify for the 4,000 footer list
21Hancock4420Hancock RangeGrafton CountyNamed after John Hancock, one of the Founding Fathers of
the United States
22South Kinsman4358Kinsman RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Nathan Kinsman, an early resident
of Easton, New Hampshire
23Field4340Willey RangeGrafton CountyHighest peak of the Willey Range
24Osceola4340Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyNamed for the early-19th century Seminole leader
25Flume4328Franconia RangeGrafton CountyFlume, Lafayette, Liberty and Little Haystack Mountain
were referred to as the Haystacks by earlier settlers
26South Hancock4319Hancock RangeGrafton CountyNamed after John Hancock, one of the Founding Fathers of
the United States
27Pierce4310Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after President Franklin Pierce, 14th President
of the United States
28North Kinsman4293Kinsman RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Nathan Kinsman, an early resident
of Easton, New Hampshire
29Willey4285Willey RangeGrafton CountyNamed after the Willey family, who were all killed in a
landslide in 1826
30Bondcliff4265Twin RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Professor George P. Bond
31Zealand4260Twin RangeGrafton CountyWooded summit
32North Tripyramid 4180Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyNamed by the cartographer Arnold Guyot
33Cabot4170Pilot RangeCoos CountyNamed after Sebastian Cabot, the famous pilot
34 East Osceola4156Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyVery steep trail from Greely Ponds
35 Middle Tripyramid4140Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyNamed by the cartographer Arnold Guyot
36 Cannon4100Kinsman RangeGrafton CountyAlso known as Profile Mountain. Location of the Old Man of
the Mountain profile (Collapsed May 3, 2003)
37Wildcat, D Peak4070Carter-Moriah RangeCoos CountyWildcat Mountain consists of five sub-peaks - A, B, C, D, and E.
Only A and D qualify for the 4,000 footer list
38 Hale4054Twin RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Rev. Edward Everett Hale (1802-1909)
39 Jackson4052Presidential RangeCoos CountyNamed after Charles Thomas Jackson,
a 19th century New Hampshire state geologist
40Tom4051Willey RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Thomas Crawford, son of Abel Crawford
41Moriah4049Carter-Moriah RangeCoos CountyIn the Bible, Moriah is where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. Not sure if there is a connection
42Passaconaway4043Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyNamed after Passaconaway, a 16th-century sachem of
the Pennacook tribe
43Owl's Head4025Pemi Wilderness Grafton CountyNamed after a rock formation on its southern end.

The infamous August 1907 Owl’s Head Mountain fire in the Pemigewasset Wilderness was started by a lightning strike on the eastern side of Owl’s Head Mountain in an area that had been previously logged by J.E. Henry and Sons.
44Galehead4024Twin RangeGrafton CountyWooded summit
45Whiteface4020Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyWooded Summit
46Waumbek4006Pliny RangeCoos CountyHighest peak in the Pliny Range
47Isolation4004Presidential Range Coos CountyHighest peak in the Montalban Ridge
48Tecumseh4003Sandwich RangeGrafton CountyNamed after the Shawnee leader Tecumseh (1768–1813). Interestingly, Chief Tecumseh spent most his life around the Ohio Territory, and likely never visited New Hampshire.

August 2019, actual new height of Mount Tecumseh is 3,997 feet.

Back to Mountain and Trail History

 

The landscape of the New Hampshire White Mountains is incredible, and hiking lists only scratch the surface. Instead of attempting another list open up a map and pick random locations in the White Mountains to visit. This approach will help disperse hikers across the White Mountains. And in the long run, it will lessen the impact that is being done to some areas of the White Mountains.

 

Notes:

• ScenicNH Photography is in the business of photography. We create awareness for historic preservation and environmental conservation.

• For more information and a downloadable application, see the AMC Four Thousand Footer Club website.

• As you explore the White Mountains, keep in mind the removal of historic artifacts from federal lands without a permit is a violation of federal law.

• ScenicNH Photography has no affiliation with the creators of the above hiking list.

• We are human and this information is subject to errors and omissions, and this hiking list may not be up to date.

• See more of our ongoing history work at the projects page.