Region
Most climbed route
Highlights
- The Carter-Moriah Trail goes over Mount Surprise. It is relatively easy except if wet because it is comprised of much bare rock.
- Moriah is the northernmost peak in New Hampshire on the Appalachian Trail and the second northernmost 4000 footer in the state.
- The views from the summit are outstanding and it is said that on a clear day you can see the Atlantic.
Routes
14 climbs • 7.1 mi • 2,037 ft gain • 6 hr 11 min
4 climbs • 7.7 mi • 917 ft gain • 5 hr 27 min
2 climbs • 8.7 mi • 3,150 ft gain • 7 hr 10 min
Latest climbs
"A hike for a Calendar Day. There was a massive rain storm on Dec 18th, causing a lot of damage to roads and trails. I decided on Moriah for a river free trail. Headed up the Carter Moriah Tr and reached the summit. Pockets of ice scattered all over the place. Didn't see more consistent snow until 3600 feet. The Presis had a lot of blue patches on them rather than solid white. The storm brought the hiking season back a month into mid-November conditions. Headed down the Carter Moriah Tr. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 21, 2023
"Nice day for hiking. Clouds did not spoil the views. It was a very steep, muddy, rocky and lots of ledge to hike up. This trail was very different as it was steep right from the start. No warming up with an easy section. The temp was 53 at the start and 63 at the finish. Very windy at the summit and it was quite chilly. Views were impressive from the summit. " — GreggC • Sep 15, 2023
"A Calendar Day need along with my current loop. Hiked up the Carter Moriah Tr to the summit. Sunny but hazy day. Encountered monorail higher up. I was able to bareboot up and down the mountain. The haze destroyed the views today!" — newenglandwarrior • May 11, 2023
"Spring hiking in the Whites. Nice day, dry trail to Mt Surprise. Above there, snow to the summit. Very sturdy but narrow monorail. Perfect 360 views from a somewhat calm summit." — Alohabuffy • Apr 28, 2023
"Still avoiding water crossings, we worked on another need of Molly's. So we hiked up Moriah up the Carter Moriah Tr. We had views from Mt Surprise on the way up. We reached the summit and saw some grey jays. Coming back down, the Presis's had some clouds about them from Mt Surprise. We also saw a guy making snow sculptures with his hand saw. It was pretty neat. " — newenglandwarrior • Feb 20, 2022
"Peanut joined me. Lots of blowdowns on Highwater and Moriah Brook. Spots where trail has been washed out. A lot of water crossings along the way. Moriah Brook was buggy and exposed to sun a lot of the way. A lot of snow between Moriah and Rattle River Trail." — doloressoule • May 16, 2021
"After a late morning dentist appointment, I went up to Moriah to pick up a Grid gain. I went up Stoney Brook Tr for a change of scenery and because I could be on the trail sooner. Some rotting monorail along the AT near the summit. Nice views today. 10 miles" — newenglandwarrior • May 13, 2021
"Did the "Loop" trail. Started at 7 am on Bangor Street trail head, and came out to Stoney Brook Trail head at 2:30. MANY stops on the way to take pictures and see the beautiful views as well!!!!" — Bucky • Oct 10, 2020
"A rather cold trip to the top of Moriah today. 17 deg at the bottom, 7 at the top plus a cruel wind made it a little inhospitable on the summit. Too bad as the bright blue skies were stunning and views for miles in every direction. Good look out from Surprise's ledges. Trail was in excellent shape, snowshoes door to door. Except snowmobilers have ripped apart the trail from the 1 mile to 2 mile mark." — Alohabuffy • Jan 20, 2020
"The temperature was great and the summit beautiful! We had no trouble finding parking on Bangor Street at 9:00am, but could tell right away we were in for a buggy climb (no surprise, it being Memorial Day weekend in the White Mountains). I had frequented a few weather and trail report websites for a week or two leading up to our climb, and therefore knew to pack some microspikes just in case we came upon some snow. And we did (no surprise... it being Memorial Day weekend in the White Mountains). The first third of the trail had moderate grades and easy footing, but was very buggy. The next third was mostly comprised of ledges to shinny over, a few nice views, and more bugs. The final third was bugless (finally!), the one benefit to having to suddenly navigate through/over a mile and a half of crumbling monorail. Lunch at the summit helped to lessen the blow and keep us from developing a poor opinion of what is clearly a beautiful mountain. I would definitely be interested in hiking Moriah again under slightly better conditions (e.g. minus the frighteningly unstable snow pack and the gang of thousands of black flies that followed and attacked us)." — gooner • May 25, 2019