Shared grouping cards will appear here after the planner templates and peak details finish loading.
Community compiled • Unofficial overview
NH 52 With a View Info Hub
This page summarizes community planning notes for New Hampshire's 52 With a View list: live peak data, region filters, day groupings, difficulty context, and trail-planning notes. The list is maintained by the Over the Hill Hikers, and this page is not affiliated with them, so please verify the current list and checklist before you go.
Important Trail Warnings
NH48.info is an unofficial, community-driven planning tool. Use it as a reference only, and verify safety-critical decisions with primary sources such as land managers, summit forecasts, and the official 52 With a View list owners.
Visit the official 52 With a View page and review the current checklist PDF before planning a finish.
Table of Contents
New Hampshire's 52 With a View list is a scenic collection of 52 sub-4,000-foot hikes created by the Over the Hill Hikers in 1990 after many members had already finished the 4,000-footers. Even though the peaks are lower, the list is built around standout viewpoints and often includes steep ledges, loops, and weather-sensitive terrain.
This hub is a community-compiled planning overview, not an official rulebook. The authoritative sources are the official 52 With a View page and the current checklist, which also explain how current and delisted peaks count for patch purposes.
Use the range filters to reduce driving and group nearby hikes. The map and cards update together so you can plan by region, then drill into the live peak guide pages when a hike looks promising.
NH52WAV Peaks (All ranges)
This table is rendered from the current community dataset for the 52 With a View list and is meant to be a planning aid, not the final authority. Use the range filters to cluster hikes by geography, click a summit name to open its wiki page, or use the guide action for the live 52WAV peak page.
The June 2025 checklist is the clearest official reference for what counts today. It also notes that current and delisted peaks can both count toward a patch, and that Welch + Dickey and North + South Doublehead are each treated as a single hike for list purposes.
| Peak | Status | Difficulty | Actions |
|---|
Classic 52WAV efficiency wins come from loops and natural neighbor combinations like Welch-Dickey, the Doubleheads, Baldface Circle, Sandwich with Jennings, Morgan-Percival, and Chocorua with Carter Ledge terrain. These cards are rendered from the shared planner templates and adapted to the 52WAV dataset.
A strong way to work through the list is to mix confidence-building hikes with rougher ledge days and longer loops. Lower elevation does not guarantee an easier hike on this list, so view conditions, exposure, and footing often matter as much as mileage.
Beginner-Friendly choices
- Mount Willard — a popular gateway hike with fast payoff views and relatively straightforward navigation.
- Mount Crawford — often chosen for a steady climb, broad views, and a shorter day than many list peaks.
- Mount Pemigewasset — a compact intro to the list when tread, weather, and footing are favorable.
Advanced & Strenuous
- Mount Chocorua — one of the iconic view peaks on the list, but also one that can feel very exposed on open rock.
- The Baldfaces (South Baldface and North Baldface) — a classic ledge loop with long open stretches and real weather commitment.
- Sandwich-Jennings (Sandwich Dome and Jennings Peak) — a good example of a list day that can stay moderate or become a longer scenic outing.
This unofficial difficulty breakdown is only a planning reference. For 52WAV hikes, view quality, ledges, scrambling, weather exposure, and route choice often matter just as much as raw elevation gain.
Loading... Beginner Friendly Shorter mileage, steadier grades, and common early list choices.
These peaks tend to have shorter standard routes or less complex terrain, but they are still real mountain hikes where weather, mud, and navigation still matter.
Loading... Moderate A step up in gain, time, or roughness for hikers building judgment.
Moderate hikes on this list often combine a few more miles, steeper grades, or rougher footing, but stay manageable for hikers with a growing White Mountains base.
Loading... Challenging Longer loops, bigger days, or more hands-on terrain.
These hikes usually ask for more stamina, better pacing, or more comfort with steep and broken terrain. They are often where the list starts to feel like a full-value mountain objective.
Loading... Exposed / Committing Open ledges, rough scrambles, or bigger commitment when conditions deteriorate.
