Outside of Littleton, New Hampshire, and just a short drive from our Vermont HQ, is a pleasant path that leads to an ridge that has fantastic views of the town on Littleton.  On August 8, my wife and I ventured to the top of Kilburn Crags (there is handy map!) to catch this view.

As far as these things go, this was an easy hike.  The trail is wide and gradual the entire route.  There is about 540 feet of elevation gain and the out-and-back trip is about 2 miles long.  We took a leisurely pace and enjoyed the view for a good while - but we did not eat a meal on the route - which would have been nice.  The entire trip took us about an hour.  So - this is a great one if you have a dog in tow or kids who want to hike or you just want a quick, fairly easy hike, with nice views nonetheless.  We were also lucky because the weather was nice.

On Route 18 (also called St. Johnsbury Road) near its intersection with 135 (North Littleton Road) there is a small parking area with a handy sign for reference, though it is easy to drive right on past.

Though the sign says the route is .7 miles, my GPS suggested it is a bit longer.  Nevertheless, the 30 minute time prediction proved accurate - and that was with a bit of time soaking in the view at the top.

Somewhat oddly, the trip begins with a (recently, thank goodness) mowed path in a field next to a private house.  This short jaunt leads to the trail proper.  And I wondered if the guy who owns the house just mowed this for folks out the kindness of his heart.  I would have liked to donate some money to his gas fund!

The trail is well defined and rather easy going - wide, well-worn, and gradually up hill.  Nice way to travel if you can find it!

Finally, after a nice, well-shaded walk, you get to the crag, which is defined as a "steep or rugged cliff or rock face." From there, you can see Littleton, New Hampshire sprawled out below.

Not bad for such a leisurely stroll! There is also a hand picnic table at the top, but we did not pack lunch.  Would be a great spot!  By the way, when you are done with the hike, you should head in to Littleton and reward yourself at Bishop's Homemade Ice Cream - it is fantastic, and I personally highly recommend the cotton candy flavor. I know, it seems wrong, but trust me - fantastic!

And finally, here is a map of the hike as we did it:

Littleton from the top top the crags:

I’m grateful for Thanksgiving, but what I really like is the day after Thanksgiving.

This day, there is nothing that must be done. Their is usually food leftover from the day before, so in the unlikely event that you do get hungry again, no problem. Everyone is recovering from the antics of the day before - cooking, eating, socialzing, arguing, drinking…etc.

So, the day after, you can do what you want. We went on a little hike up Bald Mountain, a short, easy hike in the northern White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Just off of I-93, right across from the Cannon Mountain ski area, you can quickly bop up to the top of Bald Mountain for some reaonably nice views. The payoff for the effort is quite high.

The hike up Bald Mountain has a modest stretch of rock scrambling, but it isn’t bad. It is very windy however, and you should be prepared to put on a jacket and hold on to your hat. After the peak, we came down and cruised over to Artist’s Bluff, which offers another nice view. After that, we turned back and returned to our car…a nice way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. Oh, and did I mention that after that, we ate pizza and drank excellent beer at Schilling in Littleton. Oh yeah, that was nice too.

A view on the way up. I think the road below is I-93. The trailhead is just a minute off of the highway: