4,500 ft | Garfield | 2 routes
As of October 6, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Garfield are currently rated Moderate. At 8:20 PM ET it was 30°F at the summit (4,500 ft), feeling like 17°F, with WNW winds at 17 mph. The shortest of 2 listed routes is Mount Garfield via Garfield Trail: 9.7 miles round trip with 2,880 ft of elevation gain, taking about 5-8 hours. Mount Garfield (4,500 ft) is #17 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Garfield weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Garfield weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Best time to hike Mount Garfield
Month-by-month conditions from our daily records
Feels like 17°F
~3.2°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of October 7, 2026
Cold, clear conditions with a trace of snow and likely icy patches on the upper trail, plus strong wind at the brief above-treeline summit knob. Wednesday morning offers the best window before winds strengthen and clouds build later in the day. Early October daylight is limited, so plan an early start and carry headlamps.
Expect a roughly 18\u00b0F temperature drop from trailhead to summit with the freezing level crossing mid-trail, so start with a layer you can shed low and add insulation and a windproof shell before treeline. Winds roughly double between the trailhead and treeline, making the final summit knob the coldest, windiest section.
Best Hiking Window
Wednesday morning, starting at first light for a summit before late-day winds strengthen; Thursday brings rain showers and is less favorable.
Last synthesized Oct 6, 8:20 PM ET
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: Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail
Conditions: Wet Trail
“We encountered light showers in the last few miles of the drive in, but that seemed to end as we arrived. As we got on the trail in pack covers & ponchos, most of the drops were off the trees overhead. After a while the ponchos came off, and the hike uphill generated enough heat for just short sleeves, but on the edge of needing a very light layer. There was little wind up top but cool as we layered up and had lunch at the rocks a few feet below the summit. There was absolutely no view of anything more than a couple hundred feet away. Of course, within an hour of descent the sun started shining on us. This OTHH hike was a 48 first round finish for two of us, something started 26 years ago. Another finished her 2nd round. We had a very nice tailgate party back at the cars. For those doing Garfield the first time by this route, although the trail is five miles long and gains around 3000 ft, the trail is quite easy going the first two miles, then climbs a bit more steeply but never severely so until the last few hundred yards. Getting up in less than "book time" (4 hours by the fomula) is easy on this trail. Even I beat that by a half hour, and I'm 82, so I didn't feel too shabby about that.”
Trail: Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, herd path, bushwhack
Conditions: Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant
“Parking lot at 7am was full with room roadside near the entrance of the lot. Took us 2:20hr to make it to Garfield Ridge Trail. Lots of mud and wet slippery slabs on GRT. Herd path well defined to summit of East Peak. Black PVC canister. Had lunch at summit with views of Twins, Galehead, Owl's Head, Liberty, Scar Ridge and Tecumseh. 1 mile of PUDs between summits. West Peak also had a well defined herd path, black PVC canister on a dead tree. Headed back the way we came. Total time 9 hrs, 10.5 miles, 2600 ft elevation.”
Trail: Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, herd path, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Day 1 of a planned 3 day trip. Garfield Ridge trail is a nice gradual climb, dry low but slippery rocks the higher I got. Final push was not as bad as I remembered, windy cool, socked in for the most part. Found a spot out of the wind for lunch, solo for a while. Planned on staying at the campsite due to rain forecasted. Got an updated forecast from a Nobo while filtering water, no rain until much later! I decided to go to Guyot instead with favorable forecast. Very slow down the waterfall, very wet thru here. Hit East Peak but still can’t find West. Seems like I get into a zone & walk right past it. Water up at hut, not many here, sun was out so I could see what lies ahead. Climb up to South, brutal as always! Love the Twinway, 1 step over and I think a leaner but no issues. Lots of minor mud though. Guyot was busier than I hoped but still had a platform solo.”
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Tuesday Oct 6 | Today Oct 7 | Tomorrow Oct 8 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | fog | fog | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | rain | cloudy | sun+drizzle | drizzle |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 28° 26° | 34° 28° | 40° 33° | 44° 40° | 47° 45° | 48° 46° | 48° 46° | 45° 43° | 43° 34° |
| Chill °F | 7° | 12° | 18° | 30° | 35° | 36° | 37° | 33° | 20° |
| Wind mph | 44 | 33 | 35 | 23 | 29 | 35 | 29 | 29 | 34 |
| Gust mph est. | 62 | 53 | 56 | 37 | 46 | 56 | 46 | 46 | 54 |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | - | 0.1 | - |
| Chance of precip | 3% | 2% | 2% | 5% | 6% | 14% | 31% | 31% | 22% |
| Freezing ft | 4,134 ft | 9,561 ft | 7,093 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 54% | 70% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | 0.2 | clear | clear | clear | 4 | 8 | 4 | clear |
| UV | 1 | 3 | — | 4 | 4 | — | 3 | 5 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Tuesday Oct 6 | Today Oct 7 | Tomorrow Oct 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,500 ft | 26/28° 44 | 40/44° 23 | 46/48° 29 |
| 4,100 ft | 26/28° 43 | 40/44° 22 | 47/49° 27 |
| 3,300 ft | 29/32° 34 | 40/45° 17 | 49/51° 20 |
| 2,500 ft | 33/35° 24 | 42/48° 12 | 52/53° 13 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 35/37° 20 | 43/50° 10 | 53/55° 11 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
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30°F
Summit low
Microspikes
Summit lows near 30°F, so expect ice on rock and the upper trail.
54 mph
Summit gusts
Waterproof shell
Daytime gusts near 54 mph above treeline, and a shell is what blocks it.
11h 21m
Daylight
Headlamp
Sunset around 6:13 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.
Prominent peak with Garfield Ridge Campsite nearby. Features excellent views of Franconia Ridge.
Elevation
4,500 ft
Range
Garfield
Rank
#17 of 48
Difficulty
Difficult
Coordinates
44.1872, -71.6107
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4 incidents on file · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
a 51-year-old paramedic from Fortville, Indiana
Jeremy Hooten, 51, suffered a significant lower leg injury about half a mile north of the summit of Mt. Garfield while more than 5 miles from a trailhead. He splinted his own injury but could not walk without assistance. A team of 28 Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue volunteers and 3 Conservation Officers carried him by litter to Gale River Loop Road, where he was taken by ambulance to Littleton Regional Hospital.
Bree Wagner, 41, of York, Western Australia
Around 3:15 p.m. Sunday August 7, 2022, Wagner slipped on wet rocks on the Garfield Ridge section of the AT and injured her lower leg, unable to bear weight. Her partner called 911; rescuers carried her out via the 7.9-mile Skookumchuck Trail in hot, humid conditions, reaching an ambulance at 11:30 p.m.
Cal Zeizler, 20, of Indiana
Zeizler became separated from his hiking partners on the Pemigewasset Loop; they reported him missing around 10:30 a.m. May 19, 2021. Conservation officers and an AMC hut construction crew searched along the route. At 7:30 p.m. a hiker located him uninjured about 0.1 miles from the Garfield Ridge Tent site and he was able to hike out.
Two 19-year-old males from Saco, Maine
Two hikers attempting the Falling Waters/Bridle Path Loop mistakenly took the Garfield Ridge Trail from the summit after encountering strong winds, then realized they could not exit before dark without proper equipment. They called 911 at 4:00 PM and Conservation Officers directed them to the Garfield Trail and escorted them out, reaching the trailhead at 7:20 PM. The hikers lacked gear to travel after dark or spend the night in winter conditions.