Three-month Main Trail project greatly improves sustainability and visitor experience
The Forest Society held a ribbon cutting and celebratory hike (pictured) on September 12.
On September 12, the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests celebrated the completion of the trail work at Mount Major with a ribbon cutting ceremony honoring the partners, donors, trail builders, Forest Society staff, and everyone that made it happen. The Forest Society was joined by Executive Councilor Joe Kenney; Alton Town Administrator Ryan Heath; and Alton Town Executive Assistant Stacy Bailey.
Jack Savage, president of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests addressed attendees stating, “Mt. Major draws visitors from all over New England, the country, and even internationally. The mountain is often many people’s first hike, noting dozens of schools and camps visit Mt. Major every year. Mt. Major is an economic driver for this region and at the same time needs to be sustainable for the community and for the protection of the natural environment.”
This spring, the Forest Society began an ambitious trail project to greatly improve the sustainability of Mount Major's Main Trail, the most popular route up and down the mountain. The lower sections of the Main Trail included some extremely eroded sections, the result of steep grades on sub-optimal soil in a place that is visited by more than 80,000 people annually. That’s more than 480 million footfalls each year.
Since 2022, the Forest Society has run a highly successful Volunteer Trailhead Outreach Program (VTOP) at a kiosk in the parking lot of Mt. Major. Trailhead volunteers provide visitors with information about wayfinding and trail conditions, hiker safety, and sharing how visitors can recreate responsibly, minimizing their impact on the environment.
"The VTOP program is important to the success of our visitors’ experience,” said Jay Frost of Meredith, VTOP volunteer for three years and a land steward for the Forest Society for the past nine years. “It’s fun to be out here sharing my love for Mt. Major and learning where everyone is from and sharing our experiences of the mountain after their hike. My family has a long history of land conservation and it’s an honor to continue the tradition.”
For decades, the soil eroding from these areas has been washing down the trail, into streams and ultimately into Lake Winnipesaukee across Route 11 from the Mt. Major parking area. The new trail section requires much less maintenance over time and will reduce runoff and silting into Lake Winnipesaukee.
The Forest Society teamed up with Town 4 Trails Services and OBP Trailworks to construct the sustainable trail, which took the place of about 1/3 mile of the existing Main/Blue Trail.
“Mount Major has always been a huge part of the Alton community. Both for our residents here and also for our many visitors,” Ryan Heath told InDepth New Hampshire.
Sustainable trail construction is not a small undertaking. This reconstruction of about 1/3 mile of trail is a major investment. To support the project, the Forest Society has raised over $275,000 toward the current goal of $325,000, thanks to grant support from the NH Recreation Trails Program, the Bafflin Foundation, the VF Foundation, the Fields Pond Foundation, Meredith Village Savings Bank and gifts from more than 100 individuals. Donations to help reach the final goal can be made at forestsociety.org/majortrailwork or at the Mt. Major trailhead using iron rangers or mobile giving QR codes.
Read more in local news coverage of the events on September 12: