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North Moat, Red Ridge, Diana's Baths Loop ![]()
Route Summary This is a loop hike going up Red Ridge with fantastic views along the way and summiting North Moat Mountain which offers a 360-degree panorama. The loop will also bring you to Diana's Baths which is a beautiful ledgy area with a series of cascades and pools formed by Lucy Brook. ![]()
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Trail Guide Although this hike had many easy sections, there were steep segments which were long enough to warrant a Difficult overall rating using HikeNewEngland.com's guidelines. Being avid hikers we initially thought this would be a Moderate hike but by the time we were finished had upgraded it to Moderate/Difficult based on the relative abilities of our hiking club. From Diana's Baths parking lot, three hikers and two dogs departed at the scheduled 8:45 meeting time. The remaining nine departed to the baths and then up Red Ridge Trail around 9:10 due to a late arrival.
The air was crisp and cool and the skies were sunny as we strolled a couple miles through hardwoods. We then came to a junction with a logging road and turned left in error. We walked ten minutes or so and brilliantly assessed that the flat terrain/horizon ahead would not be taking us up the advertised "steep side" of the mountain. We turned back and found our path had an arrow pointing back into the hardwoods from across the logging road where we met up with Green Mountain Club doing the same loop. We began to climb a little on Red Ridge Trail and then came to rocks and ledges and rested at an awesome lookout area where we could see North Conway and the fire tower on North Kearsarge. We journeyed longer and happened upon more hikers. We inquired about and found our group to be quite on track. It was past noon and we were ready for lunch. We stopped at the junction of Red Ridge and Moat Mountain Tails.
Afterwards, we headed over the beautiful wooded ridge and up some long and steep rocks for the next 1.1 miles and met up with our people, including Richard the singing hiker, on the summit of North Moat Mountain. We enjoyed a 360-degree view with clear skies and limited wind. We all started the descent together a bit gingerly down the steep ledges of Moat Mountain Trail with a little skidding–okay, maybe an actual fall or two. Those in front waited up at brook crossings and/or junctions until those behind caught up and piggybacked our way to the bottom. Everyone was appreciative of the trails, the peak and the views. I think somewhere slipping down the side of the North Moat ledges we decided perhaps it is a Moderate/Difficult rather than a Moderate hike, especially factoring in the 10+ miles and 7.5+ hours we were putting in. |
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Driving Directions
The northeast Moat Mountain Trailhead is located in Conway, New Hampshire. There is a large parking area that is referred to as the "Diana's Baths" lot. From Rt. 16 in North Conway:
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Facilities Bathrooms at the parking lot.
Other Notes WMNF Recreational Pass A parking permit is required to park at White Mountain National Forest trailheads and parking areas. You can purchase a WMNF permit from the forest service and other vendors and can also pay-by-the-day using self-service kiosks located in many parking areas. For more information on parking passes please refer to the White Mountain National Forest website. Rates:
More Moat Mountain Trail Reports |
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