Region
Most climbed route
Highlights
- Mount Garfield is a New Hampshire 4000 footer best known for its rocky knob summit with sweeping views deep into the Pemigwasset Wilderness.
- Connected via Garfield Ridge to Mount Lafayette 3.5 miles away.
- The Appalachian Trail runs along the ridge and across the summit of Garfield.
- Most popular route to the summit is the easy 5 mile Garfield Trail which mostly follows old fire roads to the top before a short, steep, and easy scramble to the summit.
- There is an old foundation on the summit of Garfield, which most refer to as from a fire tower.
Routes
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6 summits • 14.1 mi • 3,917 ft gain • 8 hr 15 min
1 summit • 13.9 mi • 6,129 ft gain • 12 hr 30 min
Latest summits
"3 days in WMNF. First two days included a nice overnight backpack of the eastern Pemigewasset Wilderness. On day one I hiked up Lincoln Woods and over to the Bonds, then continued on to summit the rest of the high peaks on the Eastern side- Zealand, the Twins, Galehead and Garfield, before setting up camp along the ridgeline above the Franconia Brook Trail. Ended up climbing Garfield in the the rain, which made for a dicey ascent/descent on tired legs. " — wacbravo • Sep 7, 2019
"An easy climb. Spectacular views from the summit! Accidentally started to take the Garfield Ridge Trail down instead of the Garfield Trail, which took time to retrace my steps." — NHClimber • Jul 7, 2019
"2 semaines solo de pure plaisir à faire du hiking à différentes places dont les Whites Moutains. Grosse journée qui commence à la noirceur. J'ai essuyé une tempête de l'enfer ici. Par chance la Galehead Hut était encore ouverte au sommet. J'ai pu m'y réfugier le temps que cela se calme un peu. Sur Garfield, les vents étaient horribles! Ils me trainaient par terre." — fsoucy76 • Sep 21, 2018
"My hiking buddy was heading out for her first trek over Mount Washington, so I snagged a spot with the AMC Boston Chapter for a small group hike of Mount Garfield. The trail was easy and moderate throughout, and only tested my thigh strength for that top 0.2 miles. The company of my fellow hikers was fun and lighthearted, and the view--Amazing! We spent over an hour at the summit, soaking in everything we could." — gooner • Jul 21, 2018
"Hiked Mount Garfield on 6/23. (9 of 48 4000’s complete). 5 miles to summit. Fairly easy trail grading for most of the way up. Miles seemed to fly by. Only the last .2 miles is steep. Views are well worth it. Cold and windy at summit. Beat the rain out too. " — dmcosker • Jun 23, 2018
"Already had this peak for my Grid but this was more about networking. It was a Presi kind of day. No wind on Garfield making it an incredible day up there. We went on to Galehead next. Went with a Meetup group (Random)" — newenglandwarrior • Dec 2, 2017
"Enjoying a weekend exploring the Whites. Started on trail Friday morning via shuttle (left a car at Zealand parking area). Hiked up to Garfield and the made our way back over the ridge where we spent the night at Galehead Hut before moving on the next day through the Twins and the Bonds. Beautiful trail!" — deb-and-rob • Aug 11, 2017
"Great weekend in the White mountains! Hit North Twin and South Twin, and made our way to Galehead. Galehead was my friends #48 to finish the NH 4000 footers. From there we hiked to Garfield campsite, next morning hiked to Garfield summit and down and out The Gailriver tail" — blackwolf_03278 • Jul 30, 2017
"Returned to my first ever 48 that I hiked when I was a kid....I remembered it being so tough and exhausting but today it was a breeze. We hiked up in the late afternoon and enjoyed amazing skies, views and weather....what an incredible day! We speedily bagged this one in under 4 hours....this mountain is definitely in my top 10!" — shay-shay • May 23, 2017
"This was for Serena's finish of her NE67 before moving to CA. There were about 11 of us that hiked up. Easy hike. Somewhat cold at the top, but clear and sunny otherwise. Great day for a finish." — newenglandwarrior • Jan 8, 2017
"Marielle needed it for her NH48. Denise tagged along and another guy as well. The gate was closed so we walked in. The weather was forecasted to be nice. We reached the summit and we were socked in by clouds. We used our spikes on the upper part of the mtn due to ice. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 12, 2015
"Dry at the base. Slowly turned to ice, then snow on the trail. Ended up using snowshoes. Summit was clear of snow due to the rocks being baked under the sun. Spent about 30 min at the top, enjoying the incredible views." — newenglandwarrior • May 7, 2015
"Hiked the Gale River Trail to summit Galehead, then took the Garfield Ridge Trail to summit Garfield. Took the Garfield Trail to the parking lot where we had a car at each trailhead." — pat.dodd.775 • Jun 21, 2014
"We went up the Falling Waters trail to Little Haystack and on to Mt Lincoln and Mt Lafayette on the Franconia Ridge trail, from there, stayed on the AT to Garfield Ridge trail and camped at Garfield pond. The next morning we ascended Mt Garfield and came down Garfield trail minus one toenail and plus a few new blisters. Great hike otherwise. We had gorgeous weather and views on Sunday, but it rained overnight and was foggy, windy and and had no good views on Monday from Mt Garfield. " — Hufflepuff • Aug 26, 2013
"Decided to add some mileage and some elevation gain in preparation for a hike we're doing in a couple of weeks. Started out quite foggy and windy with the Franconia Ridge 'socked in', but by the time we got to the Ridge the fog had lifted." — markst-john • Aug 10, 2013
"This was my Birthday and I spent it doing what I love!
Beautiful mostly clear day and great temps. Saw lots of people on the trail today including a ton of little kids. I think it's so awesome that they are getting out there so young! " — Jocelyn • May 19, 2013
"Overnight hike from North Twin to South Twin to Galehead, Garfield, Lafayette, Lincoln, Little Haystack down Falling Waters Trail. Stayed at Garfield Campsite. Great weather - great pictures." — markst-john • Aug 19, 2012
"Did an overnight trip following the northern boundary of the Pemi wilderness. Garfield/Galehead/So. Twin/Guyot/Zealand/Hale. nice 21 mile hike. Still have to say So. Twin has the best views of any 4k. Trail conditions were good, and the weather stayed clear despite forecast calling for t-storms. Awesome hike!" — chrisr00d • Aug 8, 2012
"Lil-Yeti and I set out for an over-nighter up Garfield Ridge, unloaded and set up at the campsite.
We summitted Garfield around 4pm and had gorgeous views in all directions!
We had supper at the summit and then hung around to view a spectacular sunset.
An absolutely wonderful day!" — SoarFooters • Aug 26, 2011
"Very cloudy. Did not see anything from the top, but could tell that the view would have been amazing. Hiked 10 miles in 4 hours and 10 minutes, due to gradual slope up and practically no breaks." — newenglandwarrior • Jul 27, 2011
Photos
Awards
Challenges
About peakery awards
Log successful summits on peakery to earn awards:
Peak Badges: Earn a special badge for each unique peak you summit. See all of your badges on your Badges page.
First Ascent Award: Only 1 available per peak. Goes to the first peakery member to log a successful summit of a peak. Snag this award and the peak will forever bear your name.
King of the Mountain Award: Only 1 available per peak. Summit a peak more times than any other member. Beware: this award can be lost!
Summit Steward: Summit a peak at least 5 times to become one of its Summit Stewards. As Steward of a peak, you’re encouraged to keep that peak’s info up-to-date on peakery and spread goodwill on your future climbs up the peak.