Faraway Mtn.

Overview

Faraway Mtn. is the second-highest summit of the Ossipee Range in central New Hampshire - a volcanic ring-dike that is of geological interest and offers many terrific hikes with great views. (Mt. Shaw is number One. Black Snout is number Three in height, but has traditionally been referred to as the "second peak" of the Ossipees, for reasons I explain in a reply to a Comment by nartreb.)

There are several bumps on this ridge, but the high-point, festooned with utility hardware, is x2,782 on topos and generally accepted as the summit. At least one fellow I know of, however, holds out for a bump nearly a mile to the south, although it's fifty feet lower, because a carriage-road went there 80 years ago - long since overgrown - as a result of which some maps place "Faraway" down there.

Faraway is on the "Ossipee 10" list, which you can read about on the website I've linked below (and also in my reply to that Comment). If you're not interested in that and just want views, you need go no further than the "Faraway Mountain Outlook" on the High Ridge Trail, from which I took the picture above (on a sadly hazy day). You'll still be over a half-mile from the summit, but there are no equivalent views from higher up.

Most of my photos are from a hike I took to Roberts and Faraway in June 2008. The day was hazy but you can find a few more photos from that hike on my SmugMug page linked below. I've added a couple from other hikes.

Getting There

Easiest access to Ossipee peaks is from the south. For Faraway, the Roberts Trail, with excellent view ledges, is the best approach. It leaves from the grounds of the Lake Region Conservation Trust's "Castle in the Clouds" property in Moultonborough. From there, take the High Ridge Trail, generally east. The Faraway summit is reached by a utility trail, not shown on the LRCT map but hard to miss. That trail is chained at the beginning, and about .6 mile long.

Red Tape

You have to pay if you want to visit the Castle building - an impressive early 20th Century mansion on a bluff, built by a tycoon named Tom Plant. Hiking, however, is free.

Camping

This is strictly a day-hike.

External Links

More photos from my June 2008 hike
Ossipee Ten List

Images

View Faraway Mtn. Image Gallery - 6 Images