It’s no wonder Mount Major’s panoramic summit, which boasts views of the Lakes Region and White Mountains, is a highly regarded destination for locals and tourists alike. With an estimated 80,000 visitors annually, though, Mount Major’s trails are being loved to death. Soil erosion, off-trail usage, dog waste, and trash are just some of the visitor-created impacts Forest Society staff and volunteers contend with throughout the year.
The Forest Society is dedicated to consistently improving the visitor experience — and natural resource protection — at Mt. Major.
In 2020, we completed a trailhead restoration project that repaired the base of the eroded Main (Blue) Trail and provided for proper drainage, greatly improving the footing as well as reducing erosion and siltation impacts on adjacent wetlands. Over the summer of 2021, with help from volunteers, we installed a covered pavilion in the parking area. The structure provides some protection from the weather, whether hot sun or freezing rain, and houses a kiosk with the trail map and other information. And, in spring 2022, we launched a pilot volunteer program that would run through the busy hiking season in the fall. The Volunteer Trailhead Outreach Program (VTOP) is modeled after the highly successful Trailhead Stewards Program in the White Mountain National Forest and the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Trailhead Stewardship Program. Volunteers have received training in visitor engagement, Leave-No-Trace principles, and the messages of HikeSafe & Recreate Responsibly. So far, they've already engaged with more than 4,000 visitors and influenced many of them to recreate more responsibly during their visit to Mount Major.
In 2023, we have an ambitious trail project planned that will 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 (blue) Trail include some extremely eroded sections, the result of steep grades on sub-optimal soil combined with thousands of footfalls annually. For decades, the soil eroding from these areas has been washing down the trail, into streams and directly into Lake Winnipesaukee across Route 11 from the Mt. Major parking area. In Fall 2023, the Forest Society will be constructing a sustainably designed 1/3 mile of trail with gentle grades and engineered drainage to take the place of this badly eroded and poorly designed section of trail. In addition to being a more enjoyable hiking experience, the new trail section should also require much less maintenance over time. It will also be a major ecological improvement, reducing runoff and silting into Lake Winnipesaukee.
We expect construction to begin on the new section of trail in late Summer or early Fall 2023. We are still raising funds for the project, so please consider helping to support this worthy upgrade in trail sustainability at Mount Major! While construction is underway, we may temporarily need to close a portion of the parking area and lower sections of the Main Trail, but there will always be some parking available and a marked route to the summit that is open to the public. Questions about the 2023 trail work at Mount Major can be directed to Dylan Summers, Stewardship Projects Manager, at dsummers@forestsociety.org.