4,802 ft | Moosilauke | 1 route
As of October 5, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Moosilauke are currently rated Dangerous. It's 37°F (feels like 28°F) with SW winds at 13 mph. The listed route, Mount Moosilauke via Gorge Brook, is 7.3 miles round trip with 2,383 ft of elevation gain, taking about 3-6 hours. Mount Moosilauke (4,802 ft) is #10 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Moosilauke weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Moosilauke weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Best time to hike Mount Moosilauke
Month-by-month conditions from our daily records
Feels like 28°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.12" (24h) · 0.12" (48h)
~2.6°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of October 5, 2026
A strong cold front crosses the region Monday, with regional forecasts calling for rain changing to snow, plunging temperatures, freezing fog, and rapidly building winds that may reach hurricane force over the White Mountains summits by evening and stay extreme into Tuesday morning. Moosilauke's bald, wind-swept summit has unobstructed westerly exposure, and a wind chill advisory is in effect through Tuesday evening. Postponing is strongly advised; if hiking, only a very early, short window before the front arrives is even marginally viable, and only for experienced parties willing to turn around.
Expect roughly 15\u201320\u00b0F colder and much windier at the summit than the trailhead, with a freezing level crossing the route so rain and wet trail turn to ice and snow higher up. Start in layers you can adjust, carry a full insulating and wind-proof system for the summit, and plan to turn around before treeline if winds or visibility worsen.
Best Hiking Window
No safe window is identified. Monday brings the front and building winds, and Tuesday morning remains extreme. Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday offers the best chance as winds ease and skies clear, though icy conditions and cold wind chill will persist. Reassess closely before going.
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: Glencliff Trail, Carriage Road, Beaver Brook Trail
Conditions: Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery
“Decided to car camp at Wildwood campground the night before. Total number of hours in bed was enough, quality of sleep was trash. I went to bed too early as it was raining when i arrived and felt trapped in the car with rain. The hike started just before 0500 and the trail was thoroughly soaked. As i broke 3500 feet in elevation, i too became soaked as the wind hitting the clouds and trees resulted in sideways rain hitting me. At sunrise everything was still socked in and the sky would only show around 8 or 9 am by the time i was on my way down. The original plan had been to see if i could find a bushwack to Waternomee after hitting Jim & Blue, but beaverbrook trail was basically a swap. I turned back shortly after getting down to around 3500 feet on that side of the mountain, hit moosilauke again twice just for the vertical gain/miles. Had i just started a bit later it likely would have been a stunning day. O well the foliage during the driving was stunning.”
Trail: Gorge Brook Trail, Carriage Road, South Peak Spur, Snapper Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“We started up in fog, but after a while the fog got brighter, until we were above the cloud in sunshine, with blue sky all around. At the top the view was mainly the top of the cloud deck, with only the highest peaks poking up through. By the time we were back at the cars, we had sunshine there also. The trails were wet down where the clouds had been, but mostly dry up high where the sun had done its work.”
Trail: Moosilauke Carriage Road, Beaver Brook Trail, herd path, Asquam Ridge Trail, Gorge Brook Trail, Snapper Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“This was a 17.2-mile loop (4,650' gain) starting from just below the trailhead to the Moosilauke Carriage Rd., following this to the summit (with a brief side trip to visit scenic South Peak), and then taking the Beaver Brook Trail and Asquam Ridge Trail down to the Ravine Lodge. I also visited Mt. Blue, which has a well-defined herd path leaving from the Beaver Brook Trail about halfway between the Benton Trail and Asquam Ridge Trail junctions. This offers no views at all (think Zealand Mtn. without the unique summit placard), but it's a short walk with pleasantly soft footing, and I had never been up there before. To get back to the car, I took the Gorge Brook Trail and Snapper Trail to return to the Carriage Road before descending. Early signs of fall foliage were visible, with a few yellows showing, but nowhere near peak, and almost all of the leaves were still up. Views from Moosilauke and South Peak were spectacular (as always), especially with no haze on this cool, brisk morning. Trails were pleasantly dry for the most part, with a few muddy sections on the upper Carriage Road below treeline, and particularly on the west side of Mt. Blue when approaching on the Beaver Brook Trail. Full route details on Unnecessary Climb!”
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 | rain | cloudy | cloudy | fog | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 44° 40° | 40° 30° | 28° 22° | 23° 22° | 29° 24° | 38° 29° | 44° 40° | 46° 41° | 50° 46° |
| Chill °F | 28° | 13° | 1° | 0° | 6° | 13° | 31° | 30° | 35° |
| Wind mph | 32 | 42 | 45 | 48 | 35 | 33 | 18 | 30 | 46 |
| Gust mph est. | 51 | 59 | 63 | 67 | 56 | 53 | 29 | 48 | 64 |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | 0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 28% | 15% | 4% | 2% | - | - | 1% | 1% | 6% |
| Freezing ft | 5,085 ft | 3,701 ft | 10,091 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | 8 | 8 | 0.1 | 8 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 2 | 4 | — | 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 4,802 ft | 40/44° 32 | 22/23° 48 | 40/44° 18 |
| 4,100 ft | 42/46° 30 | 24/25° 46 | 40/44° 13 |
| 3,300 ft | 45/47° 26 | 27/28° 41 | 40/43° 9 |
| 2,500 ft | 47/49° 18 | 30/32° 32 | 40/45° 9 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 48/51° 15 | 32/34° 26 | 38/48° 7 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
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67 mph
Summit gusts
Plan a below-treeline hike
Daytime gusts near 67 mph above treeline. Pick a sheltered route or another day.
