TRAILS WITH LADDERS & METAL RUNGS

Some hikers love the excitement of hiking in New England and stumbling across a series of trail ladders, log staircases, and/or metal rungs. The good news is that New England is full of trails that offer these types of memorable and photo-worthy trail features.

The list below includes all known trails in New England that have a substantial amount of ladders, staircases, metal rungs and wooden blocks. Are any trails missing from this list? If so, please let me know by emailing me at gparsons66@hotmail.com!

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STATE	TRAIL	MOUNTAIN / AREA (& Park)	TRAIL FEATURES
ME	Appalachian Trail / Grafton Loop Trail (Eastern Section)	Baldplate Mountain (Grafton Notch State Park)	at least one wooden ladder between West Peak and East Peak, and several wooden ladders east of East Peak
ME	Appalachian Trail	Moody Mountain	several metal rungs, a metal railing, and several (wooden? metal?) ladders
ME	Appalachian Trail	Old Blue Mountain	several metal rungs
ME	Beech Cliff Ladder Trail	Beech Cliffs (Acadia National Park)	four metal ladders (several are very steep/tall)
ME	Beehive Trail (a TOP 5 pick!)	The Beehive (Acadia National Park)	several metal ladders and metal rungs
ME	Big Spencer Trail	Big Spencer Mountain	several wooden ladders
ME	Eyebrow Trail	Old Speck Mountain (Grafton Notch State Park)	(one?) metal ladder, cable handrails, and several metal rungs
ME	Grafton Loop Trail (Western Section)	Stowe Mountain & Bald Mountain (Grafton Notch State Park)	several wooden staircases between the peaks of Stowe Mountain and Bald Mountain
ME	Hunt Trail / Appalachian Trail	Katahdin (Baxter State Park)	several metal rungs
ME	Jordan Cliff Trail	Penobscot Mountain (Acadia National Park)	several metal rungs
ME	Ladder Trail	Door Mountain (Acadia National Park)	several metal ladders and metal rungs
ME	Loop Trail	Tumbledown Mountain	several metal/iron rungs
ME	Mahoosuc Trail	Fulling Mill Mountain (Mahoosuc Public Reserve Land)	(one?) wooden ladder (located between Mahoosuc Notch and southern peak of Fulling Mill Mountain)
ME	Mahoosuc Trail	Goose Eye Mountain (Mahoosuc Public Reserve Land)	one wooden ladder and several (three?) sequences of metal/iron rungs (all south of the summit of Goose Eye Mountain on the way to Mt. Carlo)
ME	Precipice Trail (a TOP 5 pick!)	Champlain Mountain (Acadia National Park)	numerous metal ladders, metal railings, and metal/iron rungs (amazingly fun!; check nps.gov for trail closures)
ME	????? unknown	Puzzle Mountain	one series of (8?) metal/iron rungs on the way to the "true" summit
ME	Tunk Mountain Trail	Tunk Mountain (Acadia National Park)	several iron/metal rungs
NH	Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail	Mount Washington (White Mountain National Forest)	one short wooden ladder
NH	Beaver Brook Trail / Appalachian Trail	Mount Moosilauke (White Mountain National Forest)	several wooden blocks/steps and metal rungs
NH	Boot Spurr Trail	Mount Washington (White Mountain National Forest)	one very long/tall wooden ladder
NH	Cliff Walk Trail	Mount Monadnock (Mount Monadnock State Park)	one medium-sized wooden ladder
NH	Fishin' Jimmy Trail / Appalachian Trail	Kinsman Mountain (White Mountain National Forest)	several wooden blocks/steps
NH	Goodrich Rock Trail	n/a(White Mountain National Forest)	one tall wooden ladder to the top of the rock
NH	Hi-Cannon Trail	Cannon Mountain (White Mountain National Forest)	one (tall / steep / semi-challenging) ladder
NH	Israel Ridge Trail	Mount Adams (White Mountain National Forest)	several wooden ladders
NH	Lambert Ridge Trail / Appalachian Trail	Smarts Mountain (White Mountain National Forest)	one small wooden ladder that connect with about 15 metal rungs
NH	Lion Head Trail	Mount Washington (White Mountain National Forest)	one medium-sized wooden staircase/ladder
NH	Mount Morgan Trail	Mount Morgan	three nearly-vertical and successive wooden ladders on optional trail 0.1 mile below summit
NH	Osseo Trail (a TOP 5 pick!)	Mount Flume (White Mountain National Forest)	at least a half-dozen wooden staircases/ladders
NH	Six Husbands Trail (a TOP 5 pick!)	Mount Jefferson (White Mountain National Forest)	four wooden ladders
NH	Sugarloaf Trail	Middle Sugarloaf (White Mountain National Forest)	one wooden staircase/ladder
NH	Twinway	Zealand Mountain (White Mountain National Forest)	one short wooden ladder
NH	Wildcat Ridge Trail	Wildcat D (White Mountain National Forest)	several wooden blocks
NH	Willey Range Trail (a TOP 5 pick!)	Mount Willey (White Mountain National Forest)	many (nine? ten?) wooden staircases/ladders
VT	Cliff Trail	Mount Mansfield (Green Mountain National Forest)	several (two? three?) very steep/tall wooden ladders
VT	Long Trail	Burnt Mountain & Mount Ira Allen (Green Mountain National Forest)	one (ugly / Home-Depot style) metal ladder within 'Ladder Ravine'
VT	Long Trail	Gen. Stark Mountain (Green Mountain National Forest)	at least one wooden ladder
VT	Long Trail	Mount Mansfield (Green Mountain National Forest)	several (two? three?) wooden ladders

Sugarloaf Trail, Middle Sugarloaf, NH

ladder on the Hi-Cannon Trail, NH

Hi-Cannon Trail, Cannon Mountain, NH

ladders on the Willey Range Trail, Mt. Willey, NH

Willey Range Trail, Mount Willey, NH (photo by Chris De Nuzzio)

metal rungs on the Precipice Trail, ME

Precipice Trail, Champlain Mountain, Acadia National Park, Maine

ladder on the Beech Cliff Ladder Trail, ME

Beech Cliff Ladder Trail, Acadia National Park, ME

wooden stairs on the Osseo Trail, Mount Flume, NH

Osseo Trail, Mount Flume, NH

ladder on the Mt. Morgan Trail, Mt. Morgan, NH

Mount Morgan Trail, Mount Morgan, NH

Metal Rungs on the Lambert Ridge Trail, Smarts Mountain, New Hampshire

GUIDEBOOKS TO GET YOU THERE

The following published guidebooks are trusted resources to help you find most of the best trails that have ladders or metal rungs in New England. Click on any of the books to read reviews and/or to purchase them on Amazon.com.

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