Wilmot’s Bog Mountain – A Great Little Hike
PHOTO: Yours truly and Bria on Bog Mountain; Bria is sitting on the memorial granite bench dedicated to Bill Best and there is a Wilmot Tiny Library nearby.
by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer
Bog Mountain in Wilmot is a great little hike. This bald granite peak gets its name from the Kimpton Brook boggy area down below at its base. The trail does not cross any wet or boggy areas. From its top hikers are rewarded with a big mountain vista for their modest effort.
The Bog Mountain Trail is part of section 7 of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway.
The SRK Greenway is a combination of 75 miles of hiking trails that circle the Lake Sunapee area and connects the three mountains in the Greenway’s title. If you’re looking for trails that are less traveled check out the Greenway’s paths.
The trail traverses Bog Mountain for 3.2 miles from the west side on Stearns Road to the eastside parking area at the Wilmot Town Library. Any combination of up and down or point to point make for a good outing.
We met for a quick afternoon hike and we chose the shorter route, it is just 1.1 miles to the summit from the east side.
We parked at Stearns Road, a narrow gravel road with parking for three or four cars on a widened edge of the road. Please be respectful and do not block or crowd the road. If there wasn’t room here we would have gone to the other side of the mountain where there is plenty of parking available across from the Wilmot Library. But no surprise we were the only cars.
The trail is well maintained and the path was so clean we wondered if someone had raked it. In just a half a mile we reached the ridge and an outlook ledge with a view to the south. We hunted for wildflowers but most were not open yet. Violets and some Trilliums were out.
The trail crosses ledgy areas and nearing the summit it is an open granite knob. This is the most difficult part of the hike but it isn’t too steep and the footing is good. Pay attention to where you entered the open area to make it easier to find the trail on your return trip.
On the summit is a granite memorial bench and a mini Wilmot Library.
The view was wonderful and we could see that there were still traces of snow on the slopes of Mount Sunapee. There is a spur path to more open ledges with a wider view south but big Mount Kearsarge blocks most of the view. Or instead maybe should I say that from these ledges there is an excellent wide view of Mount Kearsarge!
We took some time to bushwack near these ledges and found an old bad idea fire ring and another ledgy open area that would make for a more private picnic area.
The actual high point of Bog Mountain is just off the trail to the north when starting the trail down to the other side. There is a small rock cairn and an obstructed view through the trees of Ragged Mountain.
Another hiker arrived on the summit from the other side just as we were about to head back down.
On our return we had a pleasant hike taking our time looking and trying to identify the plants, trees and flowers.
If we had had more time we could have parked on Route 4 and hiked up to Stearns Road using the Kimpton Brook Trail, we’ll have to get that piece of trail another time. When we finished our hike there was another car parked behind ours and a young mother and her two children were readying to hit the trail.
We all agreed it was a good day for a hike.
Get outside and have fun.
