Ghost Trail: Plymouth to Hebron

Overview map from Gaia, with Plymouth Mtn Trail added

This next section of the Ghost Trail had the greatest uncertainty. Everything north of Plymouth was on AMC's White Mountain National Forest trail maps.  But the only trail maps I could find for the Plymouth Mountain area were online maps like Gaia that are based on user data of questionable accuracy entered onto OpenStreetMap. These maps showed trails going up and over North and South Peak, then up Plymouth Mountain via the Sutherland Trail. No further trails were on the map after that, but there was rumored to be another trail going down the mountain that I hoped to find.  I'd done as much armchair research as I could about these various trails, but I was mentally prepared for things to fall apart and was happy to be day-hiking and not backpacking. 

Notice for thru-hikers: There is no camping allowed anywhere between Plymouth and Hebron. The trails cross private property the entire way. There are accommodations available in both Hebron and Plymouth ($$$). 

Trailhead parking pulloff on Texas Hill Road

Look for this pole

The first challenge was parking in Plymouth. Do not attempt to leave a car all day or overnight in the business district. Every inch is covered with signs restricting how long you can park there. I went up the next street (Russell) and parked in front of some rundown houses that look like rentals for college students. They'll never complain about a car parked out front.

The second challenge was finding the supposed trailhead for what Gaia called the Fauver East Trail. There are no trail signs or other markings, and the trailhead is easy to miss. Gaia had it correct, though. Walking southwest on Texas Hill Road out of Plymouth, the trailhead was located near the top of a steep rise, with enough space on the left for maybe two cars to pull over. 

Trail as seen from the pavement

The section between Texas Hill Road and North Peak was tricky to figure out. There is in fact an unmarked trail where Gaia said the Fauver East Trail would be,  But there are also other trails intertwined with this because the mountain bikers have taken over and it's just confusing. I don't know what the history of this trail section is. Maybe there used to be an old hiking trail used by the fine people of Plymouth to get to Plymouth Mountain, but then some mountain biking college students discovered the hill. It's private property, no conservation easements or whatever, and I fear some day there will be new houses shutting down access. 

I took several wrong turns following the mountain bike paths, but it was nothing too bad. Pay close attention along this section, however, and refer to an online map or a compass. In the southbound direction, heading up the hill on any trail would probably work fine. Just be sure to go uphill and double back if a trail starts heading the wrong way. 

Mountain bikers have created lots of trails near Texas Hill Rd.

At the top of North Peak, the trail came to a "T" with blue markings going both left and right. I took a left and followed the blazes down the hill, checking Gaia from time to time to see if I was on the correct route, because I had no idea if the blue markers were for the trail I was trying to follow, or some other trail not shown on the maps. 

Fauver East Trail has blue markers south of North Peak

At some point I did, in fact, find myself well off the designated route, and went bushwhacking for where I was supposed to be. What I found was a trace of an old trail, marked by old logs that had been cut. I followed that for a bit and suddenly found myself back on the blue-marked trail, which had bent back in my direction. After that, I just followed the blue markers. The online maps don't have the Fauver East Trail quite right, but it's in the ballpark. Just stick with the blue markings. 

Porcupine

There weren't any real views on either North or South Peak. But it was nice terrain and I got to see a porcupine scurry up a tree. The descend from South Peak was quick, and there was a kiosk at the bottom with a map of the trail system. Wish I had that earlier. Everything made sense after that. Coming from the north, I'd intercepted the blue markings about where the "D" is at the top of the map. Interesting how the trail abruptly stops part way down the hill to the northwest. There's a story there I bet. 

Map at the kiosk

Fauver East Trailhead looking northbound

After a quick roadwalk, there's a big hiker parking area for a trail going up Plymouth Mountain. A big sign out front declares that parking is for daytime use only. Another prominent sign lets you know that you're on "Conservation Easement Land" privately-owned but open to walking, hunting, and other non-motorized pedestrian recreation, but no camping or fires. 

Heading up Plymouth Mtn

This was an easy hike up Plymouth Mountain on a well-worn, yellow-blazed trail, that was never steep.  There was only one car in the lot there, so the trail was pretty quiet. It starts out as Fauver Link Trail and then turns into Sutherland Trail after crossing a road.

Junction with an overlook spur

Near the top, there's a spectacular overlook of the White Mountains at the end of a short spur well-marked with a sign to "Pike's Peak." You can look straight up I-93 and Franconia Notch through the White Mountain and other points East. 

Looking north up I-93 towards the White Mountains

Sutherland Trail continues for another quarter mile past the overlook junction to a marker at the summit. There was a false summit right at the beginning with a cairn -- don't be fooled.  This last quarter mile is much more rugged with lots of exposed bedrock underfoot.  A returning hiker warned me to be careful because the rock was slippery. I laughed inside my head, because this was nothing compared to backpacking the Crawford Ridgepole Trail in the rain the other day. This rock was dry. But yes, you could still slip on some steep sections even when it's dry.  

