A Hiker's Guide to the NH48: Twins

Trip Summary:
N. Twin Elevation: 4,760 ft
S. Twin Elevation: 4,902 ft
Views: Great; 360 degrees from S. Twin
Total Distance: 11 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Estimated Time: 8-9hrs

Directions: Take I-93 North to exit 35 onto Rt-3 North toward Twin Mountain. Follow this for about 7.5 miles, past the Gale River Loop Road and over the Gale River. The next right will be Haystack Rd, although there is no road sign. It is marked by a big brown "National Forest" sign with hikers on it indicating a trail. As you turn onto the road there is a little sign saying "304" which reveals you're on the right road. There are campsites all along the sides of the road. After about 2.5 miles there is a bridge crossing the Little River with the trailhead parking lot on the other side. If you're not there early, you can park along the roadside before the bridge. The North Twin Trail trailhead is on the far side of the parking lot.


Bridge over Little River with trail parking across	North Twin Trailhead

North Twin

The first part of the trail is easy, very gradual and fairly straight. It is marked by yellow stripes. It follows the Little River on your right, with lots of lovely cascades over the large rocks. You will then come to a place where the official trail crosses over the river.

If the water level is high, crossing can be quite difficult, or time consuming to take off your shoes. Furthermore, a little later you will cross right back over the river again. So instead, there is a makeshift, unmaintained trail along the left side of the river which is heavily trafficked so it's pretty good and easy enough to follow if you pay attention. This will save you from two of the river crossings.

As I said, eventually the official trail will cross back over the river and rejoin you. There is a little orange bandana tied to a tree marking this location. Stay to your left going up the little hill.


Official trail rejoins and crosses river	Continue up the hill to the left

Then at about 1.9 miles, you will need to take the final river crossing over to the right side.


Official trail continues across the river	Be particularly careful if the water is high

From here you start the more serious incline, and continue crossing a few smaller tributaries, though the trail is still fairly smooth. Eventually it gets steeper and becomes more rocky, but it's not too difficult or long. The trail then peaks through the trees to a nice flat rock lookout point to the north around to the southeast. However, this is not yet the summit.

Views from North Twin Trail to the north, east, and southeast (click to enlarge)

Continue past the viewpoint along the trail through the trees. You will come to a fork in the trail where the North Spur Trail goes off to the left, and to the right is a short unnamed trail toward an Outlook. There is a cairn here, but do not be deceived, this too is not actually the topographical peak.

Go down the Outlook trail which is only a 0.1 mi spur. Halfway down this trail you will see a small cairn on the ground on the right side of the trail. This is the actual summit marker according to GPS.

Continue down this trail to the viewpoint for lovely views across the Franconia Ridge to the southwest.

Views to the southwest from the North Twin overlook

Enlarged shot of the Franconia Ridge

South Twin

To continue to South Twin, go back to the fork and take the North Twin Spur trail to the right. You will descend down N. Twin for a bit, then is a fairly gradual incline up toward S. Twin. Again, you break through the trees to a flat rocky viewpoint, and from here you can see the final stretch to the summit.