The Mount Garfield via Garfield Trail is a 9.7-mile out-and-back with 2,880 ft of elevation gain.
9.7 mi • 2,880 ft gain • 5-8 hours • Mount Garfield Trailhead
Pemigewasset Wilderness Food Storage Requirement
Effective May 1st, 2026, all overnight campers in the Pemigewasset Wilderness must store all food, food containers, scented items (such as soap, lip balm, and toothpaste) and refuse in a cylindrical, hard-sided, non-pliable Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) certified bear resistant canister. Alternative methods, including bear hangs, for storing food and bear attractants in the Pemigewasset Wilderness will no longer be permitted as they have proven to be less effective than canisters. The only exceptions are the bear resistant food boxes located at the Thirteen Falls Tent Site.
Source: Forest Service
Feels like 32°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.12" (24h) · 0.12" (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 4,500' 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 | rain | fog | fog | fog | fog | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 45° 40° | 41° 31° | 29° 24° | 24° 23° | 28° 24° | 36° 29° | 44° 39° | 47° 44° | 50° 47° |
| Chill °F | 28° | 14° | 3° | 2° | 5° | 14° | 32° | 35° | 37° |
| Wind mph | 30 | 41 | 47 | 47 | 36 | 28 | 12 | 22 | 35 |
| Gust mph est. | 48 | 57 | 66 | 66 | 58 | 45 | 16 | 35 | 56 |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | 0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 35% | 28% | 5% | 4% | 1% | - | 1% | 1% | 5% |
| Freezing ft | 4,963 ft | 2,982 ft | 9,770 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 1 | 2 | — | 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 4,500 ft | 40/45° 30 | 23/24° 47 | 39/44° 12 |
| 4,100 ft | 42/46° 29 | 24/25° 45 | 39/44° 10 |
| 3,300 ft | 46/47° 22 | 27/28° 36 | 39/46° 9 |
| 2,500 ft | 48/49° 16 | 30/31° 25 | 37/51° 7 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 49/51° 14 | 32/33° 21 | 38/53° 6 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Full hourly summit forecasts: Mount Garfield weather
Climbs the Garfield Trail from Gale River Loop Road near Route 3 at a steady, moderate grade through hardwood forest, with a few small stream crossings low on the trail. At the Garfield Ridge Trail junction, a short, steep climb leads to the summit, where the old fire tower foundation gives a 360-degree view over the Pemigewasset Wilderness and Franconia Ridge. The summit is exposed to the wind. The road is gated in winter, which adds a road walk from Route 3.
Distance
9.7 mi
Elevation Gain
2,880 ft
Duration
5-8 hours
Trailhead
Mount Garfield Trailhead
The Mount Garfield via Garfield Trail is 9.7 miles round trip, starting at Mount Garfield Trailhead. At AMC book time (half the distance in hours plus 30 minutes per 1,000 ft of climbing), that works out to roughly 5-8 hours. Most parties take longer than book time on rough or above-treeline terrain, in winter, or with a heavy pack.
The Mount Garfield via Garfield Trail climbs about 2,880 ft over 9.7 miles, an average of roughly 296 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 Garfield via Garfield Trail Challenging on a six-tier scale from Easy to Most demanding. The rating comes from the route itself: its 9.7 miles, 2,880 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 Garfield via Garfield Trail summits 1 named peak: Mount Garfield.
The Mount Garfield via Garfield Trail starts at Mount Garfield Trailhead. 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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