What's next?

I'm not sure if there was another lookout beyond the cairn. There may have been. I was much more focused on finding this phantom "Plymouth Mountain Trail" heading down the west side of the mountain. There was also reportedly a third trail going southwest down the mountain to Camp Mowglis on the shore of Newfound Lake, but that was said to be private. So I needed to get on the correct trail. After much online searching, I had found a map image showing the general location of Plymouth Mountain Trail, and was also able to confirm that this trail actually existed and might have some occasional markings with wolves. But reports differed wildly on how easy it was to follow. Everything from easy to impossible. 

Plymouth Mountain Trail

Piece of cake. The trail was obvious right from the summit marker and was generally easy to follow even without blazing. There were a few adorable wolf markers facing hikers going uphill, just enough to provide confidence that it was a real hiking trail. In some ways it was easy to walk that the Sutherland Trail because it wasn't eroded. There was a partial view of distance mountains about half way down. Best part of the day. It wasn't until the trail got near the bottom that a few spots might be tricky to navigate, especially if you're going uphill. There's a right turn (in the uphill direction) off a snowmobile trail. Keep an eye out for that. 

GPS record of Plymouth Mtn Trail

I recorded a gps track and added that to OpenStreetMap for future hikers (Gaia, AllTrails, and other mapping programs use OpenStreetMap data for their basemaps). The trail ended in the form of a grassy snowmobile trail that came to a "T" with a 4WD section of Pike Hill Road. After continuing downhill on the Pike Hill Road for 0.1 mile, it converted to real street. This was at a hairpin curve in the street, with a bridge over a nice brook just beyond that. There was a tight spot to park on each side of the bridge. The limited parking may be why Plymouth Mountain Trail is not promoted. If you are northbound on Pike Hill Road, follow it over the brook to the hairpin curve, ignore the curve, and go straight onto the 4WD road until you see a snowmobile trail going off to the right. In 2021, there were a couple snowmobile signs on a tree immediately after the turn, but one was falling off. That's the beginning of Plymouth Mountain Trail. 

Plymouth Mountain Trailhead on Pike Hill Road

The rest was all uneventful road walking. There was a construction site along Pike Hill Road with a great view of Mt Cardigan, Newfound Lake, and the ridge leading to Cardigan. That would be my next trip to New Hampshire. 

Mt. Cardigan as seen from Pike Hill Road

The Hebron and Newfound Lake area was a real contrast to the Plymouth area. The former had seen better days, while Hebron was shining and spotless. There was no problem walking along the highway here. The shoulder was plenty wide enough. 

Newfound Lake

We had agreed to meet at the Newfound Audubon Center. A woodland trail lead down to the water, where sections of a dock had been stacked up for the winter. It was delightful, so we had a picnic lunch there and watched the boats go by.  

Audubon Center at Newfound Lake

At this point I still didn't know exactly where my next Ghost Trail section would start, other than somewhere in the Hebron area. I needed to find a place I could leave my car for a few days. I had thought that maybe I could get permission from the Audubon people to leave me car there for the price of a donation, but the building was closed.  Maybe there was some place in the Hebron center where I could get permission. Or maybe the Welton Falls trailhead. So we hopped in the car in search of potential parking. 

Hebron Village Store and Post Office

We stopped at the Hebron Village Store, which was tiny even though the building was pretty big. There's also a Post Office. Thru hikers should not expect much here. They did have a few tables for eating in. It's set in a super quaint New England historic district where every building is tastefully white and no blade of grass is out of place. 

We then searched for the Welton Falls Trail on Valley View Road. We couldn't see anything and I finally stopped and asked a woman walking by if she knew where the trail was. She said there used to be a sign across from a flat grassy area where we were looking and people parked there all the time and went hiking. So we drove past the area a few more times scratching our heads. After a bit, this nice woman flagged us down, said she just talked to her neighbor, and yes, the trail was right in the spot we were looking. Just park on the grass and go up the hill. Okey doke. I gave it a shot, and did indeed find a trace of a path going up the steep open hill full of grass and ferns right where Gaia said it would be. 

The beginning of Welton Falls Trail

The trail came up to a swing at an overlook, which was weird. But I could see a path going off into the woods where Gaia said it would, so it seemed correct. And it was. But I later discovered some construction on the trail just a bit further on and I don't know if this trail is open any longer. Maybe that's why the sign is no longer down by the trailhead. But that's for a later post. 

Along Welton Falls Trail

Parking there looked feasible, so I walked back through Hebron to the Audubon Center and called it a day. It would be two weeks before I was able to return and finish up the Ghost Trail route and SRK Greenway.