4,459 ft | Franconia | 3 routes
As of September 1, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Liberty are currently rated Moderate. It's 57°F (feels like 58°F) with ESE winds at 5 mph. The shortest of 3 listed routes is Mount Liberty Out and Back: 7.6 miles round trip with 3,113 ft of elevation gain, taking about 4-7 hours. Mount Liberty (4,459 ft) is #18 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Liberty weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Liberty weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Feels like 58°F
~3.8°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of September 1, 2026
Mount Liberty is in good shape with dry-to-mostly-dry trails and no recent precipitation, but increasing winds, fog, and encroaching clouds will reduce visibility and comfort, especially Tuesday night into Wednesday. An early morning start on Tuesday offers the best combination of light winds and drier conditions before showers increase later in the week.
Expect a mild temperature drop of roughly 3-4°F per 1,000 feet gained, with winds increasing from about 10 mph at the trailhead to 14-15 mph near treeline and the summit; add a wind layer once above treeline transition near 4,000 feet, and be prepared for fog and reduced visibility as you approach the summit.
Best Hiking Window
Tuesday early morning through late morning offers the calmest winds and best visibility before clouds and showers increase in the afternoon; Wednesday should be avoided due to increasing wind, rain risk, and fog.
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: Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path, Falling Waters Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, Flume Slide Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail, Skookumchuck Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Mainly posting to let people know access to Skookumchuck trailhead remains open as of 8/16, see above. All trails are in good shape. Falling Waters, Liberty Springs, and Franconia Ridge between Little Haystack and Lafayette were crowded as expected on a perfect Saturday weather day. All other trails were quiet when I was on them. Great day below and above the notch, best of both worlds - solo solitude to party people vibe.”
Trail: Bike path, Liberty Spring Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail
“I had my doubts about my decision to hike on the Franconia Ridge on a beautiful Saturday in July, especially with my 'late' start, but you know, sometimes things just work out and today they did. Plenty of people out and about, but it never felt crowded. I was alone for much of the way up&down LS . Had plenty of company over to Flume, and I think it actually helped with my mental game when it got tough. I saw more than a few hikers who could've benefitted from carrying and drinking more water and spoke to some who clearly hadn't researched the strenuousness of what they had planned. I encountered one duo on FR who had come up Flume slide and had planned to continue over Liberty, Lincoln, and Lafayette. At 1pm they hadn't made it to Liberty yet and I was very concerned about the condition of one of them. I think I convinced them that descending LS was in their best interest, since they hadn't spotted a car at Lafayette place. It was great chatting with the fellow in the Vulcan's Fury t-shirt and I hope he and his friend accomplished their goal of getting all 4 peaks. It was a great day to be out on the Ridge and I'm glad I made the last minute decision to go!”
Trail: Whitehouse Trail, Liberty Spring Trail, Flume Slide Trail, Franconia Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock
“My sister and I headed up the trail this morning to finish her NH48. Flume Slide Trail was straightforward until the river crossing mentioned above that was partially blocked by the fallen tree. The slide started soon afterward. The bottom part is full of very loose rock, and then it reaches some very steep slabs. There were bypasses around the worst areas, and I used a few of them, but my sister wanted to use the actual slide as much as possible. Luckily, the rocks were dry, so they generally gave pretty good grip. The upper part of the slide is, on average, slightly less steep than the part below, but still very steep and scrambly. There are a few places with views through the trees. Near the top, we were passed by a father and a daughter who was probably around 10 - I was impressed by how well she was doing on such a difficult trail. Once leaving the slide, the uppermost part of Flume Slide Trail is still very steep and rough, just without the slabs of the slide. When reaching the junction with Osseo and Franconia Ridge Trail, be sure to take the very short side path to the right (partially blocked by a fallen tree) to get an excellent view. Franconia Ridge Trail is in good shape, and even though the haze and approaching rain limited the views from Flume and Liberty, we could still see a whole bunch of mountains. Just before reaching Liberty, the main trail turns left to traverse a few difficult ledge slabs, while a bypass trail (which wasn't there 10 years ago) continues straight to bypass the slabs. The summit of Liberty was beautiful, even though we could tell that rainfall was imminent. We were still able to celebrate my sister's successful completion of the NH48. Liberty Spring Trail was a straightforward descent, even if the steep upper section was slower and some of the rocks were wet. It rained for periods on the lower half of the descent, but it didn't make the trail notably more difficult. We saw a whole bunch of other people, some with similar itineraries to ours, while others were planning to continue along the ridge to Little Haystack and even beyond. We hope they hiked safely considering the wet rocks they must have encountered. It was a strenuous but still very enjoyable hike. My sister's verdict on Flume Slide Trail was that it was the fun kind of steep climbing, and not quite as difficult or dangerous as the North Slide of Tripyramid. But it's still a T25 for a reason - be very careful on it.”
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 | 54° 52° | 54° 53° | 54° 52° | 51° 50° | 52° 50° | 53° 51° | 56° 53° | 59° 56° | 59° 55° |
| Chill °F | — | — | — | 44° | 43° | — | — | — | — |
| Wind mph | 6 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 47 | 41 | 15 | 21 |
| Gust mph est. | 10 | 15 | 24 | 26 | 31 | 66 | 57 | 24 | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | - | 0.7 | 0.3 | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 12,552 ft | 13,126 ft | 13,070 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 99% | 100% | 35% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | clear | clear | 8 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | clear |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 1 | 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 4,459 ft | 52/54° 6 | 50/51° 16 | 53/56° 41 |
| 4,100 ft | 53/55° 6 | 51/52° 16 | 53/57° 39 |
| 3,300 ft | 55/58° 6 | 53/54° 16 | 55/56° 31 |
| 2,500 ft | 56/59° 5 | 55/55° 13 | 56/56° 24 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 57/60° 4 | 56/57° 11 | 57/58° 19 |
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.
Southern anchor of Franconia Ridge. Often combined with Flume in a long day hike.
Elevation
4,459 ft
Range
Franconia
Rank
#18 of 48
Difficulty
Moderate
Coordinates
44.1158, -71.6422
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2 incidents on file · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
Two female hikers, ages 38 and 43, from Quebec, Canada
On April 27, 2026, Jessica Fournier-Chartrand (38) and Annie Petrin (43) became disoriented on the Franconia Ridge Trail between Mount Liberty and Little Haystack Mountain due to fading light and knee-deep snow. They called for help while navigating with the AllTrails app, which they reported contributed to their confusion. Two conservation officers reached the pair at 11:15 p.m. and assisted them down 2.2 miles of steep icy trail, exiting at 2:22 a.m. on April 28 without injuries.
Chris Siano, 56, of Bolton, MA
Siano, a chaperone for a Boy Scout troop ascending the Flume Slide Trail, began having difficulty near Mt. Flume and then a medical emergency on descent near Mount Liberty. An Army National Guard Black Hawk hoisted him near Liberty's summit around 4:50 p.m. and flew him to Dartmouth Hitchcock.