The Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge is a 14.4-mile out-and-back with 3,799 ft of elevation gain.
14.4 mi • 3,799 ft gain • 7-11 hours • Sawyer River Road gate on US 302
Sawyer River Road closed to vehicles
Sawyer River Road has been closed to all vehicles since a December 2023 storm washed out part of the road. The Signal Ridge Trailhead cannot be driven to. Foot travel is allowed: park at the gate on US 302 (limited parking) and walk the road to the trailhead, about 2 miles each way. USFS gives no repair date.
Source: USFS
Feels like 28°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.07" (24h) · 0.07" (48h)
Best Hiking Window
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.
Summit-level conditions by time of day at 4,700' elevation
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 | sunny | rain | cloudy | cloudy | ptly cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 45° 40° | 41° 31° | 29° 24° | 25° 24° | 30° 25° | 39° 29° | 43° 41° | 46° 41° | 50° 46° |
| Chill °F | 28° | 13° | 2° | 3° | 6° | 13° | 33° | 29° | 35° |
| Wind mph | 33 | 47 | 55 | 53 | 40 | 31 | 14 | 32 | 46 |
| Gust mph est. | 53 | 66 | 77 | 74 | 56 | 50 | 21 | 51 | — |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | 0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 34% | 26% | 3% | 2% | - | - | 1% | 1% | 5% |
| Freezing ft | 5,231 ft | 3,767 ft | 10,209 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 32% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 62% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | 8 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 9 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 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 4,700 ft | 40/45° 33 | 24/25° 53 | 41/43° 14 |
| 4,100 ft | 43/46° 30 | 25/26° 51 | 40/44° 9 |
| 3,300 ft | 46/47° 25 | 28/29° 42 | 40/43° 7 |
| 2,500 ft | 49/50° 18 | 31/32° 28 | 40/47° 6 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 50/52° 16 | 32/34° 22 | 38/49° 5 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Full hourly summit forecasts: Mount Carrigain weather
Starts at the Sawyer River Road gate on US 302. The road has been closed to vehicles since a 2023 washout, so the hike begins with about 2 miles of easy walking on the gravel road to the Signal Ridge Trail. The trail follows Whiteface Brook through hardwoods, passes the Carrigain Notch Trail junction, and then climbs steadily through spruce to the open crest of Signal Ridge. The ridge is the highlight, with big views into Carrigain Notch and across to Mount Lowell and Vose Spur. A short final climb reaches the summit observation tower, one of the best 360-degree views in the White Mountains, looking out over the Pemigewasset Wilderness and much of the 4,000-footer range. Return the same way. The road walk adds about 4 miles round trip. When the road reopens, you can drive to the Signal Ridge trailhead and cut the hike to about 10 miles.
Distance
14.4 mi
Elevation Gain
3,799 ft
Duration
7-11 hours
Trailhead
Sawyer River Road gate on US 302
The Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge is 14.4 miles round trip, starting at Sawyer River Road Gate (US 302). At AMC book time (half the distance in hours plus 30 minutes per 1,000 ft of climbing), that works out to roughly 7-11 hours. Most parties take longer than book time on rough or above-treeline terrain, in winter, or with a heavy pack.
The Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge climbs about 3,799 ft over 14.4 miles, an average of roughly 264 ft of gain per mile. That figure is cumulative ascent across the whole out-and-back, not the difference between the trailhead and the high point.
HikerNerd rates the Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge Very hard on a six-tier scale from Easy to Most demanding. The rating comes from the route itself: its 14.4 miles, 3,799 ft of gain, and the steepest quarter mile of trail, with routes known for scrambles or ledges rated a step harder. It is the same scale our NH 4,000-footer difficulty ranking uses. Above-treeline exposure, water crossings, and winter conditions can still make a well-rated route the hardest day of your year, so check current conditions before committing.
The Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge summits 1 named peak: Mount Carrigain.
The Mount Carrigain via Signal Ridge starts at Sawyer River Road Gate (US 302). Check the trail alerts on this page before you drive: trailhead access and parking in the White Mountains change with closures and construction.
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