Meredith Hiking Trails –
by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer
The threat of rain didn’t dampen our desire to go hiking. Bria and I decided to go to the nearby Hamlin Park in Meredith. I had located a guide and map that was put together by the volunteers who serve on the Meredith Conservation Commission. Maps to local trails can be found at the MeredithLibrary.org website, bottom right of their homepage see “Take a Hike.”
The trailhead is south of Lake Wicwas on the north side of Chemung Road (if you get to Tucker Mountain Road you went too far). There is a gravel parking lot and an information kiosk complete with a large trail map. There were no paper maps in the box. I had downloaded the map but I could have easily taken a photo of it on my phone.
The trail network appears to have more than ten miles of trails that offer a variety of terrain and options for shorter or longer loops. The trails are blazed different colors and offer routes through forest, along ponds, over ledges and hills and along the shore of Lake Wicwas.
We first followed the yellow blazed Crockett’s Ledge Trail. We were only on the trail a couple minutes when a person out for a run came past us.
The beginning of the trail follows an old road that is wide and has a gentle uphill grade for the first half mile to reach the Stanton Cemetery. A fieldstone wall surrounds the small cemetery and the granite posts where a gate once hung still stand guard at the entryway. A mother and daughter share one gravestone. The earliest date on a stone I read was 1858.
At the cemetery the trail turns left and leaves the old road. There are trail signs and well blazed.
The path led through pretty forest. Bria has an excellent eye for spotting wildflowers and all kinds of different mushrooms. I appreciated that she pointed out Lady Slippers and funny fungi to me along the way.
When we reached the open granite of Crockett’s Ledge we enjoyed the big view down onto Lake Wicwas and over to the Ossipees. The clouds were dark and low so we had difficulty guessing what we were really seeing since we couldn’t see the top of the surrounding peaks.
The trail guide says it is a 2.7 miles total for the out and back from the trailhead to Crockett’s Ledge. The trails were in good condition and we were having fun so we decided to continue on and follow the Red Blazes over the White Mountain Ledge and down to the shore of Lake Wicwas.
There were a few short steep scrambles to reach the bare granite ledge but the clouds were still settled low so there were no White Mountain views for us to see. The trail went down through Maple Trees and we visited what the map marked as “Ancient Red Oak”. The Oak was a nice big tree and compared to me it is ancient I think. The trail took us near large boulders and pieces of granite that lay beneath the ledges.
Near the shore we enjoyed a nice breeze and we went to the outlook and stood at the edge of Lake and admired the cold dark water. Then we completed a steady uphill climb back up to the White Mountain Ledge and then looped back below Crockett’s Ledge.
We were going to head straight back but we turned onto the Blue Blazed Pond Loop Trails so we didn’t have to repeat most of the Yellow Trail. We walked over bridges and boardwalks past a beaver pond as the trail weaved through the wetlands.
We hiked nearly six miles and we beat the rain. We decided we want to return on a sunny day to see the mountains from the ledges and to hike more. We didn’t finish the blue trails and we didn’t even start the magenta blazed Arbutus Hill Pond Trail.
Have Fun!
Amy Patenaude is an avid skier/outdoor enthusiast from Henniker, N.H. Readers are welcome to send comments or suggestions to her at: amy@weirs.com.
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