4,100 ft | Kinsman | 1 route
As of September 1, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Cannon are currently rated Moderate. It's 58°F (feels like 59°F) with ESE winds at 5 mph. The listed route, Cannon and Kinsmans Loop, is a 11.4-mile loop with 4,405 ft of elevation gain, taking about 6-10 hours. Mount Cannon (4,100 ft) is #36 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Cannon weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Cannon weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Feels like 59°F
~3.8°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of September 1, 2026
Mount Cannon is currently dry and mild with clear summit skies, but the region is trending toward fog, increasing wind, and rain showers by Tuesday night into Wednesday. Trails are reported dry to lightly wet/muddy in recent reports, with the well-known eroded, slippery sections of Kinsman Ridge Trail still a factor. Best conditions are Tuesday during daylight hours before winds and moisture increase overnight.
Expect a mild temperature drop of only a few degrees from trailhead to summit, but winds increase noticeably from about 10 mph at the trailhead to 15 mph at treeline and summit, so pack a wind layer for the upper mountain even though freezing levels remain far above this peak's elevation.
Best Hiking Window
Tuesday morning through early afternoon, before increasing winds and fog develop later Tuesday and into Wednesday
Last synthesized Sep 1, 5:40 PM
Planning a hike here this week?
Trailblazer adds the full 7-day summit forecast, the best day to go for every peak, and conditions for each route up.
Trail: Abandoned Mittersill Trail, ski trails
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail
“Early morning exploring. A few yellow blazes can still be found along the abandoned Mittersill Trail. The summits were socked in, I guess we started too early and we were too fast. Not surprised to meet to other hikers coming down the tower's steps and all they said was Nice View. We didn't even bother to climb up the steps. the tramway isn't running this summer so it was rather quiet up there. Glad to see some decent erosion control has been done on cannon's slopes where they run rigs. Saw a few deer tracks, a old pile of bear poo and some ermine poop on rocks. Peabody Lodge looks freshly painted and looks nice. Good hike even thought summit was in the fog. Plenty of wildflowers and wet grass.”
Trail: Lonesome Lake Trail, bushwhack, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Around Lonesome Lake Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail
“A FINE day in the forest was had. If you ever wanted to find an excuse to profess your love for Kinsman Ridge Trail, let me tell you, this is the route for you. It will leave you longing for its steep slabs, its kitty litter half pipe of death, and several rocks awaiting to crush you to death in a rain storm. Leaving Lonesome Lake Trail, we began the Slowest Known Time of Cannon at the first 90 degree bend, we took off in a general north north west direction, aiming for the pair of talus fields in the southeastern cirque. Why you may ask? Why - because they are there, of course. In short order we found an old camp, likely remnants of an outbuilding of some kind, as there was a large pile of bricks about 100 yards off trail. Crossing several drainages, some with obvious maintenance from skiers, we ended up hitting the first, and second talus slopes. These are actually pretty sketchy, several of these let go on us that were beach ball size or larger. When they crashed you could actually smell smoke from the sparks. Add in the trees obscuring the ground, and the moss post holes, it made for a very tedious, dangerous and slow going ascent. We ate lunch on the second field. We then trended westerly near the third, as well as a slabby open slide. Above this is a pretty massive cliff band adding to the fun. It got worse before it got worse after departing the lunch spot, lots of army man crawling and blood. We popped out onto KRT in the col of East Cannon and Cannon. Car to summit was 4:08. Lightning. After that, business as usual. One fire ring removed, some microtrash, four hikers changed plans on our suggestion, several tourons literally running through people on Lonesome Lake Trail, good fun. The best part was the up. Consensus from four very experienced off trail hikers: Never again.”
Trail: Lonesome Lake Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Hi-Cannon Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail
“Nice clockwise route to take in Cannon. Up Lonesome Lake, past the lake, onto Kinsman Ridge, up those steeps, then the easy 0.4 mile to the top, and finally back down Hi-Cannon. There were a good number of other hikers up there on the trails, but not so many as to make things busy with traffic. Nice relatively cool, dry air mass for the hike, with plenty of views.”
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Tuesday Sep 1 | Today Sep 2 | Tomorrow Sep 3 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | cloudy | cloudy | sunny | fog | fog | rain | rain | drizzle | drizzle |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 55° 53° | 56° 54° | 55° 53° | 52° 51° | 52° 51° | 53° 51° | 56° 54° | 59° 56° | 59° 56° |
| Chill °F | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wind mph | 6 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 22 | 45 | 39 | 14 | 17 |
| Gust mph est. | 10 | 17 | 27 | 26 | 32 | 63 | 56 | 18 | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | - | 0.7 | 0.3 | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 12,552 ft | 13,126 ft | 12,910 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 99% | 100% | 35% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | clear | clear | 8 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 2 | 4 | — | 0 | 1 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Tuesday Sep 1 | Today Sep 2 | Tomorrow Sep 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,100 ft | 53/55° 6 | 51/52° 16 | 54/56° 39 |
| 3,300 ft | 55/58° 6 | 53/54° 16 | 55/57° 32 |
| 2,500 ft | 56/59° 5 | 55/55° 13 | 56/57° 25 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 57/60° 4 | 56/57° 11 | 57/58° 20 |
4 more days of forecast — plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Conditions synthesized from: NWS Higher Summits Forecast, NOAA Open-Meteo, Mount Washington Observatory, NETC Trip Reports, NOHRSC Snow Depth, Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, USGS Stream Levels, OpenWeather Air Quality.
