Loft Mountain Campground SNP

[Slo-go'en]

Being the weekend after Columbus will help, but I suppose any weekend until the leaves all fall off it's going to be full. The fall foliage up here in northern NH is very pale and not very far along right now. We're a good 2 weeks behind. The dry summer and warm September is to blame. I'd guess the SNP will have a delayed peak color season too.

[Rmcpeak]

Good! I like the muted, subtle pre- and post-peak colors just as much.

[renais]

My recollection from 15 is that there were quite a few great tent sites within a short distance of the AT as it wound its way around the site. They were easy to identify even in the last light of day. Many of these were obviously better for hikers coming in along the trail, and not from the road. There were easy, pretty flat and undergrowth free paths into the campground if desired, but there were not obvious paths from the campground to the sites. These were not the dispersed camping sites SNP talks about, but rather sites associated with the campground, but not shown on the campground maps. The folks at the campground were very helpful to the significant number of thru hikers present. I don't think I'd worry too much about finding a spot.

[Rmcpeak]

My recollection from 15 is that there were quite a few great tent sites within a short distance of the AT as it wound its way around the site. They were easy to identify even in the last light of day. Many of these were obviously better for hikers coming in along the trail, and not from the road. There were easy, pretty flat and undergrowth free paths into the campground if desired, but there were not obvious paths from the campground to the sites. These were not the dispersed camping sites SNP talks about, but rather sites associated with the campground, but not shown on the campground maps. The folks at the campground were very helpful to the significant number of thru hikers present. I don't think I'd worry too much about finding a spot.

Great to hear! Thanks. I'm sure it'll work out fine. I'm starting to trust the trail more and more the more miles I hike.

[Coffee]

I've walked through the area a few times but have not camped at Loft Mountain campground itself. I also recall a number of very good sites as the trail winds its way around the campground.

If the campground is full, the Pinefield hut is around 6 miles from Loft Mountain and has tenting sites. I also recall that it looked like there were flatter areas in the vicinity of the Ivy Creek Maintenance Hut. You aren't allowed to camp at that hut, but I believe you could camp a certain distance from it (I think 1/4 mile). There was a good spring at the hut the last time I was there (it was springtime).

One other option, if the campground is full, might be to walk a short distance up the Patterson Ridge Trail which has a trailhead just north of the Loft Mountain wayside on skyline drive. I remember reading about campsites up there and the topo makes it look favorable but I haven't been on that trail myself and can't vouch for it directly.

I'm walking the AT through the park in mid October as well - my favorite time of year in snp but it can be crowded.

[Rmcpeak]

Thanks Coffee. We'll look for you.

[Rmcpeak]

So, we got very lucky! Loft Mountain Campground was completely full when we walked in at about 6 p.m. Saturday night, but a young family had just changed their mind about staying and gave their site to us. It couldn't have worked out better. I tried to pay them for the site but they wouldn't take my money, so I insisted on carrying a lot of their gear up the hill to their car. For future reference: don't count on a campsite at Loft Mountain on a mid-Oct weekend, but maybe you'll get lucky. It never hurts to make conversation and ask around, which is what I did.

Here's my trip report: http://hikingbob.blogspot.com/2016/1...h-gap-snp.html