The White Ledge Loop Trail makes a pleasant 4.4 mile loop over White Ledge (2010 ft.), a low northeastern spur of Mt. Chocorua. The trail presents varied woods and several ledgy spots with directional views. Combined with a few bushwhack diversions, it provided an excellent day in the woods below the slushy snowline.
The trail leaves the main access road in the WMNF White Ledge Campground off Rt. 16. Parking in the off-season is limited with room for just a handful of cars on the sides of the entrance outside the gate. In-season, there is a designated hiker parking area within the campground.
I always go up the longer, more gradual east branch of the loop and down the shorter, steeper west branch (counterclockwise). In its lower section the east branch passes through old pastureland laced with several stone walls.
After a stiff climb you top out on a 1500-ft. pass between White Ledge and its southeastern spur, Roundtop. I had never been to Roundtop (1490 ft.), and decided to make the 3/4 mile round trip bushwhack across to it.
Looking back at White Ledge near the start of the bushwhack.
Evidence of a local resident.
And another.
Ascending a spruce-wooded slope to Roundtop, which has only about 65 ft. of prominence.
The viewless summit of Roundtop.
Boulders right by the summit.
From the White Ledge-Roundtop pass, the trail descends through a fine mature hardwood forest with many white ash trees.
Spotting a cliff on White Ledge through the trees, I bushwhacked across and came to this remarkable roof-rock at the base.
Right below the cliff was the only patch of snow I saw all day.
I stumbled onto a faint climbers' path that led to the base of the cliff. A couple of anchors were visible up on the slabs. This cliff is not included in the North Conway area climbing guide, but it is described on the mountainproject.com website.
Gnarled yellow birches inhabit the jumbled talus below the cliff.
Another angle on the roof-rock.
The biggest white ash in the vicinity.
At this stone pile (evidence of past clearing for pasture), the east branch of the trail turns left to climb up onto White Ledge.
The largest patch of open ledge on the trail is at ~1800 ft.
At the top of these slabs is a view back to the Moat Range.
Middle and South Moat, with the several cliffs of Haystack below.
The trail continues up past views of Kearsrage North and the Green Hills of Conway...
...and the Bear-Table Mountain area with Mt. Carrigain, part of the Nancy Range, and Mt. Willey beyond.
Zoom on Table Mountain with the picturesque Rainbow Slabs below.
Just before the summit, an unmarked side path leads left to open ledges with a wide view east and a perspective looking down on Roundtop.
A faded message points to a less open view right by the summit.
Not bad, but the other side path has a better vista.
From the summit I bushwhacked down through prickly spruce to a ledgy area on the west side of the mountain for views of the wild eastern side of Mt. Chocorua.
A closer look at a backlit Mt. Chocorua and the Three Sisters.
The sharp peak of Blue Mountain is especially prominent from this angle. It looks somewhat like a miniature Mt. Garfield, but offers no open views.
This spot offered a unique angle on the long ridgeline joining Bear, Table and Big Attitash Mountains.
Descending along the west branch of the trail, I made a short bushwhack to a perch with a beautifully framed look at Chocorua and the Sisters. From the trail itself you get a peek at just the summit cone of Chocorua.
A distant view of the Ossipee Range from the trail.
Below that view, the west branch makes a very pleasant, easy descent down a ledgy oak-wooded crest.
Farther down the trail is steeper for quite a distance. Along the way it passes the last vista on the loop, from a ledge reached by a spur path to the left. The blue water bodies are Iona Lake and Whitton Pond. I highly recommend the White Ledge Loop Trail for a rewarding spring hike.
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