AI-generated from public data. Always verify conditions before heading out — backcountry weather can change quickly.
Home of the famous Old Man of the Mountain profile (collapsed 2003). Aerial tramway provides alternative access.
Elevation
4,100 ft
Range
Kinsman
Rank
#36 of 48
Difficulty
Easy
Coordinates
44.1567, -71.6986
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9 incidents on file · 3 fatal · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
Ethan Haust, 36, of Ashland, NH, snowboarder
On March 30, 2026, snowboarder Ethan Haust, 36, caught his edge and collided with a tree while navigating a steep, rocky out-of-bounds section at Cannon Mountain Ski Area, resulting in a serious injury. His group was unable to evacuate him due to the terrain severity and called ski patrol for assistance. Conservation Officers and Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team used ropes to extricate Haust and transported him to a hospital.
Calvin Swanson, 21, of Plymouth, NH
On June 12, 2025, Calvin Swanson, 21, of Plymouth, NH, injured his leg while descending Cannon Mountain on the Kinsman Ridge Trail after summiting with a friend. A trail crew located and stayed with Swanson until Conservation Officers and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue arrived and carried him out in a litter. He was transported by family to Littleton Regional Hospital for further treatment.
Vincent Lapointe, 31, of Montgomery Center, VT, and Zephi Friel, 36, of Concord, NH; male and female ice climbers
On February 16, 2025, two climbers were caught in an avalanche at the base of the Black Dike route on Cannon Cliffs. The male slid approximately 300 feet and was partially buried; the uninjured female called 911 and helped extract him. The pair partially self-evacuated before being met by rescue personnel and transported by snowmobile to a waiting ambulance.
Christopher Huyler, 44, of Littleton, NH
Huyler hiked toward the middle Cannon Ball via the Coppermine Brook Valley to check a ski glade before ski season; he told his wife at about 4 p.m. he was heading out, then did not return. His body was found just before 1 a.m. at about 2,800 feet by a steep iced-over slide, where he had suffered a significant fall in icy terrain; he was wearing micro-spikes and was well-equipped.
21-year-old male from Marlborough, Massachusetts; self-described inexperienced hiker
A 21-year-old solo hiker became lost near the Kinsman Ridge Trail on Cannon Mountain and fell off a ledge, landing on rocks 20-30 feet below and sustaining serious upper-body injuries. Rescuers from NH Fish and Game and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team reached the hiker around midnight, stabilized his injuries, lowered him by rope, and escorted him to the summit where a tram car transported him down. The hiker was taken to Littleton Regional Healthcare; he was not equipped with a map, light source, or raingear.
67-year-old male from Wallington, New Jersey
Jahnsz Witkowski, 67, slipped and fell on wet rocks on the Hi-Cannon Trail on Cannon Mountain, sustaining a leg injury. He and his adult son attempted to continue before calling for help. Conservation Officers and 24 Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue volunteers performed a 1.5-mile carryout, completing the rescue just before 1:00 a.m. on June 27; Witkowski was transported to Littleton Regional Hospital.
Benjamin Kessel, 34, of Somerville, MA
Around 4 p.m. Sunday September 20, 2020, Kessel was climbing the Moby Grape route on Cannon Cliff in Franconia Notch when a rock 'the size of a refrigerator' dislodged, severed his rope, and knocked him roughly 150 feet down the cliff into spruce trees. Other climbers located his body around 5:30 p.m.; it was recovered the next morning.
Three 18-19 year old male college freshmen rock climbers
Three college freshmen attempted the Moby Grape route on Cannon Cliffs on October 23, 2011, starting at 5:30 a.m. but becoming overextended on terrain beyond their expertise level. By 8:00 p.m. they had not reached the top and were stranded in temperatures dipping into the 20s F without adequate gear for overnight conditions. Mountain Rescue Service lowered rescuers by rope to reach the climbers and lifted all three to safety around 1:40 a.m.
20-year-old rock climber
David Koop, 20, was killed on Cannon Cliff on April 28, 1968 when a loose block dislodged while he was placing a piton near the top of the route 'Sam's Swan Song.' He fell roughly 60 feet, dying rapidly from a severed leg artery and head injuries. His belayer Charles Ericsson held the fall. The American Alpine Club notes that of the first seven recorded deaths on Cannon Cliff, five involved loose rock.