Mount Tom

Altitude at a glance

Altitude note (estimate): using the standard lapse rate of about 3.5°F per 1,000 ft, expect the summit to be roughly 7°F colder than the trailhead, before wind chill. Above treeline, wind can make it feel far colder.

Effort score: 1,124 ft/mi — Steep

Effort score = elevation gain ÷ straight-line distance from the nearest USFS trailhead to the summit (feet per mile). Trails wind, so real trail grades are gentler than this number. Under 500 Gentle · 500–999 Moderate · 1,000–1,499 Steep · 1,500+ Very steep. Use it to compare peaks, not as a trail grade.

Peak lists

NH 4,000-Footers (AMC) New England 4,000-Footers (AMC)

Who manages this mountain

White Mountain National Forest (USDA Forest Service), Pemigewasset Ranger District.

71 White Mountain Drive, Campton, NH 03223 · (603) 536-6100

WMNF offices (official)

Land unit from the USGS PAD-US database at the summit point; ranger district from USDA Forest Service boundaries. Office address and phone from the Forest Service offices page.

Parking & trailheads

The nearest Forest Service trailheads:

• Crawford Path Trailhead (Rte 302) — 1.9 mi from the summit (straight line), elevation 1,915 ft · WMNF recreation pass required Get directionsApple Maps
• Webster - Jackson Trailhead — 1.9 mi from the summit (straight line), elevation 1,892 ft Get directionsApple Maps
• Zealand Trailhead (Forest Rd 16) — 1.9 mi from the summit (straight line), elevation 2,030 ft · WMNF recreation pass required Get directionsApple Maps

Trailheads: USDA Forest Service. Pass requirement: WMNF list of fee sites; at other trailheads we don't know of a fee. Check the official page before you go.

How it got its name

Named for Thomas Crawford, whose family ran three inns in Crawford Notch in the early 1800s.

Source: Wikipedia, “Mount Tom (New Hampshire)”.

Safety

Consider a hikeSafe card. It's sold by NH Fish and Game and helps cover the cost of a search and rescue if you need one, under NH rules. Carry the ten essentials, tell someone your plan and know when to turn back.

Huts, shelters & campgrounds nearby

• Zealand Falls Hut (Hut, Appalachian Mountain Club) — 2.6 mi
• Naumann Tentsite (Campground / campsite, Appalachian Mountain Club) — 3.8 mi
• Mizpah Spring Hut (Hut, Appalachian Mountain Club) — 3.8 mi
• Sugarloaf II Campground (Campground / campsite, US Forest Service) — 4.3 mi
• Mount Deception Camping Area (Campground / campsite) — 4.4 mi
• Sugarloaf I Campground (Campground / campsite, US Forest Service) — 4.5 mi

Within 15 miles, straight line. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check with the operator for reservations, fees and seasons.

Real estate nearby

Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical home, as of the month shown; when Zillow has no figure for a town, we show the Census ACS 5-year median home value (table B25077). Income: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year 2020–2024 (via Census Reporter), table B19013. Population: same ACS 5-year release, table B01003.

Closest golf courses

• Mount Washington Course, Bretton Woods — 3.0 mi
• Mount Pleasant Course, Bretton Woods — 3.1 mi
• The Maplewood Golf Club, Bethlehem — 11.9 mi

Straight-line distance. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Trails & mileage

36.0 miles of USDA Forest Service–managed trail: the full length of every USFS trail segment that comes within 2 miles of the summit (computed from USFS trail GIS data).

Lengths are each trail's full mapped length in USFS GIS data, not a summit route. Difficulty ratings are not published in this data, so we leave them out.

Summit sunrise & sunset by month

Computed for the summit coordinates with the NOAA solar formula, Eastern Time (DST applied). *Rule of thumb: be heading down at least 2 hours before sunset; start early enough to reach the summit before this time.

Best month to hike

Sep — the month with the fewest wet days (≥1 mm precipitation) among months where the average summit high reaches 50°F.

2006–2025 daily ERA5 reanalysis from the Open-Meteo archive, adjusted to summit elevation. Reanalysis smooths mountain weather; summits like Mount Washington are often colder and windier than shown.

Getting there & parking

Nearest towns

• Hart's Location — 9.7 mi
• Livermore — 10.0 mi
• Bartlett — 12.2 mi

Trailheads & parking (USFS)

• Crawford Path Trailhead (Rte 302) — 1.9 mi from summit, 1,915 ft · Directions
• Webster - Jackson Trailhead — 1.9 mi from summit, 1,892 ft · Directions
• Zealand Trailhead (Forest Rd 16) — 1.9 mi from summit, 2,030 ft · Directions

Check the USFS trailhead page for parking rules and any recreation pass required.

Closest airports with scheduled flights

• Lebanon Municipal Airport (LEB) — about 58.8 mi straight line
• Portland International Jetport (PWM) — about 68.7 mi straight line
• Augusta State Airport (AUG) — about 81.9 mi straight line

Campgrounds & places to stay

KOA campgrounds

• Twin Mountain / Mt. Washington KOA Holiday — 7.8 mi, Carroll · Directions
• Littleton / Franconia Notch KOA Holiday — 20.3 mi, Lisbon · Directions
• Lincoln / Woodstock KOA Holiday — 20.6 mi, Woodstock · Directions

National Forest campgrounds

• Sugarloaf II Campground — 4.4 mi
• Sugarloaf I Campground — 4.5 mi
• Zealand Campground — 4.6 mi

Nearby ski areas

• Bretton Woods — 3.5 mi 1500 vertical ft · 103 trails · 8 lifts · 468 acres
• Wildcat Mountain — 10.9 mi 2112 vertical ft · 48 trails · 5 lifts · 225 acres
• Cannon Mountain — 13.0 mi 2180 vertical ft · 98 trails · 9 lifts · 285 acres

Hike + ski pairing: hike Mount Tom in summer or fall, then come back in winter to ski Bretton Woods, 3.5 miles away.

Hiking clubs & trail groups

• AMC Four Thousand Footer Club — Mount Tom is on the official NH 4,000-footer list.
• Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) — the region's largest trail-maintaining club in the White Mountains.
• White Mountain National Forest (volunteer opportunities)

Peaks nearby

• Mount Avalon — 1.0 mi, 3,442 ft
• Mount Field — 1.1 mi, 4,327 ft
• Mount Echo — 1.5 mi, 3,065 ft
• Mount Willard — 1.7 mi, 2,842 ft
• Whitewall Mount — 2.3 mi, 3,407 ft