Region
Highlights
- Mt. Pierce was originally named Mt. Clinton after Gov. DeWitt Clinton of New York. In 1913 it was fittingly renamed after New Hampshire's own President Franklin Pierce.
- One of the lower alpine summits of the Presidential Range. A clearing lies on the summit surrounded by krummholz and spruce.
- Summit can be accessed from the west by the Crawford Path. The Appalachian Trail runs north-south over its summit
- The AMC Mizpah Spring Hut lies 0.8 miles to the south.
Routes
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
101 summits • 19.0 mi • 7,788 ft gain • 7 hr 34 min
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
35 summits • 6.9 mi • 488 ft gain • 4 hr 52 min
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
11 summits • 25.2 mi • 8,924 ft gain • 11 hr 40 min
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
6 summits • 11.5 mi • 3,578 ft gain • 6 hr 45 min
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
1 summit • 10.3 mi • 2,856 ft gain • 12 hr 9 min
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
1 summit • 12.3 mi • 3,790 ft gain • 9 hr 23 min
/-71.3657149,44.2268471,11,0.00,0.00/320x240@2x?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoicGVha2VyeSIsImEiOiJjampra3Z0bnAxeTVnM3FteHlybHY3b2p1In0.7a5dEa5-995VUv8ceHHNmw)
1 summit • 6.9 mi • 2,368 ft gain • 8 hr 16 min
Latest summits
"Katie Meyer, Molly, and I were getting together for a hike of Eisenhower and Pierce. We met at the Highland Center and headed up the Crawford Path. Along the way up, Molly suggested the idea of Jackson. We eventually reached Eisenhower. Nice day weather wise for it. We then headed over to Pierce and reached it. After that, we decided to head over to Jackson. This would give Molly a +1 for her Spring Grid. So we headed over and got it. On the way down, my microspike broke. So I attempted to head down without my spikes on. The snow was firmly packed and made everything slippery. I only took one fall, and lots of quick movement to maintain my balance. We reached the road just fine. A good day for a hike. " — newenglandwarrior • Mar 22, 2020

"Great winter hike. The trail was well broken out the whole way up. No snowshoes necessary. We got by just fine with spikes.
The summit was pretty windy and we didn't linger too long. Took us about 2 hours 45 minutes to climb including stops. The descent was only 1 hour and 15 minutes." — fairhiker • Jan 5, 2020
"Teamed up with Elizabeth for a loop hike of Webster, Jackson, Pierce. I needed the 4000 footers for my Grid, and Elizabeth needed Webster. Beautiful day for a hike. Great views. " — newenglandwarrior • Sep 13, 2019

"Single-day Presidential Traverse to finish off 3 days of peakbagging and Appalachian Trail redlining in White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. The Traverse, spanning Pinkham Notch to Crawford Notch, covered 25 miles and 8,300 feet of elevation gain in 14 hours moving. " — wacbravo • Sep 9, 2019

"Last week we were all set to go camping ... a nice long weekend of relaxing. At the last minute our friends talked us into joining them to complete one of the Northeast Ultra 8's - the Presidential Traverse - 24 miles and 9200 feet of gain over some tough terrain. It was not my best day, I wasn't feeling it and I was slower - thankfully these guys were not worried about pace and instead they were all about enjoying the day, working together to get it done and keeping it fun - so thankful for a great crew!" — deb-and-rob • Aug 31, 2019
"Incredible day for a winter hike in the Presis. Trail conditions to Pierce were excellent, from there to Eisenhower not as packed, but still good for snowshoes. Bright blue skies made the snow sparkle, and pics of Mt Wash and other were perfect. Temps in the 20s and low wind made for an enjoyable summit experience." — Alohabuffy • Feb 17, 2019
"Teamed up with Molly and Katie for these two peaks today. I only needed Eisenhower for my Grid. We tagged both of them. Went off trail a few times between the two peaks. Windy on Eisenhower. We did not stay long." — newenglandwarrior • Feb 3, 2019

"My friend, Nora, my Golden, Kali and I left the car on 302 below the lake @ 9:13am and headed up the road to Crawford Path. It was very humid, and even though it was not hot, we were soon sweating like mad. It took us until 11:35 to reach the junction of the Mizpah Cutoff, which was 1.9 mi. We kept going on Crawford to the top of Pierce, which was another 1.2 mi. We stopped just below the summit and took some pictures, and talked to people, then we summited at about 1:00pm and had lunch.
At 1:20, we left Mt. Pierce and hiked down the .9 mi to Mizpah Spring Hut, arriving at 2:00. We refilled our water bottles and left the hut at 2:20 on the Webster Cliff Trail to hike the 1.6 mi to Mt Jackson. My left knee started bothering me somewhere along this stretch. We summited Mt Jackson at 3:50 pm, took some pictures and headed down the Webster/Jackson Trail at 4:05. I'd remembered the fairly steep stuff at the top of Mt. Jackson, but had forgotten that the whole trail down was fairly rough, steep, off and on and didn't make for a fast down. It was only 2.6 mi to 302, but it was not a quick and easy 2.6 mi.
About halfway down, I slipped on a wet boulder and slammed my right knee and ..." — Hufflepuff • Sep 16, 2018

"Nice gradual incline! Gibbs falls is worth the short side trail. Sounds of running water accompanied us for a good portion of the hike. Beautiful views at the top! We could see Mt Eisenhower looming over pierce in the background and the ridge to travel onto to get to it was clearly laid out for miles. " — kaylajean • Aug 25, 2018

"Up eisenhower and pierce...Curran & I started our day at 4am to be back to celebrate with our mothers. Great weather, amazing morning....snow and monorail still up there....spikes on and off but tank tops and spikes are my favorite hiking combination!" — shay-shay • May 13, 2018