These are the most weather-sensitive or commitment-heavy list days in this guide, where open rock, sustained ledges, long loops, or bigger mileage can sharply raise the seriousness.
White Mountains conditions can turn a short scenic hike into a serious day very quickly. Use this section as a planning lens for common 52WAV hazards, then verify route-specific conditions with WMNF, hikeSafe, local land managers, and current forecasts.
Open Ledge Exposure
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Broad ledges and exposed slabs can magnify lightning, wind, heat, ice, and wet-rock risk even on lower peaks.
Example peaks
Chocorua
South Baldface
Cardigan
Webster
Longer Commitment
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Some 52WAV hikes stay modest on paper but become long loops or ridge traverses with fewer easy exits once you are committed.
Example peaks
Smarts
Magalloway
Percy Peaks
The Horn
Limited Water
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Open-ridge and ledge-heavy hikes can offer little water once the climb gets underway. Carry enough and avoid assuming a source will still be flowing.
Example peaks
Chocorua
Cardigan
North Baldface
Willard
Scramble / Steep Terrain
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Hands-on sections, loose footing, and slick ledges show up on several classic 52WAV routes and can feel much harder in rain, frost, or leaf cover.
Example peaks
Dickey/Welch
Paugus
Cardigan
South Moat
Bailout Complexity
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On loop-heavy hikes, a route that looks flexible on the map can still leave you with limited easy exits once weather, footing, or fatigue start to deteriorate.
Example peaks
Baldfaces
Sandwich Dome
Moats
Smarts
Weak Cell Service
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Coverage is inconsistent across the list. Download maps, keep a paper backup, and do not assume you will be able to call for help from the trail.
Example peaks
Magalloway
The Horn
Smarts
Mount Success
Because this list emphasizes views, the quality of the day often depends heavily on conditions. Spring mud, summer heat on open ledges, fall crowds, and winter traction needs can all change the experience. Use the seasonal toggle for planning themes, then verify current trail, road, and weather conditions with official sources.
| Focus | Summer Strategy |
|---|
Over the Hill Hikers do not track seasons, grids, or alternate completion rounds for patch credit, so any finish framework here is optional and purely personal. Use it as a planning style, not as an official rule set.
Fast 52
One strong season
Leans on classic loops, day-grouping efficiency, and flexible hiking days for hikers trying to move through the list quickly.
Steady Progress
Several seasons
Balances efficiency with repeatable weekend planning by mixing shorter confidence builders with bigger scenic objectives.
Scenic Journey
Long-form personal round
Treats the list as a photography and conditions game: fewer peaks per trip, more waiting for clear days, and more room to savor the best views.
The Over the Hill Hikers began in 1979 as a small hiking group centered on Sandwich, New Hampshire, and later created the 52 With a View list in 1990 as a fresh goal after many members had already completed the 4,000-footers. The list intentionally highlights scenic hikes below 4,000 feet rather than trying to mimic the NH48 rules exactly.
The official list has changed over time as views, access, and source data changed. The current checklist reflects the June 2025 revision, and the list owners say future reviews will likely happen every 5 to 10 years. Always check the latest official list before planning a finish.
Visit the official 52 With a View page and checklist archive.
NH48.info exposes this 52WAV hub as structured community data so developers can build map layers, peak dashboards, itinerary tools, or their own planning workflows. The dataset powering this page is community-maintained and may differ from official list wording, so it should never be your final authority for access, rules, or completion status.
- NH52WAV JSON dataset (community peak records and route-facing fields)
- NH52WAV ranges JSON (region cards, colors, and grouped peak lists)
- NH52WAV planner templates (day groupings and finish strategies)
Developers can reuse the live table, map categories, and grouping cards, or join them with the wiki and photo metadata elsewhere in the repository. When accuracy matters, label the output clearly as community-maintained and show the official list date alongside it.
Use the APIThese responses summarize community planning context and should not replace the official 52 With a View page, the current checklist, or land-manager guidance for access and safety.