easy hikes wih lake views for kids
 

Hello, Are there any good hiking trails within a 20 to 30 minute ride from Meredith that are easy for adults and 9 and 10 year old kids that would provide a nice scenic view of Winnepeasukee or other surrounding lakes? Thanks in advance!

Mount Major is awesome not a bad hike.


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The Morse preserve in Alton is a fairly easy hike:

https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...ad.php?t=24161

https://forestsociety.org/property/e...se-sr-preserve

I think that it is the highest ratio of reward/effort in the area.

Mt Major has a great view, not real easy if you don't normally hike and very crowded. If you are in ok shape and don't mind the crowd then go for it.

https://forestsociety.org/property/m...or-reservation

I would say Rattlesnake. We hiked it a month ago with our 4 and 6 year old grand daughters. Easy hike a mile up and a mile back. It's a good first hike to see how they handle it. And it's close to Meredith


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—Locke's Hill is easy and has some cool stone chairs in a glade, but there's not much of a view.

—West Rattlesnake is gorgeous and pretty simple, but it looks at Squam.

—Red Hill is not super difficult (my friend did it with his 4-year-old last weekend) and has a great view of Winni from the fire tower (a less decent view from the ranger cabin). Be sure to take the Cabin Trail to check out some old stuff.

—Mt. Roberts is AMAZING, one of my favorite area hikes, and has great views of Winni.

—Bald Knob has really nice views as well, not too difficult, and lots of lady slippers last I was up.

—Major is gorgeous, but ya gotta be up there early or it's chaos (even midweek). There's an old foundation on top and a few different trail options (I like Major up, Brook down).

—There's also the Abenaki Tower that gives a sorta ok view, but that's not really a hike.

—The Belknap Fire Tower is also a decent little hike but, like other tower hikes, views only come if you climb.

* There is a Tower Quest that gets kids a patch if five towers are hiked/visited.

* There is a Belknap 12 patch if the twelve summits in the Belknap Range are hiked.

* 8+ year-olds should be able to do all these (unless they're sedentary potato types).

* Pack the 10 Essentials and refresh on LNT.

* Enjoy!

I've got maps and info on most all of these, so feel free to message me or reply here if you need anything else.

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I love that hike. It can get pretty busy though.

Something more challenging but still not hard and really fun one is Zealand Falls Hut.
How often do you get to take a dip at the top of mountain hike ;)

Where is this?

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Hamlin Rec Area
 

Hamlin Recreation and Conservation Area has a few nice overlook areas. (Not Winni though)

Nice trail behind Gilford Middle School.

Several small peaks in the Belknaps by Gunstock.

Check out Alltrails.com, you can scan around your location.

In the Whites off Route 302. Take the ZF Trail in and bang a right. It's nice, but far. You could also do Lonesome Lake, though it's a tad harder hike.

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Probably a little too long a ride for the grand kids but my wife and I will have to give it a try.

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Gunstock Summit Hike
 

You can hike the access road to Gunstock Mountain summit which has views of Winnipesaukee.

Yeah, it's a little bit of a drive from the lakes region (~1hr). All the huts are fun though and wide range of difficulty. Kind of fun reaching the hut and buying a snack or T-Shirt and watching all the more serious hikers coming and going.

The hike itself I think 9 and 10 year old would be fine. But sure, try it yourself first. We brought many guests on that hike. Including my mom when she was in her 70's. We did a lot of hikes in the Lakes region and White mountains. But that one was always one of our favorites. We'd do it 2-3 time a year. Often we'd see moose drinking in a pond part way up. It's only steep near the very end.

If the 9-10 year olds are normal, active kids, they should have no problem with hikes of 2 miles or so. I'd worry more about the adults if they are not reasonably active. To view the lakes, you're pretty much limited to the Belknaps, Ossipees, and the Squam range. I second the suggestion to do Mt Roberts, at the north end of the Ossipees. The trail starts at the top of Ossipee Park Road off rte 171 (not to be confused with Ossipee Mountain Rd off rte 109). It's 2.5 miles to the top, and the much of the first mile isn't all that bad. Maybe 2/3 the way up, you are on open ledges, where the views of Winnipesaukee and Squam are. At the very top, the views are to the north, of the Paugus range and beyond into the White Mountains.

Another nice hike, although without a lake view, is Mt Israel, via the Wentworth trail (2.0 miles), with great views north into the Whites. Both Roberts and Wentworth are on the "52 With a View" list started and recently tweaked by the Over The Hill Hikers group. Easily found via Google.

A bit further away, up at the bottom of Franconia Notch, is Mt Pemigewasset (also on the 52WAV), 1.6 miles each way, with an elevation gain of 1253 ft.

For any of these, go prepared for rough hiking. That means good footwear (no flip flops), adequate water (figure a quart per five miles for an adult in summer), first aid kit, etc.

Hamlin park is off Chemung Rd right here in Meredith.
Take the yellow trail to Crockets Ledge.I'm guessing it's a little less than a mile...beautiful view of Wicwas but be careful,it's a long drop at the cliff
Don't wander off to any of the blue trails.....damp and buggy
Also right in Meredith.Waukewan Highlands is a little park on Parade road not far from the traffic circle.
Blue trail is about a mile,a little challenging for us old timers but fine for kids.No lake view but it passes a beautiful little pond with a picnic area and fine for wading

If you are interested in a walk through the woods, the Loon Preservation Committee has a hiking trail that the kids would probably enjoy along with a visit to their museum.

If just looking at walks:

—Chamberlain-Reynolds
—Five Finger Point
—7 Waterfall loop @ Castle in the Clouds
—Beede's Falls

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I, too, recommend the Lakes Region Conservation Trust trails at Castle in the Clouds. For the easiest route with a lake view, combine Oak Ridge Trail and Turtleback Mountain Trail.

Go up and across Oak Ridge Trail (the trailhead is to the right of Shannon Pond) to the overlook, then down Turtleback Mountain Trail for an easy loop of about 2 miles. From the overlook you can see Lake Winnipesaukee, the Belknap Range (there's a sign identifying the peaks), and the Castle. On the way down Turtleback Mountain Trail, there's a stone foundation of an old guest house that's worth the side trip, as well as a spot with labeled castings of animal tracks and a short, side loop with more track castings for kids to find and identify.

You can loop in either direction, but Oak Ridge Trail is a quiet woods trail that may "feel more like hiking" to the kids. Turtleback Mountain Trail is an wide, former carriage road with lots of switchbacks.

If you feel like more exploring after the loop, the Brook Walk offers multiple waterfalls within about a half mile.

Although Mount Roberts (5 miles) and Bald Knob (4-6 miles depending on your route) are great hikes, they're much bigger time commitments.