5,367 ft | Presidential | 2 routes
As of October 17, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Madison are currently rated Dangerous. At 3:20 AM ET it was 22°F at the summit (5,367 ft), feeling like 7°F, with WNW winds at 24 mph. The shortest of 2 listed routes is Mount Madison via Valley Way: 8.2 miles round trip with 3,957 ft of elevation gain, taking about 4-8 hours. Mount Madison (5,367 ft) is #5 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Madison weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Feels like 7°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.07" (24h) · 0.59" (48h)
Snow: 0.5" (24h) · 0.5" (48h)
Conditions summary as of October 17, 2026
Saturday brings hurricane-force-adjacent winds across the Presidentials, subfreezing temperatures, fog, and new snow and ice on all trails, with wind chill well below zero on Madison's exposed upper cone. Conditions improve Sunday as the high builds in with decreasing winds, making Sunday late morning to early afternoon the far safer window. Postpone Saturday; if hiking Sunday, still prepare for winter conditions with short daylight.
Expect about 27-39°F at the trailhead, near freezing at treeline, and a drop to roughly 13-29°F at the summit with wind chill near -12°F; the freezing level falls to trailhead elevations Saturday, so ice and snow are possible everywhere. Start with moderate layers below treeline and add insulating and windproof layers before leaving treeline, where wind exposure intensifies sharply.
Best Hiking Window
Avoid Saturday entirely. Sunday late morning through early afternoon offers the best window as winds decrease and skies begin to clear, with a firm turnaround before mid-afternoon to finish in daylight.
Last synthesized Oct 17, 3:20 AM 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: Airline, Shortline, King Ravine, Chemin des Dames, Lowe’s Path, Gulfside, Osgood Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Yet another gorgeous day to be out in the Whites. Colors are improving daily. Chemin des Dames was actually quite a fun scramble. Well marked with cairns and blazes. Great views every time I stopped to catch my breath (which was often). Knee pads might actually come in handy as there are a number of places I was on all fours. JQ Adams was an easy rock walk from Airline; went up when I was perpendicular to summit as I ascended Airline. I believe the summit is the sharper peak with the small metal marker, but there is also a herd path to another nearby point nearly as high. Fairly strong northeast winds, but most of this approach was fairly protected except for summits and Gateway area.”
Trail: Airline, Airline Cutoff, Valley Way, Osgood Trail, Star Lake Trail, Lowe’s Path, Israel Ridge Path, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop, Clay Loop, Cog Rail Trail, Crawford Path, Monroe Loop, Eisenhower Loop, Webster Cliff Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Props to Mount Washington Observatory for the heads up about rime ice during this morning’s report. A few spots this morning on Madison, Adams had much more of it and then as the sun made it high enough in the sky, it started to disappear. Trails were dry all the way to Eisenhower and then it got a bit wet from there to the stairs near 302. Wind was moving good this morning and then calmed. Weather report was spot on. Thanks to Chad for the ride assist.”
Trail: Air Line, Short Line, King Ravine, Subway, Chemin Des Dames, Air Line, Osgood Trail, Valley Way
Conditions: Dry Trail
“Saturday was a perfect day for this due to dry conditions, great sunlight, and no wind. Might have thought twice about doing this loop in other conditions due to steep climbs, tricky footing, and cave crawling. Airline is great and well cleared as is the bottom of King Ravine. The subway as mentioned in the trail maintenance section is lacking paint and is a little unclear in the first half. Once in the caves it becomes more clear. Chemin des Dames is beautiful, but does have a combination of head sized rocks and loose gravel underfoot that requires attention while mounting. Osgood Trail (AT) is beautiful as always to the top of Mount Madison and descending on Valley Way was a veritable highway of afternoon hikers getting up to the hut. Great day overall. Sadly, rain in the forecast for the next couple of days. Happy Trails Friends!”
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Trail reports across the Whites this week · Trailhead parking
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61 mph
Summit gusts
Plan a below-treeline hike
Daytime gusts near 61 mph above treeline. Pick a sheltered route or another day.
13°F
Summit low
Microspikes
Summit lows near 13°F, so expect ice on rock and the upper trail.
-10°F
Wind chill
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.
Northernmost Presidential peak with extensive above-treeline exposure. Madison Spring Hut provides shelter along most routes.