22°F
Summit low
Microspikes
Summit lows near 22°F, so expect ice on rock and the upper trail.
0°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, 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.
Westernmost 4000-footer with extensive above-treeline summit. Dartmouth Outing Club maintains trails and the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge.
Elevation
4,802 ft
Range
Moosilauke
Rank
#10 of 48
Difficulty
Moderate
Coordinates
44.0234, -71.8315
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11 incidents on file · 1 fatal · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
Chelsea Norman, a 25-year-old from Billerica, MA
On July 9, 2026, Chelsea Norman, 25, was found ill and unable to continue descending the Gorge Brook Trail on Mt. Moosilauke by another hiker. Conservation Officers and Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team responded, provided food and water, and assisted her descent under her own power. She was evaluated at the trailhead by Linwood Ambulance Service.
65-year-old male hiker from Scarborough, Maine
On June 20, 2026, Kevin McNulty, 65, suffered a lower-leg injury while descending the Snapper Trail on Mount Moosilauke with his brother. His brother activated a Garmin inReach SOS, prompting a response from NH Fish and Game Conservation Officers and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team volunteers, who carried McNulty out via litter to the Ravine Lodge. McNulty was transported by personal vehicle to Littleton Regional Healthcare for evaluation.
71-year-old female hiker from Northampton, PA
Martha Keck, 71, fell while descending the Gorge Brook Trail on Mt. Moosilauke after summiting, suffering a serious but non-life-threatening injury. She was located 0.43 miles from the trailhead but could not complete the descent and requested assistance. A rescue crew of 13 Dartmouth College students and one bystander EMT carried her out to the trailhead by 6:30 p.m., where she was transported to Littleton Regional Healthcare.
Two hikers (names not released)
Two hikers making a 7-mile loop called for help from waist-deep snow on the Snapper Trail without snowshoes or headlamps and with low phone batteries; contact was lost when their batteries died. They later found a battery charger in their pack, reached a more packed trail, and were self-rescuing when located.
Yarrow Farnsworth, 47, of Groton, NH
Farnsworth suffered a lower-leg injury descending the Beaver Brook Trail from Mount Moosilauke, about 2.2 miles from the trailhead, and could not continue. Officers and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue carried her out by litter, arriving at 8:30 p.m. Wet weather had created slippery trail conditions.
25-year-old male from Lynn, Massachusetts
On May 20, 2023, Bruno Zotarelli, 25, slipped while descending Mount Moosilauke on the Gorge Brook Trail and suffered a lower-leg injury, rendering him unable to continue. Conservation Officers and 15 Pemi Valley Search and Rescue volunteers carried him 2.1 miles out in a rescue litter. He was transported by ambulance to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth.
Marissa Avadanian, 22, of Morgantown, PA
Just before midnight Saturday July 24, 2021, Avadanian aggravated a prior injury on the Beaver Brook Trail while hiking with her brother and father. They had reached a point just below the summit before turning back when she began having difficulty.
Roy Sanford, 66, of Plymouth, MA
Sanford set out on an up-and-back hike via the Glencliff Trail on Sunday March 14, 2021. After he failed to return, a search was launched; per NHFG, officers 'experienced blizzard conditions with snow, heavy wind gusts and below freezing temperatures right from the trailhead.' The ground team observed foot tracks in fresh snow heading down Gorge Brook from the summit and reached his body at about 3:40 p.m. Monday March 15; he was pronounced dead at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
83-year-old male hiker from Ledyard, Connecticut
Howard Flora (83) injured his knee descending Mt. Moosilauke on August 26, 2010, and was unable to continue. He spent the night on the Benton Trail with minimal gear and was found hypothermic the following morning by three female hikers about half a mile below the summit. Rescue crews carried him to the summit where he was airlifted by DHART helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital.
64-year-old male hiker from Kittery Point, Maine
Richard Barrie (64) became disoriented in whiteout conditions with high winds while attempting to descend from the summit of Mt. Moosilauke on January 15, 2010. Unable to locate a trail, he built a snow cave and sheltered overnight with additional gear. When daylight returned and visibility improved the next morning, he located the Glencliff Trail and self-rescued unharmed.
50-year-old woman from Thetford, Vermont
Patricia Dewey, age 50, was snowshoeing alone on Mount Moosilauke when she broke a snowshoe approximately a mile and a half from the trailhead. She activated a Personal Locator Beacon, which gave rescuers her exact GPS coordinates. Fish and Game was notified around 6:30 p.m. and she was brought out safely by about 8:30 p.m.