The Mount Jefferson via Caps Ridge is a 4.8-mile out-and-back with 2,724 ft of elevation gain.
4.8 mi • 2,724 ft gain • 3-5 hours • Caps Ridge Trailhead (Jefferson Notch Road)
Feels like 26°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.16" (24h) · 0.16" (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 5,712' 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 | snow | fog | fog | fog | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 41° 35° | 35° 26° | 24° 21° | 22° 21° | 26° 23° | 39° 25° | 43° 40° | 43° 41° | 47° 43° |
| Chill °F | 21° | 6° | -2° | -2° | 3° | 8° | 32° | 29° | 31° |
| Wind mph | 36 | 47 | 54 | 54 | 44 | 30 | 15 | 32 | 44 |
| Gust mph est. | 58 | 66 | 76 | 76 | 62 | 48 | 21 | 51 | 62 |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | 0.1 | 0.7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 38% | 29% | 6% | 5% | 6% | - | 1% | 1% | 4% |
| Freezing ft | 4,894 ft | 2,715 ft | 10,055 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 | 4 | — | 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 5,712 ft | 35/41° 36 | 21/22° 54 | 40/43° 15 |
| 5,000 ft | 39/44° 33 | 22/24° 52 | 40/44° 10 |
| 4,100 ft | 42/46° 30 | 24/25° 47 | 40/42° 8 |
| 3,300 ft | 46/48° 24 | 27/28° 39 | 39/44° 8 |
| 2,500 ft | 49/51° 18 | 30/31° 28 | 35/49° 6 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 51/52° 16 | 32/33° 23 | 36/50° 5 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Full hourly summit forecasts: Mount Jefferson weather
The shortest route to a Presidential summit, starting from the highest trailhead in New Hampshire. The Caps Ridge Trail climbs through forest to the Caps, a series of rocky knobs that call for hand-over-hand scrambling, then continues above treeline to the summit. Jefferson Notch Road is closed in winter.
Distance
4.8 mi
Elevation Gain
2,724 ft
Duration
3-5 hours
Trailhead
Caps Ridge Trailhead (Jefferson Notch Road)
The Mount Jefferson via Caps Ridge is 4.8 miles round trip, starting at Caps Ridge Trailhead (Jefferson Notch Road). At AMC book time (half the distance in hours plus 30 minutes per 1,000 ft of climbing), that works out to roughly 3-5 hours. Most parties take longer than book time on rough or above-treeline terrain, in winter, or with a heavy pack.
The Mount Jefferson via Caps Ridge climbs about 2,724 ft over 4.8 miles, an average of roughly 569 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 Jefferson via Caps Ridge Hard on a six-tier scale from Easy to Most demanding. The rating comes from the route itself: its 4.8 miles, 2,724 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 Jefferson via Caps Ridge summits 1 named peak: Mount Jefferson.
The Mount Jefferson via Caps Ridge starts at Caps Ridge Trailhead (Jefferson Notch Road). 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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