Welch Mountain and Dickey Mountain via Welch-Dickey Loop
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Welch-Dickey Loop Overview
Welch Mountain (2,605’) and Dickey Mountain (2,734’) are two of the most hiked mountains in New Hampshire because they offer a fun hike with stunning views in the Southern White Mountains. But do not let the short mileage fool you! This loop has some steep sections with rock scrambling that make you work for the views.
Trail Details
Trail: Welch-Dickey Loop Trail
Length: 4.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1,780 feet
My Trail Time: 3 hours hiking, 3:45 hours total
Hike Overview
Welch Mountain and Dickey Mountain are usually hiked together since they are about a half-mile from each other. Although you can hike the loop in either direction, I recommend hiking it counter clockwise.
The Welch-Dickey Loop Trail may seem easy because of the mileage, but it gains 1,700 feet of elevation in 2 miles. There are some steep sections with rock scrambling, but the views make the effort worth it!
Welch-Dickey Loop Guide
April 16, 2017
**Always remember to leave no trace. It is crucial to pack out what you pack in and throw away your trash properly.
Alex and I began the Welch-Dickey hike on a beautiful April day at 10:00 AM. It was a bit chilly, but nothing a few layers couldn’t help with! The first mile of the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail was an easy stroll with gradual inclines. I knew that the easy stroll would soon turn into a steady incline.
There wasn’t much snow when we first started hiking, however, after the first mile, we began to see more of it. Luckily, the snow wasn’t on the trail too much, so our footing was okay! There were a few lookout spots on the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail which made the hike fly by. Suddenly, we were at Welch Mountain’s summit at 11:00 AM! The clouds moved in but were high enough that we had a beautiful view! We stayed on Welch Mountain’s summit for 15 minutes before we began our hike to Dickey Mountain’s summit.
The first section of the hike over to Dickey Mountain was a decline. This portion of the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail was covered with snow which made for tricky footing. We ended up butt-sliding whenever we could to make our lives a little easier! After our butts were wet with snow, we began the ascent to Dickey Mountain’s summit. It was pretty steep here, but nothing we couldn’t handle! The snow made the climb slippery, but we made it over to Dickey Mountain’s summit by 11:45 AM.
The views from Dickey Mountain’s summit were fantastic! We enjoyed our lunch while taking in the beautiful views of The White Mountains. We met some wonderful dogs on the summit and started our descent with them after spending a half-hour on Dickey Mountain’s summit.
The descent on the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail for us was tricky… I’m not sure what happened, but we couldn’t seem to find the trail at one point. We veered off with our group because the signage wasn’t the best, but luckily another group of hikers helped us get back onto the trail! This portion of the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail was ALL snow. We were butt-sliding again which was fun! The rest of the descent was uneventful but felt easier than the ascent. It may have felt easier and quicker since we were chatting with a group of hikers. We love hearing everyone’s stories!
The descent took us longer than our ascent because 1. we got lost and 2. there was a lot of snow to maneuver through. We arrived at the car by 1:45 PM and felt great! We were, however, a bit bummed because we heard the Welch-Dickey Loop Trail is absolutely beautiful in the spring with wildflowers. We missed the bloom by a few weeks, but that’s okay! It was our first butt-sliding through snow experience, so it was fun!
Have you hiked the Welch-Dickey Loop? If not, I recommend adding it to your bucket list because it is an incredible hike and will become one of your favorites!
Hey, I’m Nichole!
I am the creator behind Nichole the Nomad, the home of my explorations around the world, mountain hikes, and beautiful pictures taken along the way. I have a deep passion for capturing the world in a beautiful light and sharing my experiences.
I created this blog to share my travels, show how beautiful the world is, provide tips and tricks for traveling, and encourage you to explore. Whether you want to travel across the world or explore what’s in your backyard, I hope this blog inspires you to get outside and find your adventure!