White Mountains

The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the northern Appalachian Mountains, they are the most rugged mountains in New England.

Naturalist Dave Anderson shares the story behind "Judas Trees," as a very few early green leaves have already started to change to red.

The Forest Society primarily manages this property for sustainable forestry, productive wildlife habitat, and other conservation benefits in support of the greater Lincoln community. While all of our reservations are open to the public, this property may be difficult to access due to a lack of developed recreation features and resources such as signage, parking, established trails, and a detailed Forest Reservation Guide map.

I rolled into the parking lot of the Mountain Wanderer Book Store in Lincoln, New Hampshire. I was there to meet two White Mountain hiking experts. Authors Mike Dickerman of Bond Cliff Books and Steve Smith, editor of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s White Mountain Hiking Guide.

Today the White Mountain National Forest comprises approximately 780,000 acres, including 50,000 acres in Maine, and supports upwards of 6 million visitors annually. To honor the accomplishments of the last 100 years, we will be compiling stories, articles, and events celebrating the 100th Anniversary of "The People's Forest" on this page. Explore the links below to learn more.

We tend to take the White Mountain National Forest for granted. Seems like it’s always been there, and it’s hard to imagine that it wouldn’t survive us and many more generations to come.

What began with a federal law for land conservation and a small land purchase has, a century later, evolved into nearly 800,000 acres of national forest with many partners, 1,200 miles of hiking trails, and bounties of recreational opportunities for the millions of people visiting it each year.

The U.S. Forest Service has approved the creation of two glade skiing zones in the White Mountain National Forest.

So the thing about “nature shows” - even this one - is that we tend to talk about plant and animal species in pretty independent terms.