4,700 ft | Carrigain | 0 routes
As of September 1, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Carrigain are currently rated Moderate. It's 56°F (feels like 55°F) with ESE winds at 5 mph. 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
Feels like 55°F
~3.6°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of September 1, 2026
Mount Carrigain is in good shape for a wooded, no-exposure summit, with dry-to-minor-mud trail conditions reported recently and no significant precipitation in the last 48 hours. The main concerns are increasing wind and fog moving in through Tuesday afternoon and evening, plus a wetter, breezier pattern developing Wednesday, so an early start is advisable to beat deteriorating conditions.
Expect a mild trailhead in the upper 50s to mid 60s dropping to the low-to-mid 50s at the summit, with winds increasing from about 8 mph at the trailhead to around 16-17 mph near treeline and the summit; pack a windproof layer to add once you approach treeline around 4,000ft.
Best Hiking Window
Early morning Tuesday before midday, ideally starting near sunrise (6:07 AM) to summit and descend before afternoon winds and fog increase; avoid Wednesday and Thursday due to forecasted heavy rain
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: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Saw about 10-12 people on Signal Ridge, a few others on Sawyer River Rd going out/back to Sawyers Ponds. Fresh bear poop on Sawyer River Rd this morning, near Signal Ridge Trailhead. Lots of mushrooms right now, spectrum of colors (red, yellow, brown, purple, pink, black, orange). Pretty cool. Also blue beads,hobblebush berries, white and yellow asters and some trillium fruits. The red squirrels were chatty and feisty out there today. Bluebird sky to start, hazed up some as the day went on, thought I smelled some wildfire smoke but may have imagined that. Trails in good shape overall, other than referenced blowdowns that are manageable.”
Trail: Sawyer River Road, Signal Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Trail is in great shape. A little wet in spots on the climb and minor mud on the flat sections. A great morning to be out and everybody that I saw seemed to be loving the weather! A rare August day with lower humidity, a nice breeze, and fantastic views.”
Trail: Hancock Notch Trail, Cedar Brook Trail, Wilderness Trail, Desolation Trail, Signal Ridge Trail, Sawyer River Road, Sawyer River Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant
“This was a great clockwise loop (including the Hancocks, Mt. Carrigain, and Hancock Notch) I had been contemplating in the past, but a desire to check out the eastern section of the Hancock Notch Trail before an upcoming trail race cemented it. Views were outstanding from the Carrigain observation deck on this mostly sunny (and relatively haze-free) day, but there were additional sights from the Hancock outlook spur, and numerous points along the Pemigewasset and Sawyer River, along with the opportunity to take in an abundance of untouched forest. Portions of the Cedar Brook Trail (especially near the height-of-land) and Hancock Notch Trail had poor footing, with short stretches of semi-avoidable standing water and mud pits, and seemingly all of the leftover rocks that the White Mountains had no alternate use for. However, the northern section of the Cedar Brook Trail, almost the entirety of the Wilderness Trail, and even long sections of the Hancock Notch Trail were very pleasant, dry and smooth logging roads. The least enjoyable portion of trail for the day was the North Link of the Hancock Loop Trail, and this won the award easily. It is excessively steep, eroded, and with an abundance of talus and loose gravel in areas where you need traction the most. I went counterclockwise over the Hancocks and descended this delightful section, but going up probably isn't much better- I envision lots of back-sliding and four-letter words. I saw a number of friendly hikers while descending Carrigain by Signal Ridge, and a few more on the Hancocks near the beginning of this journey, but also had about 20 miles of complete solitude. Overall, this was 34.2 miles and 7,700' elevation gain, in a surprisingly quick 11:36. Full details on Unnecessary Climb!”
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 | fog | drizzle | fog | rain | rain | drizzle | fog |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 53° 52° | 53° 52° | 52° 51° | 49° 48° | 49° 49° | 50° 49° | 55° 50° | 58° 56° | 58° 54° |
| Chill °F | — | — | — | 42° | 42° | 40° | 41° | — | — |
| Wind mph | 5 | 11 | 18 | 15 | 20 | 39 | 35 | 14 | 22 |
| Gust mph est. | — | 18 | 29 | 24 | 32 | 62 | 56 | 18 | 26 |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | - | 1.0 | 0.8 | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 12,530 ft | 13,091 ft | 13,030 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | clear | clear | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | 0.5 |
| UV | 2 | 4 | — | 1 | 5 | — | 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 4,700 ft | 52/53° 5 | 48/49° 15 | 50/55° 35 |
| 4,100 ft | 53/55° 4 | 49/50° 15 | 51/56° 31 |
| 3,300 ft | 54/57° 4 | 51/51° 14 | 53/56° 22 |
| 2,500 ft | 56/59° 4 | 53/53° 10 | 54/56° 15 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 57/60° 3 | 54/55° 8 | 55/57° 12 |
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.
No routes available for this peak.
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
Been to Mount Carrigain?
Be the first to share your experience!
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.