Mount Osceola

"With my Grid for March done, now I would help out others. Joined Juel on an attempt on the Osceolas. Couldn't park at the trailhead. Had to park slightly up the road. Steep as always going up East. We tagged both summits." — newenglandwarrior • Mar 5, 2019

"Great hike up E. Osceola and over to Osceola. Tons of snow. Pretty decent footing, even in the steep sections. Going up and down the chimney is a wild thing in snow and ice. Sadly, nothing but thick fog on the summits. Snowshoes door to door." — Alohabuffy • Feb 3, 2019

"It has been awhile since I combined both of these hikes into a day. But I needed them for my Grid and didn't have much time. This was my last hike in October in NH. Tecumseh was quick. Same with the Osceola's. Didn't feel to bad after hiking the Osceola's. Picked up 3 peaks today. " — newenglandwarrior • Oct 5, 2018

"2 semaines solo de pure plaisir à faire du hiking à différentes places dont les Whites Moutains. Derniere journée de mon voyage. Mes pieds et jambes me disent d'arrêter maintenant! Je vais les écouter et faire ces deux derniers sommets avant de quitter. Encore une fois, ce fut une très belle expérience. J'ai adoré la vu rendu au sommet! C'est vraiment magnifique!!!!" — fsoucy76 • Sep 30, 2018

"Solo. 4/48. Continued from East Osceola (see previous report) and was just enamored with the corridors of green between the two mountains. I passed quite a few people in the col, and stopped to talk to a delightful couple, the woman telling me she is 76 (!!!) and started hiking at 65 (!!!), gosh I hope I am hiking at that age, she is my spirit animal. And didn’t look a day over 55, I was shocked! I scrambled and walked and scrambled and walked, and as I neared “the chimney” I heard some colorful language and heard what I recognized to be the sound of trekking poles being thrown from a height, which is where I met Jed (Jeb?) an excellent character hailing from Boston with a heck of an accent, barreling down the chimney. I stopped to speak to him for a few minutes and continued on my way, (& as Jed/Jeb promised, the chimney “ain’t sh*t”!). I slogged along on my hurting legs, and suddenly. The summit. Oh! Wow. Words really can’t describe. I took a couple of photos for 3 girls about my age, had them take a couple for me, relished my summit beer & hung out for about 20 minutes just enjoying the hell out of the view. What a perfect day. It was very windy and brisk at the summit, glad I h..." — kellieirene • Aug 23, 2018

"Nice beautiful day in NH. Hiked up from Triploi rd. Trail was nice and lots of trail work had been done to clear blow downs. We enjoyed a nice view at summit and took our time headed back!" — blackwolf_03278 • Jun 3, 2018

"Halfway decent day, some sun and fairly calm at the summit. Needed spikes, lots of icy parts. Up and over or down and under many blowdowns. People did a nice job cleaning it up." — Alohabuffy • Nov 12, 2017

"Perfect hiking weather! We hit the trailhead at 9:15am, after our standard lengthy pre-hike drive, and kept a good pace to the summit. The trail was fairly rocky, but pleasant and wide, and seemed to be extremely popular! We reached the summit in 1hr50min, and celebrated with a hearty half-lunch and time to enjoy the view. I also attempted to use the sun and an AMC map to figure out which mountains we were looking at... next time, I'll remember my compass. About 45min from there to the East Osceola summit. On the way back, we had some fun climbing up the chimney. Though heading back the way we came adds time and miles, I was thankful for a second glimpse of multiple lovely views on the Osceola trail. All in all, 6hr trip, including about 45min worth of breaks for meals and pictures." — gooner • Jul 29, 2017

"My first hike up Mt Osceola (my 3rd 4000 footer). I was accompanied by my wife, Kerrin, who bagged her first 4000 footer! Very rocky to start, then numerous switchbacks to the top. Great views to the east on a clear day, we also found limited views to the Franconia/Twin ranges." — gullyhiker • Jul 16, 2017

