Mount Washington, Lion Head and Tuckerman Ravine Loop
From Pinkham Notch, the route enters the White Mountain National Forest on the Tuckerman Ravine Trail, climbing through dense northern hardwood and conifer forest beside the Cutler River. An early highlight is Crystal Cascade, where the stream drops through a rocky gorge, before the trail continues steadily uphill toward Hermit Lake and the dramatic glacial bowl of Tuckerman Ravine.
Near Hermit Lake, the loop takes the Lion Head Trail, leaving the ravine floor for a much steeper ascent onto the rocky ridge of Lion Head. Forest gradually gives way to the exposed alpine zone, with increasingly open views over Tuckerman Ravine, Pinkham Notch and the surrounding Presidential Range. The trail eventually rejoins the upper Tuckerman Ravine Trail beneath the summit cone and climbs across broken rock to Mount Washington, where the summit facilities, historic Tip-Top House and Mount Washington Observatory stand within Mount Washington State Park.
The return follows the Tuckerman Ravine Trail down the rugged upper slopes and through the imposing headwall into the ravine itself, giving a close view of the great cirque that has long been one of the White Mountains’ best-known hiking and skiing landmarks. Beyond Hermit Lake, the two branches of the loop reunite, and the route descends through the forest past Crystal Cascade before returning to Pinkham Notch, completing a varied circuit combining waterfalls, forest, alpine ridges, sweeping mountain scenery and the distinctive summit landscape of Mount Washington.
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- Distance: 12.6 Km
- Elevation gain: 1,325 m
- Maximum elevation: 1,911 m
- Elevation loss: 1,324 m
- Minimum elevation: 617 m
Interactive trail map
Trail profile
- Distance: 12.6 Km
- Elevation gain: 1,325 m
- Maximum elevation: 1,911 m
- Elevation loss: 1,324 m
- Minimum elevation: 617 m
About this trail
Name: Mount Washington, Lion Head and Tuckerman Ravine Loop trail, distance, elevation, map, profile, GPS track
Coordinates: 44.25703 -71.30351 44.27103 -71.25048
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