4,700 ft | Carrigain | 1 route
As of October 5, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Carrigain are currently rated Difficult. It's 35°F (feels like 28°F) with WNW winds at 6 mph. The listed route, Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge, is 14.4 miles round trip with 3,799 ft of elevation gain, taking about 7-11 hours. Mount Carrigain (4,700 ft) is #13 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Carrigain weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Carrigain weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Best time to hike Mount Carrigain
Month-by-month conditions from our daily records
Feels like 28°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.07" (24h) · 0.07" (48h)
~2.6°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of October 5, 2026
A strong cold front brings rain turning to snow, a plunge below freezing, and rapidly building winds Monday, with a wind chill advisory in effect into Tuesday evening. Carrigain has no above-treeline exposure and the summit is wooded, but the observation tower and open sections like Signal Ridge will be punishing in high wind and icy conditions. Monday is a poor day to be high on the peak; Tuesday is colder but drier and calmer toward the afternoon.
Expect roughly 37-53°F at the trailhead dropping to 27-46°F at the summit, with the freezing level crossing mid-route, so you will transition from wet trail to icy, snow-dusted terrain on the upper mountain. Start with a moisture-wicking base, carry a warm insulating layer and full shell, and add hat, gloves, and face protection before leaving shelter near the ridge and tower where wind chill drops to single digits.
Best Hiking Window
Monday is not recommended for a summit attempt as conditions deteriorate through the day. If hiking in the next 48 hours, aim for a very early start Tuesday morning and plan to be off the summit and tower by early afternoon, or wait for the milder weather Wednesday.
Last synthesized Oct 5, 7:20 AM
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: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Surfaces were mainly dry. A few of the usual muddy spots where there are some rocks or logs to step upon. Most of the sloped areas have lots of rocks. Excellent views from Signal Ridge and on the observation platform at the summit. Some hikers finished their NH 48 4K peaks today with one hiker completing the NE 115. The Flags on the 48 contingent were at the summit for the 9/11 observance. Hiked down the mountain with Justin.”
Trail: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“In the timing is everything department, had the tower to myself for over an hour. Wind was blowing pretty good on the platform giving a taste of late fall (noticeably calmer/warmer under the platform at the survey marker). Trail was easy to follow but could probably use a few good blazes because there are a few relocations and random old roads out there. The 2 miles or so to Signal Ridge are a grind after cruising the first 4.7 miles. Most of the muddy spots had plenty of rocks or logs to help avoid against too dirty. The washout on Sawyer River Rd. (about halfway between the 302 parking lot and the old SRT trailhead) is no joke. Someone had already brought a flag up for 9/11. Only cloud at the time was right at the top of George, luckily it moved out by sunset for the people wanting to look at the light memorial.”
Trail: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Steve, Chase and I met up to celebrate Steve's September grid out and a stellar day was had. The road walk was fast and Signal Ridge was in nice shape. The rain last night made the trail wet and the usual mud pits were squelchy. The rocks on misery mile were wet but were mostly grippy with the occasional slippery one which Steve always identified. We made great time up to the tower which we had to ourselves and celebrated Steve's accomplishment with pictures and chocolates and took a nice long break to soak up the sun. The clouds were incredible today and we oohed and ahhed over the views. The trek down was quick. Things were drying out but we had an occasional mist or sprinkle. This crew is the bomb. We never run out of things to talk about and just find ourselves laughing all day. HUGE congrats to Steve who now has oodles of time for our other crazy project.”
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Oct 5 | Tomorrow Oct 6 | Wednesday Oct 7 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | sunny | rain | cloudy | cloudy | ptly cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 45° 40° | 41° 31° | 29° 24° | 25° 24° | 30° 25° | 39° 29° | 43° 41° | 46° 41° | 50° 46° |
| Chill °F | 28° | 13° | 2° | 3° | 6° | 13° | 33° | 29° | 35° |
| Wind mph | 33 | 47 | 55 | 53 | 40 | 31 | 14 | 32 | 46 |
| Gust mph est. | 53 | 66 | 77 | 74 | 56 | 50 | 21 | 51 | — |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | 0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 34% | 26% | 3% | 2% | - | - | 1% | 1% | 5% |
| Freezing ft | 5,231 ft | 3,767 ft | 10,209 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 32% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 62% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 3 | 5 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Oct 5 | Tomorrow Oct 6 | Wednesday Oct 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,700 ft | 40/45° 33 | 24/25° 53 | 41/43° 14 |
| 4,100 ft | 43/46° 30 | 25/26° 51 | 40/44° 9 |
| 3,300 ft | 46/47° 25 | 28/29° 42 | 40/43° 7 |
| 2,500 ft | 49/50° 18 | 31/32° 28 | 40/47° 6 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 50/52° 16 | 32/34° 22 | 38/49° 5 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
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74 mph
Summit gusts
Plan a below-treeline hike
Daytime gusts near 74 mph above treeline. Pick a sheltered route or another day.
24°F
Summit low
Microspikes
Summit lows near 24°F, so expect ice on rock and the upper trail.
11h 28m
Daylight
Headlamp
Sunset around 6:17 PM, so a late start or a slow descent ends in the dark.
The rest of the list: Winter gear guide · How I pick gear
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.
Features an observation tower with 360-degree views. Often cited as having the best summit views in the Whites.
Elevation
4,700 ft
Range
Carrigain
Rank
#13 of 48
Difficulty
Difficult
Coordinates
44.0936, -71.4468
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2 incidents on file · 1 fatal · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
22-year-old male hiker from Newport, NH
On November 11, 2023, Nathan Stark, 22, called 911 from the Desolation Trail near the summit of Mt. Carrigain reporting frozen feet and inability to continue on the last day of a multi-day hike. His hiking partner returned and got him moving, but they hiked an 8-mile loop away from rescuers rather than the shortest route out. Both hikers arrived at the trailhead shortly after 5:30 p.m. without SAR extraction.
61-year-old man (name not released by NHFG)
Around 12:30 p.m. Saturday July 24, 2021, a 911 call reported an unconscious, non-breathing hiker on the Signal Ridge Trail about 4 miles from the trailhead. He had collapsed while hiking with a female companion; bystanders performed CPR but he was pronounced dead by EMS. Due to the remote, steep terrain his body did not reach the trailhead until 9:30 p.m.