4,293 ft | Kinsman | 2 routes
As of August 29, 2026
Trail conditions on North Kinsman Mountain are currently rated Good. It's 43°F (feels like 35°F) with NNW winds at 11 mph. The shortest of 2 listed routes is Kinsman's Out and Back: 9.5 miles round trip with 3,287 ft of elevation gain, taking about 5-8 hours. North Kinsman Mountain (4,293 ft) is #28 of 48 on the NH 48 list. See the hour-by-hour North Kinsman Mountain weather forecast for summit temps, wind chill, and the best hiking window.
North Kinsman Mountain weather forecast
Hourly summit temps, wind chill & freezing level, trailhead to summit
Feels like 35°F
~3.8°F drop per 1,000ft
Conditions summary as of August 29, 2026
Saturday looks like a great day to hike North Kinsman with dry-to-minor-mud trail conditions, clear skies, and mild temperatures. Winds will be brisk and cooler near the summit, so bring layers, but overall this is a low-hazard day with long daylight to work with. Sunday's forecast turns wetter with rain moving in, so Saturday is clearly the better choice.
Expect temperatures to drop roughly 4°F per 1,000 feet gained, with winds increasing from about 16mph at the trailhead to 26mph near treeline and the summit, dropping wind chill into the upper 30s — pack a wind layer to add once you approach treeline around 4,000ft.
Best Hiking Window
Saturday morning through early afternoon, starting near sunrise (6:05 AM) to take advantage of clear skies and lighter winds before any afternoon cloud increase
Last synthesized Aug 29, 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: Mt. Kinsman Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Reel Brook Trail, Bald Peak Spur
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“I biked from Reel Brook to the new Mt. Kinsman trailhead. It's a quick, mostly downhill run. Bald Peak does have a nice western view, but IMO it would not be worth the $20 car parking fee (I'm from Maine) if it had been my only objective for the day. Of note, I did meet a hiker on the way up who used the old trailhead to access the trail without paying the fee. The Kinsman Flume is very impressive and somewhat scary since you can get right to the edge of its impressive drop. Nice views along the ridge and met many NOBOs and one SOBO. The descent to Harrington Pond is challenging; I think this might be a risky route if the ledges are wet. It took me longer than the 30 minute AMC guide time to descend the mile to Harrington Pond; lots of sitting down and careful sliding from foothold to foothold. Reel Brook was a very pleasant and easy walk down after the hours of scrambling on the Ridge.”
Trail: Basin-Cascades Trail, Cascade Brook Trail, Fishin' Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail
Conditions: Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable
“The ledges were pretty much dry making for safe footing. I hadn't been on Basin-Cascades and Cascade Brook trails for decades, so it was like seeing a new trail. They are an easy way to get up to the Lonesome Lake hut with some falls and pools to enjoy. Great view from the docks at Lonesome Lake and at the summits. At North Kinsman one can descend from the initial ledge that looks to Lonesome Lake to arrive at the second ledge that allows a view down to Kinsman Pond. There are a couple of minor ledges and a few branches extending into the short path to this lower ledge. There are two knobs on South Kinsman. The south knob has the best views and the "throne seat: on the large cairn.. Lots of hikers out today. I met hikers from all the New England states coming from both the east and west approaches to the ridge. Also met many AT thru and section hikers from many US states as well as Germany.”
Trail: Cascade Brook Trail, Fishin’ Jimmy Trail, Kinsman Ridge Trail, Kinsman Pond Trail
Conditions: Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant
“North and South Kinsman today for 18&19/48. No dog as it was forecast to be hot and humid. It was humid, but not terribly warm in the woods and at elevation. We took the Cascade Brook trail up to Lonesome Lake. Then took Fishin’ Jimmy to the Kinsman tent site. From there it was up Kinsman Ridge to North and South peaks. The trails were wet & slippery down low from the previous evening rains. Up past Kinsman Pond it was drier but still slippery in spots. We descended back to Kinsman Pond and decided to take the Kinsman Pond trail back down. I can say with all certainty that I won’t be taking that trail again. It was hard to follow, wet, mossy and had us carefully placing every step for the first couple miles. We joined back up at the Basin Cascade for a foot soaking in the cool water, which felt amazing!! 11.2 miles. 8 hrs 20 min total time out with moving time of 6 hrs 44 min.”
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Aug 29 | Tomorrow Aug 30 | Monday Aug 31 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | sunny | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | rain | drizzle | sunny | sunny | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 48° 47° | 53° 48° | 56° 53° | 55° 53° | 57° 54° | 54° 52° | 52° 50° | 57° 51° | 55° 55° |
| Chill °F | 42° | 42° | — | — | — | — | 45° | — | — |
| Wind mph | 12 | 15 | 36 | 37 | 30 | 31 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
| Gust mph est. | 19 | 23 | 54 | 59 | 48 | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | 0.8 | 0.1 | - | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 12,217 ft | 11,430 ft | 13,337 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 3% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 1% | 8% | 100% |
| Vis mi | 9 | clear | clear | clear | 2 | 7 | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 5 | 7 | — | 4 | 6 | — | 5 | 7 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Aug 29 | Tomorrow Aug 30 | Monday Aug 31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,293 ft | 47/48° 12 | 53/55° 37 | 50/52° 14 |
| 4,100 ft | 47/48° 12 | 54/56° 37 | 50/52° 13 |
| 3,300 ft | 48/50° 15 | 57/59° 31 | 53/54° 8 |
| 2,500 ft | 49/54° 13 | 60/62° 22 | 55/57° 5 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 51/56° 10 | 61/64° 17 | 55/60° 5 |
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.
Northern Kinsman peak, usually done with South Kinsman. Rocky summit with good views.
Elevation
4,293 ft
Range
Kinsman
Rank
#28 of 48
Difficulty
Difficult
Coordinates
44.1334, -71.7368
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1 incident on file · drawn from NH Fish and Game releases and regional reporting
Dennis Boyce, of Bermuda Run, NC, Appalachian Trail thru-hiker; a second AT thru-hiker also sustained a serious but non-life-threatening injury
On August 25, 2025, Dennis Boyce, an AT thru-hiker, slipped and fell near the summit of North Kinsman on the Kinsman Ridge Trail and was unable to hike out under his own power. Conservation Officers and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue volunteers carried him out to Lafayette Place Campground, where he was transported by ambulance to Littleton Regional Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. A second AT thru-hiker was also found with a serious but non-life-threatening injury during the operation and similarly transported to Littleton Regional Hospital.