The Mount Liberty via Liberty Spring is a 7.6-mile out-and-back with 3,118 ft of elevation gain.
7.6 mi • 3,118 ft gain • 4-7 hours • Whitehouse Trailhead (Franconia Notch Parkway)
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 40°F
Best Hiking Window
Wednesday morning through early afternoon offers mostly sunny skies, light winds, and no precipitation — ideal for a summit attempt with a start soon after sunrise (6:32 AM) to maximize daylight.
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 4,459' elevation
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Sep 22 | Tomorrow Sep 23 | Thursday Sep 24 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | cloudy | cloudy | clear | sunny | sunny | clear | sunny | sunny | clear |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 39° 37° | 41° 39° | 41° 39° | 40° 38° | 42° 39° | 43° 41° | 43° 41° | 48° 42° | 47° 45° |
| Chill °F | 33° | 33° | 30° | 29° | 31° | 33° | 34° | 40° | 42° |
| Wind mph | 5 | 8 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 6 |
| Gust mph est. | — | 12 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 22 | 19 | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Freezing ft | 9,443 ft | 10,530 ft | 11,600 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 2% | 2% | 2% | - | - | - | - |
| Vis mi | 9 | clear | clear | clear | clear | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 4 | 6 | — | 4 | 5 | — | 4 | 5 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Sep 22 | Tomorrow Sep 23 | Thursday Sep 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,459 ft | 37/39° 5 | 38/40° 17 | 41/43° 12 |
| 4,100 ft | 38/40° 5 | 39/41° 17 | 41/43° 12 |
| 3,300 ft | 41/43° 9 | 41/42° 17 | 43/46° 11 |
| 2,500 ft | 43/46° 9 | 43/45° 15 | 46/49° 8 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 44/48° 7 | 44/47° 12 | 47/52° 6 |
4 more days of forecast — plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Full hourly summit forecasts: Mount Liberty weather
Starts at the Whitehouse Trailhead in Franconia Notch and follows the bike path to the Liberty Spring Trail, a steady, rocky climb past the Liberty Spring tentsite to the Franconia Ridge Trail. From the junction, head south for a short climb to Liberty's rocky summit, with close views of Mount Flume and across the Pemigewasset Wilderness. The summit ledges are exposed to the wind, and the upper Liberty Spring Trail is steep and often icy in the shoulder seasons.
Distance
7.6 mi
Elevation Gain
3,118 ft
Duration
4-7 hours
Trailhead
Whitehouse Trailhead (Franconia Notch Parkway)
The Mount Liberty via Liberty Spring is 7.6 miles round trip, starting at Whitehouse Trailhead (Franconia Notch Parkway). At AMC book time — half the distance in hours plus 30 minutes per 1,000 ft of climbing — that works out to roughly 4-7 hours. Most parties take longer than book time on rough or above-treeline terrain, in winter, or with a heavy pack.
The Mount Liberty via Liberty Spring climbs about 3,118 ft over 7.6 miles — an average of roughly 410 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 Liberty via Liberty Spring Moderate, scored with the Shenandoah difficulty formula — √(elevation gain × 2 × distance) — applied to its 7.6 miles and 3,118 ft of gain. The score measures physical effort only. Above-treeline exposure, water crossings, and winter conditions can make a moderate-rated route the hardest day of your year, so check current conditions before committing.
The Mount Liberty via Liberty Spring summits 1 named peak: Mount Liberty.
The Mount Liberty via Liberty Spring starts at Whitehouse Trailhead (Franconia Notch Parkway). Check the trail alerts on this page before you drive — trailhead access and parking in the White Mountains change with closures and construction.
Been to Mount Liberty via Liberty Spring?
Be the first to share your experience!