Elevation
5,367 ft
Range
Presidential
Rank
#5 of 48
Difficulty
Very Difficult
Coordinates
44.3288, -71.2767
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Watson Path (1.4 mi) · Osgood Trail (3.2 mi)
AI-generated from public data. Always verify conditions before heading out — backcountry weather can change quickly.
11 incidents on file · 6 fatal · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
a 15-year-old hiker
A 15-year-old member of a 31-person Haverhill, MA Marine Corps JROTC group sustained an ankle injury while jumping rock to rock at the intersection of Valley Way and Watson Path on Mt. Madison on August 11, 2026. Conservation Officers directed the group to help the teen hobble down the trail while officers responded with ATVs. The injured hiker was transported by ATV to the Appalachia trailhead and evaluated by Gorham Ambulance before opting to seek further medical attention at home.
Richard Perrault, 70, of Clinton, Connecticut
Perrault collapsed while hiking alone on the Valley Way Trail in Low and Burbanks Grant; bystanders found him unresponsive, called 911, and began CPR. An Army National Guard Black Hawk picked him up around 3:15 p.m. and flew him to a waiting ambulance, but he died.
Jason McDonald, 48, of Aurora, CO
On September 21, 2024, Jason McDonald, 48, tripped and fell on a rocky incline on the Osgood Trail near its intersection with the Howker Ridge Trail on Mt. Madison, sustaining a significant lower leg injury that left him unable to walk. He activated a personal locator beacon and called 911; approximately 30 volunteers and 6 Conservation Officers from NH and ME responded. After an all-night litter carry, McDonald reached the Great Gulf trailhead at approximately 5:20 a.m. on September 22 and was transported to Androscoggin Valley Hospital.
21-year-old male from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Jason Apreku, 21, of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, collapsed from an unknown medical emergency while hiking with friends on the Osgood Trail toward Mt. Madison on August 11, 2023 at approximately 4:30 p.m. CPR and AED efforts were performed for multiple hours by friends, AMC personnel, and rescue teams, and a National Guard helicopter was unable to reach him due to extreme wind gusts up to 90 mph and low cloud cover. Apreku was pronounced dead on scene and his body was carried to Madison Spring Hut overnight, then airlifted off the mountain the morning of August 12.
54-year-old woman from Quebec, Canada
Susan Beaudoin, 54, slipped and fell from a perched rock on the Daniel Webster Scout Trail on Mount Madison, sustaining a very serious and potentially life-threatening leg injury. Her husband ran up the trail to find cell coverage and called 911. She was hoisted by New Hampshire Army National Guard helicopter and transported to Memorial Hospital in North Conway.
Andrew Carlson, of Madeira Beach, Florida
Carlson was caught in an early-season storm; per NH Fish and Game, 'the weather conditions on the ridge were brutal mid-winter conditions with a wind chill of minus 1 degree Fahrenheit, wind speed steady around 40 mph, and snow accumulation approaching 3 feet in higher elevations.' He activated a SPOT beacon around 9 a.m. and sheltered beneath the closed Madison Spring Hut. AVSAR reached him about 1:40 p.m., cold but uninjured, and he hiked out under his own power, reaching the trailhead around 4:30 p.m.
Two hikers, male age 28 and female age 27, both of Brownsville, Vermont; also a second separate incident involving a 23-year-old special needs male hiker on Mt. Sunapee who became separated from his caregivers
On October 7, 2013, Raymond Barnard (28) and Stephanie Watkins (27) were caught by a severe storm with winds near 90 mph and heavy rain on the exposed summit of Mt. Madison, causing them to shelter among rocks on the Pine Link Trail. Rescuers located them just after 1:00 AM approximately a quarter mile from Madison Springs Hut; they were cold and wet but able to walk out, arriving at the trailhead around 4:40 AM. A separate incident the same day involved Matthew Weinstein, a 23-year-old special needs hiker who became separated from his caregivers on Mt. Sunapee and was found approximately five miles away in good health.
66-year-old from Hanover, NH
Douglas Thompson, 66, died of cardiac arrest near the summit of Mount Madison in October 1999.
52-year-old from Brookline, MA
McDonald Barr, 52, died of exposure on Mount Madison during a summer snowstorm in August 1986.
21-year-old from Concord, MA
Thomas Flint, 21, died of a fall compounded by exposure on Mount Madison in June 1956.
22-year-old from Astoria, NY
Joseph Caggiano, 22, died of exhaustion and exposure on the Gulfside Trail near Madison Hut in August 1938 while crossing the Presidentials from Mount Washington.