Name: West Ridge Trail
Rating: 3.9

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Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers

Description

From the Summer Parking lot, this trail winds its way through dense new growth forest. Closer to the summit of Mt. Cardigan, the trail becomes rocky and steep, with the final half mile on steep bedrock. The view is worth the climb!

This is the final descent of the Mt. Cardigan Super Loop!

Contacts

Land Manager: NH State Parks - Parks and Rec. Dept.

Shared By:

Simon Pendleton

Full Details

Trail Ratings

3.9 from 10 votes

#4

in Cardigan State Park

#11294

Overall

3.9 from 10 votes

5 Star		30%
4 Star		40%
3 Star		20%
2 Star		10%
1 Star		0%

Trail Rankings

4 Views Last Month

1,317 Since Jul 5, 2015

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Photos

Jul 10, 2015 near Grafton, NH

Jul 10, 2015 near Grafton, NH

Summit of Mt. Cardigan with fire tower (photo looking NW).

Jul 5, 2015 near Grafton, NH

West Ridge Trail near summit view southest toward Canaan, NH.

Aug 3, 2018 near Grafton, NH

Junction between West and South Ridge Trails.

Jul 5, 2015 near Grafton, NH

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Check-Ins

Oct 13, 2023

Rafael Fonseca

Great return on investment. Great views. The colors are not as bright this year but still beautiful. Under one hour one way without killing ourselves.

Aug 10, 2023

Amanda D

Up and down with a dog; muddy in spots but good conditions overall.

Sep 11, 2021

William Loughlin

3.3mi — 1h 33m

Feb 5, 2021

NH Hiker95

The shortest, and easiest route to the summit of Cardigan

Oct 6, 2020

Tom Clark

Fun, quick hike! Great jaunt through the woods and a challenging early morning climb in the fog to the summit 3mi — 2h 00m

May 19, 2019

Jo Beltre

6.6mi — 3h 29m

Sep 22, 2018

Aleksandar Petakov

Jul 30, 2018

Steve H

Time is approximate. Need to time next hike. 1.2mi

Aug 8, 2017

Matthew Geason

Jul 2, 2017

Carl Lambrecht

Dec 2, 2016

Will Coates

4.3mi

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West Ridge Trail

“This is the most direct route to the summit of Mt. Cardigan. ”

1.5

2.3

Point to Point

3,133' 955 m

2,007' 612 m

1,127' 343 m

1' 0 m

15%

31%