You'll Love This One Awesome Activity In New Hampshire And It Won't Cost You A Cent
By Ken MacGray|Published January 19, 2023
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Ken MacGray
Author
Hey! I'm a freelance writer and guidebook author. I've authored "New Hampshire's 52 With A View - A Hiker's Guide", serve as editor of Appalachian Mountain Club's "Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide", and and am co-editor of the "White Mountain Guide", also for AMC. I'm currently beginning work on the 6th Edition of AMC's Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, which will be published in 2025. I live in southern New Hampshire and can usually be found wandering throughout the state's mountains and forests.
New Hampshire has a long and storied history of using mountaintop lookouts for fire detection. Most of these old lookouts no longer remain in service or lie in ruins on remote summits, but 15 of them are still active today. You can visit these towers today to learn more about their history and to get some incredible views. The best part? You can also get a patch for hiking all of them! Here are four of the easiest ones to get you and your family started on this quest.
A short half-mile hike, steep in places, leads to this fire tower on the partly open summit of Blue Job Mountain (1,353 feet). You can return the same way or continue on for a loop hike. If there's enough energy, the side trip to Little Blue Job (1,250 feet) is worth it for the excellent 360-degree views. For more information, visit NH Family Hikes.
This short hike is one of the biggest bangs for the buck in southern New Hampshire. A walk of 0.4 miles leads to the fire tower at the bald summit of Pitcher Mountain (2,163 feet), where there are view in all directions. This is also an excellent area for blueberry picking in-season. A loop option is also available for a total of 0.8 miles. For more information, visit NH Family Hikes.
Out of the hikes listed here, this is the longest at 1.7 miles one-way, but the walking is generally easy along an old road. Red Hill (2,031 feet) and its fire tower provide unobstructed views in all directions over the Lakes Region and toward the White Mountains and Maine. For more information, visit NH Family Hikes and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust website.
Out of the hikes listed here, this is the longest at 1.7 miles one-way, but the walking is generally easy along an old road. Red Hill (2,031 feet) and its fire tower provide unobstructed views in all directions over the Lakes Region and toward the White Mountains and Maine. For more information, visit NH Family Hikes and the Lakes Region Conservation Trust website.
