4,340 ft | Osceola | 1 route
As of August 29, 2026
Trail conditions on Mount Osceola are currently rated Moderate. It's 52°F (feels like 47°F) with NW winds at 10 mph. The listed route, Osceola's Out and Back, is 8.0 miles round trip with 2,847 ft of elevation gain, taking about 4-7 hours. Mount Osceola (4,340 ft) is #24 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour Mount Osceola weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
Mount Osceola weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Feels like 47°F
~3.8°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of August 29, 2026
Mount Osceola is dry underfoot with only minor mud reported recently, but this is a no-treeline peak so wind exposure isn't a major factor here; the bigger concerns are brisk temperatures and gusty winds near the summit. Saturday offers the best window with sunny skies and lighter winds, while conditions turn cooler and windier again into Sunday.
Expect temperatures to drop noticeably from trailhead to summit (around 57-71°F at the trailhead down to 51-60°F at the summit), with winds strengthening significantly above treeline near 4,000ft; pack a windproof layer to add once you reach the upper mountain.
Best Hiking Window
Saturday morning through early afternoon, starting shortly after sunrise to take advantage of sunny skies and lighter winds before afternoon cloud increase
Last synthesized Aug 29, 12:20 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: Moat Mountain Trail, Attitash Trail, road walk, Bartlett Experimental Forest trails, road walk, Mt. Tremont Trail, Brunel Trail, Sawyer Pond Trail, forest roads, Sawyer River Trail, Hancock Notch Trail, NH 112, Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail, Tripoli Road, Mt. Tecumseh Trail, XC ski trails
Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“This is a full report from the Jigger Johnson 50, which took place starting on August 15th, and was a point-to-point trip from the Moat Mountain trailhead on Passaconaway Rd. to the village of Waterville Valley. Trails were relatively dry, which made the Attitash Trail much more pleasant- the most likely places to get wet feet were the Hancock Notch Trail and the Greeley Ponds Trail. Even the swamp just west of the Big Attitash summit had enough logs and tree roots above the mud level that you could theoretically get across without submerging (I wasn't dexterous enough to fully accomplish this). Dry rocks also made the going much easier descending from North Moat, Mt. Osceola, and Mt. Tecumseh. We were treated to relatively temperate weather and partly cloudy skies- perfect conditions to abuse ourselves over 61.1 miles with 15,900' elevation gain. Many thanks to all of the random hikers who cheered us on and blatantly lied by telling us how strong we looked! :) Excruciating details- in keeping with the spirit of the race- on Unnecessary Climb!”
Trail: Greeley Ponds Trail, Mt. Osceola Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“Greeley Pond trail was uneventful. Osceola trail had some step-overs but nothing difficult. Nice view on spur before East Peak summit. Took chimney up, detour down. Great views from Osceola summit, a few people, but not crowded. A bit less than 6 hours.”
Trail: Mt. Osceola Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“I got the last spot at the trailhead parking lot at around 8:15. For a hundred August day, it wasn’t a bad day for a hike. My dog wasn’t enjoying the humidity, but I think he did pretty good overall. We made it up the rocky trail to the first summit by 10am so we decided to push on to East Peak. The chimney bypass was how we went down at it was an enjoy walk to the view less east peak. I followed Fazer’s lead back up the bypass as he instinctively went the same way he came down. The bypass is no joke either, just don’t turn around and look behind you! We did the out and back in just over 5 hrs car to car.”
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Friday Aug 28 | Today Aug 29 | Tomorrow Aug 30 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | cloudy | cloudy | sunny | sunny | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | drizzle | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 59° 58° | 60° 56° | 54° 50° | 50° 48° | 54° 49° | 55° 52° | 55° 54° | 62° 56° | 58° 52° |
| Chill °F | — | — | 43° | 42° | 43° | — | — | — | — |
| Wind mph | 10 | 18 | 24 | 15 | 16 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 27 |
| Gust mph est. | 16 | 29 | 38 | 24 | 26 | 53 | 51 | 48 | 43 |
| Storm risk | mod | high | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 13,076 ft | 12,815 ft | 11,377 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 1% | - | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | 9 | 9 | 10 | clear | clear | clear | clear | 4 | clear |
| UV | 4 | 7 | — | 5 | 7 | — | 4 | 5 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Friday Aug 28 | Today Aug 29 | Tomorrow Aug 30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,340 ft | 58/59° 10 | 48/50° 15 | 54/55° 32 |
| 4,100 ft | 59/60° 10 | 49/50° 16 | 55/56° 32 |
| 3,300 ft | 61/62° 9 | 51/52° 19 | 58/60° 27 |
| 2,500 ft | 63/64° 6 | 52/56° 15 | 60/64° 18 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 64/66° 4 | 53/58° 12 | 61/66° 15 |
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.
Highest of the Waterville Valley peaks. Often combined with East Osceola via challenging Chimney route.
Elevation
4,340 ft
Range
Osceola
Rank
#24 of 48
Difficulty
Moderate
Coordinates
44.0016, -71.5356
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5 incidents on file · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
28-year-old female from Boston, MA
On October 4, 2025, Rosalie Doerksen, 28, of Boston, MA suffered a lower leg injury near the summit of Mount Osceola that prevented her from continuing. Conservation Officers and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team volunteers conducted a 2.7-mile litter carryout, reaching the trailhead at 10:15 p.m. She was transported to Speare Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Xiaoming Zhang, of Rochester, MN
Zhang suffered a serious lower-leg injury after slipping on the trail and could not continue. Rescuers carried him over 2.5 miles by litter to the trailhead.
49-year-old female hiker from Houston, TX
On July 26, 2023, Misty Hughes, 49, inadvertently left the Osceola Trail while navigating with AllTrails and climbed onto a steep, slippery exposed ledge on East Osceola, becoming stranded and unable to continue up or down. Three Conservation Officers hiked two miles with ropes and harnesses and reached her at 3:00 p.m., assisting her off the slope using a rope and climbing harness by 3:45 p.m. Hughes suffered no injuries and was reunited with family at the trailhead.
Martha Thompson, 39, of Leicester, MA
On August 14, 2013, Martha Thompson, 39, of Leicester, MA, slipped, lost her balance and fell while descending the Mount Osceola Trail on Mount Osceola in Waterville Valley. She was unable to continue down the trail due to the extent of her injury despite help from her husband and passing hikers. Rescue personnel including the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, U.S. Forest Service, local fire departments and NH Fish and Game provided first aid, placed her in a litter, and carried her about 2.75 miles to the Osceola trailhead, concluding around 8:15 p.m.
52-year-old male from Concord, NH
Avery Richardson, 52, slipped and was injured while descending the East Peak of Mt. Osceola on the Osceola Trail on April 19, 2012, at approximately 3:00 p.m. Two passing hikers called 911 on his behalf, and Conservation Officers reached him at 6:40 p.m., providing first aid and assisting him to the trailhead by 8:15 p.m. He was assessed by ambulance at the trailhead.