Many White Mountain hikers are familiar with the Sugarloaves (Middle and North) near the town of Twin Mountain. The west side of Newfound Lake near Bristol has its own pair of Sugarloaves - Little 'loaf and Big 'loaf - accessible by the Elwell Trail from Wellington State Park. A newly marked trail now makes a very attractive loop possible including both of these little peaks and nearby Goose Pond. This short hike starts at a large parking area for the Elwell Trail on West Shore Rd. just north of the Wellington State Park entrance.
A couple of trail maps are posted near the start.
At 0.4 mile the loop trail splits left and leads down to the shore of serene Goose Pond.
If you want, you can walk the plank to a sitting rock. I only went partway out and then decided I didn't trust its weight-bearing capacity.
The Goose Pond Loop follows links on a snowmobile trail and a woods road back to the Elwell Trail.
There's a stiff climb to Big Sugarloaf, with a nice view of Newfound Lake just right of the trail as you near the crest.
From here you can also look back down at Goose Pond.
A flat ledge with another lake view marks the summit of Big Sugarloaf.
On the way down to Little Sugarloaf there's a fun passage through a rock crevice.
Perhaps the nicest spot on the loop is this perch near the top of Little Sugarloaf. You can see the beach and peninsula in Wellington State Park. All in all, a nice little trek with a good variety of scenery.
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