This extensive blue-blazed route spans nearly thirty-nine kilometers from the shores of Elk Lake deep into the High Peaks, offering what is often considered one of the more remote approaches to the region's loftiest summits. Maintained by the state, the trail serves backpackers willing to commit to a long wilderness traverse, its blue disk markers threading through varied terrain that rewards stamina with solitude. The distance and elevation gain make this less a day hike than a multi-day undertaking, though strong parties have been known to push through in a single effort when conditions favor speed.
These pages get richer when visitors contribute. Drop a photo, log a trip, save the spot, or send a correction — every addition makes the next visitor’s page better.
Sunrise at the col, a cairn at the summit, a sunset that ought to be shared. Your camera roll, our archive.
+ Add photos →Trail conditions, mud, blowdown, water crossings. The kind of detail that helps the next person plan.
Write a report →Build a list of trails to take, peaks to climb, places to come back to. One click.
Save trail →Wrong distance. Trail rerouted. A coordinate that’s drifted. We’d rather hear it than miss it.
Suggest an edit →
What to do, where to stay, and what's reopening across the Park as the snow melts and the calendar fills.

A complete planning guide: difficulty by peak, common combo days, seasonal realities, and a sortable, filterable table of every summit.

Brook trout streams that have been here since the glaciers, lake trout in two hundred feet of cold water, smallmouth on every shoreline — and a sortable atlas of every major water in the Park.