South Baldface, North Baldface, and Eagle Crag via Baldface Circle Trail
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South Baldface, North Baldface, and Eagle Crag NH Hike Overview
South Baldface (3,576'), North Baldface (3,597'), and Eagle Crag (3,020') are three mountains on the 52 With a View List, offering some of the best views in the White Mountains. The Baldface Circle Trail is also on the Terrifying 25 List because of its strenuous rock scrambles, but the views at each summit make the effort worth it!
Trail details
Trail: Baldface Circle Trail
Length: 10 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,400 feet
My Trail Time: 5.5 hours hiking; 6.5 hours total
Hike Overview
As I mentioned, the Baldface Circle Trail is on the Terrifying 25 List because of how steep and strenuous it is. Once the trail reaches the ledges, it gains over 1,300 feet in less than a mile, and areas require you to use your hands and feet to climb the ledges, so I do not recommend hiking it if it has rained recently. I also highly recommend following the loop clockwise to ascend the ledges.
Although you can hike only to the Baldfaces, I recommend adding on Eagle Crag to the hike. Eagle Crag is about 0.2 miles off Baldface Circle Trail, making it easy to check off another beautiful mountain.
South Baldface, North Baldface, and Eagle Crag NH via Baldface Circle Trail Guide
July 2, 2024
**Always remember to leave no trace. It is crucial to pack out what you pack in and throw away your trash properly.
The Baldface Circle Trail has been high on my hiking bucket list for the last few years because I have heard nothing but amazing things about it. Once I hiked it, I could check off three mountains on the 52 With a View List and one trail on the Terrifying 25 List.
We decided to hike the Baldface Circle Trail on a beautiful bluebird July day because we wanted to make sure we would get views and have dry ledges. We started the hike around 8 AM, and the parking lot was full! I got the last spot in the parking lot, which seemed crazy until I remembered it was the 4th of July week.
The first few miles of the Baldface Circle Trail were very gradual which was a nice warm-up for the ledges. After about 0.8 miles, the trail connects with the Emerald Pool Trail which leads to a stunning swimming area. We decided to visit it on our descent to swim and cool down after the hike.
The trail junction with Emerald Pool is also the Baldface Circle Loop junction. I highly recommend following the loop clockwise to ascend the steep ledges. I would not want to try descending the ledges.
We turned left at the trail junction and continued for about two miles before reaching the Baldface Shelter. It was a great spot to take a break and use the restroom before continuing to the ledges.
Right after the trail passed the Baldface Shelter, it became incredibly steep, and we arrived at the iconic ledges. This section of the Baldface Circle Trail put it on the Terrifying 25 List, so I was excited to tackle it!
The ledges were VERY steep, and many areas required us to use our hands and feet to climb them. There were even a few spots where I had difficulty figuring out how to get up, but we were totally fine! We took our time ascending the ledges and had fun with it.
Once we reached the top of the ledges, we were on a beautiful ridgeline and could see South Baldface. The last section of the Baldface Circle Trail to South Baldface was steep but seemed like nothing after the ledges.
Soon enough, we reached South Baldface and had stunning views overlooking Maine and New Hampshire. We decided to hang out at the summit to enjoy the views, eat a snack, and rest before continuing.
After a half-hour on South Baldface, we decided to continue to North Baldface. The mile between South and North Baldface was pretty gradual except the last section just before North Baldface. It was the steepest section, but it was short!
North Baldface, in my opinion, has the best views. Although all three summits have 360-degree views, I fell in love with everything we could see from North Baldface. We stayed at the summit for a half hour enjoying more snacks and views.
From North Baldface we continued on the Baldface Circle Trail towards Eagle Crag. This section of the trail descended steeply into the woods, and many of the areas I crab walked down, haha.
After about 0.8 miles, we came to the Bricknell Ridge Trail junction. We continued straight, and after another 0.2 miles, we approached the Baldface Circle Trail junction. If we were not hiking to Eagle Crag, we would have turned right to begin the descent. Since Eagle Crag was only a short walk from the trail junction, we added it to our hike.
Eagle Crag is not as bald as South and North Baldface, but the views were still stunning! We did not stay on the summit for too long though because we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time for the descent. We turned around on Eagle Crag to head back to the Baldface Circle Trail junction and then turned left to begin the descent.
The first half mile of the descent was the steepest, but compared to the ledges, it did not seem too bad. After that, the trail became a bit wet and muddy which brought out the bugs. We luckily did not encounter any other bugs along the trail, but they were pretty bad during our descent.
The next two miles on the Baldface Circle Trail were pretty uneventful, and although the trail was wet, we did not have any issues descending the trail. Just before we reached the Baldface Circle Loop junction, we had to cross two rivers. Both were relatively easy to rock-hop across, but the second would be a little precarious after heavy rain.
When we arrived at the loop junction, we turned left to visit Emerald Pool. Surprisingly, there were not many people there, and we enjoyed a swim with only a handful of other people. But our luck ran out about ten minutes later when a large group of people arrived, so we decided to pack up and finish the trail.
The final stretch of the Baldface Circle Trail flew by, and before we knew it, we were back at the parking lot! There were a ton of cars parked along the street since the parking lot was full, which made us grateful for starting earlier and enjoying the trail with fewer crowds.
The Baldface Circle Trail is easily one of my new favorite trails in the White Mountains! The ledges were so fun, and the views from each summit were spectacular.
Have you hiked South Baldface, North Baldface, and Eagle Crag?
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!