"Day 2 of our hiking weekend - Osceola and East Osceola. LOVED this hike! Started off at the Osceola Mountain trailhead ~8:30 am, a little warm and humid but a nice day. the trail starts off gentle and then begins a fun rocky, rooty climb of switchbacks. After 3.2 miles and only 2040' of gain we reached the summit of Osceola @ 4340' in ~ 1.5 hours - this includes lots of stops to chat and take in the great views along this trail so it can easily be done more quickly. The summit is an open ledge with incredible views - we stayed for a while to enjoy the sun, the company and the views. From Osceola we drop ~550' into a col before climbing the ridgeline to East Osceola ~ 1 mile away. Again, great trail! Its a nice, easy hike over to East Osceola with a little fun scrambling too! We drop ~550 into a col and then make our way to the summit in about 40 minutes. Although it is treed in there is a great viewpoint ~ 200' beyond the summit. On the way back we enjoyed a quick scramble up the Chimney - so much fun! Back to Osceola (very crowded so we didn't stay long this time) an then on our way down. 5.5 hours (4 hiking, 1.5 summit/view time), 8.4 miles RT with 2920' gain." — deb-and-rob • Jun 10, 2017

"BEAUTIFUL 40/50 degree day with full sun and no clouds.....what more could you ask for! The snow was a bit slushy...and it was a steep climb but we managed in just spikes. WHAT A VIEW...and what a day!" — shay-shay • Apr 9, 2017

"Camped @ Waterville campground the night previous & summited via the Mt. Osceola trail from Tripoli Rd. Beautiful day to be in the Whites & the remains of the old fire tower on top were cool." — billsussdorff • Sep 29, 2016

"Kali and I spent the night in the car in the parking area at the Trail head on Tripoli Road to get an early start. It was a beautiful day and the views were stunning. Unfortunately I forgot to charge my phone so the battery died before we ever got to the views. We avoided the chimney on the way from Mt Osceola to East Osceola, going the bypass route, which was plenty steep anyway. Going back up the bypass on the way back was even less fun than going down it for me, as I was getting tired and not wanting anymore "ups". " — Hufflepuff • Sep 22, 2016

"After E. Osceola, I went over and got Osceola. Would have loved to stay longer on the summit since the view today was great, but I was concerned about getting back to Portsmouth before it started to snow. It did start snowing in Portsmouth around noon from what I heard. I left Lincoln just before noon." — newenglandwarrior • Feb 8, 2016

"Part two of a great day off from work due to the incoming snow storm. Started up the Greely Ponds Trail at about 10:15 AM at a fast clip. It was a beautiful day, but it being a Monday in the winter there were very few cars in the tiny parking lot. The stream crossings weren't difficult, but some of the rocks were a little slick; nothing a bit of balance and quick stepping couldn't take care of. I passed some unfrozen mud, admired the sun streaming through the naked trees, and listened to some birds chirp. I passed a couple going up who didn't seem to be having a good time, which I found strange...to each their own. At the :19 mark, I hit the junction with the Mt. Osceola Trail, took a right and began the climb. The trail wasn't bad at first so I made good time, but in 10 minutes or so it got fairly icy/hard, so I decided to throw on the 'spikes. Good thing! The STEEP section leading up to E. Osceola was covered in thick ice, some of which required a little bit of off trail nav to bypass. I passed one more couple on the way up who were going slow but enjoying the day. As I neared the summit I took a right onto the footpath that leads to the WNW outlook onto Scar Ridge and Osceola...." — npweeks • Dec 28, 2015

"Parked along Tripoli Rd and hiked up. Quick hike up. Didn't stay on the summit long. Wanted to get over to E. Osceola, then come back and enjoy the views a little bit longer. Nice day." — newenglandwarrior • Nov 10, 2015

"We hiked both East Osceola and the main peak starting from the Greeley Pond Trail. We summited the east peak and continued on to the main peak (main peak has amazing views) and then back. There is a short section between the two peaks that people call the chimney for a good reason (it is very fun/doable)." — AmyScrambles • Sep 5, 2015

"Continued to Osceola from the East summit. Windy on the ridge line. Made it to the site of an old fire tower and found the USGS marker. No views from the summit. Very overcast. Two down and 46 to go. " — LGH-Tom • Jun 8, 2015

"This was my first 4000 footer, so it will always be a special hike. I got there just in time to enjoy some views before the clouds rolled in. Definitely not a strenuous mountain to tackle." — HikeLikeMike • Jul 13, 2014

"Great quick hike to start the year off. Took the Osceola Trail to the summit then over to East Osceola and returned the same route. Summit was in the clouds with strong (~40mph?) wind gusts and afforded no views until the return to the main peak. Good day (5:45)" — pat.dodd.775 • Jun 15, 2014