Mount Adams and Mount Madison via Valley Way Trail
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Mount Adams and Mount Madison Hike Overview
Mount Adams (5,794’) and Mount Madison (5,367’) are among the tallest mountains in New Hampshire sitting in the Presidential Range. These two mountains are often hiked together, and some consider the hike among the most strenuous, but the views are well worth it!
Trail Details
Trail: Valley Way Trail > Star Lake Trail > Osgood Trail
Length: 10.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 5,000 feet
My Trail Time: 7 hours hiking; 7:45 hours total
Hike Overview
There are many different trails to Mount Adams and Mount Madison and all gain between 4,000 - 5,000 feet of elevation with rock scrambling. Expect to get your butt kicked in a good way!
The most popular way to hike these mountains is as a loop, ascending the Airline Trail and descending Valley Way Trail. We decided to hike it as an out-and-back via Valley Way Trail because the winds were predicted to be over 60 mph, and the Airline Trail is incredibly exposed.
Valley Way Trail is, to be honest, not my favorite trail. It is one of those trails that feels like it is a never-ending trail, but it is a great way to ascend these mountains if you do not want to hike an exposed trail.
Mount Adams and Mount Madison Hike via Valley Way Trail Guide
September 22, 2019
**Always remember to leave no trace. It is crucial to pack out what you pack in and throw away your trash properly.
Chelsea and I began the hike to Mount Adams and Mount Madison at 8:30 AM on a B-E-A-Utiful September day! The summit was predicted to be 60° which was INCREDIBLE for this late in September! We were so excited about a cloudless, warm day taking in the beautiful views of the White Mountains.
The hike to Mount Adams and Mount Madison is usually done as a loop up Airline to Mount Adams, down Star Lake, up Osgood to Mount Madison, and down Osgood to Valley Way since both Airline and Valley Way trails begin in the same parking lot. We, however, decided to hike this as an out and back via Valley Way because the wind gusts were predicted to get up to 50-60 mph. The Airline Trail is mainly above the treeline, so we thought it would be safer to be below the treeline longer in case the winds picked up!
Valley Way Trail was a relatively straightforward hike with gradual inclines. The first mile of Valley Way Trail was a great warm-up for the steeper inclines to come! There were many junctions along the trail, so I suggest paying close attention to where you are going to ensure you stay on the trail you need! After the first mile, we came to our first junction and continued on Valley Way Trail. The next 1.5 miles climbed more steeply but leveled out between each section which was a great break! As I said before, Valley Way Trail isn’t anything memorable, so it’s one we simply pushed through.
We soon approached a junction with Watson Path which would have brought us straight to Mount Madison after another 1.5 miles of hiking. I heard people who hiked Watson Path say they regretted it because of the steepness lol, so we decided to continue on Valley Way Trail. The final 1.4 miles of Valley Way Trail were a constant steep incline, but I promise when you feel like you can’t make it any longer, Madison Spring Hut will suddenly appear!
We arrived at Madison Spring Hut at 10:30 AM and decided to take this time to use their bathroom before heading to Mount Adams. The hut offered delicious snacks for only a few dollars! They smelled so good, but sadly, neither of us had cash on us.
After our quick break at Madison Spring Hut, we began the hike on Star Lake Trail to Mount Adams. This 1-mile trail was DIFFICULT. The first half of Star Lake Trail is very straightforward, but the second half is a steep and rocky push to the summit of Mount Adams. We were at times climbing straight up the side of Mount Adams… It was super difficult, don’t get me wrong, but it was fun! It was difficult at times to follow Star Lake Trail, so we made sure to look for rock cairns to help guide us. OH YEAH… and there were about 43754302 false summits, so that was fun. We were like WE MADE IT and soon realized we still had more to climb lol.
After an hour of rock scrambling and false summiting, we finally made it to the beautiful summit of Mount Adams! The winds picked up here, but it felt great because it was very warm on the summit. And the views were out of this world! There was not a cloud in the sky, so we could see for miles. It was breathtaking! We soaked up the views on Mount Adams for about a half-hour while enjoying our lunch.
We finally tore our eyes away from the amazing view and began our scramble down Mount Adams. I used my hands a lot of on the way down because honestly, it was difficult lol. I felt way more in control on the rock scrambles using my hands. Some people just rock hop their way down SO fast, but that was not me. I don’t feel safe doing that!
After another hour of hiking on Star Lake Trail, we were back at the hut! We took a few minutes to fill up our hydration packs before heading up Osgood Trail to Mount Madison’s summit. As soon as we started on Osgood Trail, the scramble to the summit began. It was a constant, steep push, so we kept our heads down and kept hiking rather than looking up to see how far we had to go. Osgood Trail was only 0.4 miles to Mount Madison’s summit, but it made us put in some hard work! After about 20 minutes, we made it to Mount Madison’s summit! The wind was picking up, so we only stayed on Mount Madison for 15 minutes and enjoyed the view. We met a lot of great hikers on the summit, and it made me love the hiking community even more (didn’t think it was possible to love it more)!
After enjoying our snack and the views on Mount Madison, we began our final descent. It took us another 20 minutes to get back to Madison Spring Hut because the rock scrambles were tough going down, similar to Mount Adams. After we arrived at Madison Spring Hut, we turned directly onto Valley Way Trail and continued our descent. We thought we were going to beat our ascent time, but it took us 2 hours to get back to the car. I think we were going much faster during our ascent than we thought…
The descent was kind of a blur. We were just making our way quickly down to the car and chatting away, so it went by quickly! Soon enough, we were back at the car at 4:15 PM and were feeling TIRED. It was a long and tough hike to Mount Adams and Mount Madison, but one of my new favorite hikes!
Have you hiked Mount Adams and Mount Madison? Which trails did you take?
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!