South Hancock Mountain - 4,319'
Hike Statistics
Total Distance: 9.8 miles (with Mount Hancock)
Elevation Gain: 2,500 feet
Hiking Time: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Difficulty: Difficult
Season: Summer
Hiking this peak in winter? Click here!
Hike date: 06/22/2018
Description: South Hancock Mountain is located on the southern end of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. The summit is wooded, but a nearby outlook offers limited views of the surrounding area. Using the route below, you’ll have the opportunity to summit two 4,000 footers, enjoy a loop trail, take in nice views from outlooks, and experience river crossings.
Trails Used: Ascend via Hancock Notch Trail to Cedar Brook Trail to Hancock Loop Trail. At the Loop Trail, we ascended up towards Mount Hancock (the North Peak) first then went over to South Hancock (you can do it either way). After South Hancock, descend the Hancock Loop Trail back to Cedar Brook Trail and return the same way you came in.
Trail Summary: The trailhead parking lot can be found on the Kancamagus Highway right after the hairpin turn. You can follow the path from the corner of the parking lot down to the road, where you can then cross the road and be at the trailhead for the Hancock Notch Trail. The lower portion of this trail is very flat and gentle, as it follows an old railroad grade. The terrain is mostly dirt mixed with some roots and rocks - nothing too difficult. After 0.6 miles of relatively flat terrain, you’ll cross a small brook. The trail continues gently, though it does start to rise slightly, for another 1.2 miles where you’ll find yourself along the North Fork of the Hancock Branch. You know you’ll be close to the first junction when you cross three brooks in quick succession. After those crossings, you’ll come to an intersection with the Cedar Brook Trail. At this point, you’ve traveled 1.8 miles and have gained about 400 feet in elevation.
At this point, you’ll take a left onto the Cedar Brook Trail and immediately cross a small brook. The trail then climbs moderately for 0.2 miles before it begins three crossings of the North Fork in the next 0.4 miles. These crossings can be very difficult if the water is high, so use caution! When we were here, the water was very low so it wasn’t an issue. In another 0.1 miles, you’ll reach the Hancock Loop Trail junction. On the 0.7 miles you were on the Cedar Brook Trail, you’ll have gained about 200 feet in elevation.
The Hancock Loop Trail makes getting both Hancocks a possibility. The first 1.1 miles of this trail will take you to the actual loop. The trail climbs moderately, gaining 700 feet in this period, over rocky and rooty terrain. Once you get to the loop, you can go either direction. We chose to ascend up to Mount Hancock (North Hancock) first (going left at the junction) since it’s a bit steeper and rougher. From the loop junction to the summit, it’s only 0.7 miles but about 1,100 feet of elevation! This trail is steep! It starts out by ascending at a moderate grade, but it quickly becomes very steep and rough. There are lots of small loose rocks a majority of the way. It’s really just a steady grind as you push higher. As you approach the top, the trail starts to even out again. At the true summit, there is a path that leads to a ledge with a great view.
The first junction: Cedar Brook Trail
The small brook crossing directly after the turning onto the Cedar Brook Trail
One of the bigger river crossings on the Cedar Brook Trail - there are two others similar to this
Lots of roots on the trails; enjoying the gradual grade and the open forest
Arriving to the loop portion of the Hancock Loop Trail; we took a left here and went to Mount Hancock (North Peak) first
Typical terrain on the way up to Mount Hancock. Lots of loose rock and steep grades
Enjoying the view from the outlook near the summit of Mount Hancock
Looking in this direction at the outlook, you can see the Tripyramids and Osceolas in the distance
After enjoying some snacks, we then headed along the ridge over to South Hancock. The trail descends moderately into a col and weaves through the woods with a lot of small ups and downs. The trail is mostly dirt with slippery roots - we both fell once due to this. Eventually, you’ll start climbing up to the summit of South Hancock. There is a small path that drops slightly to a nice viewpoint. Here, we enjoyed our lunch and summit drinks before heading down South Hancock.
From the summit back to the loop junction, it’s 0.5 miles and 900 feet elevation loss. The upper portion of this trail has very poor footing and lots of loose rock. The descent is certainly steep, and care is needed to make sure you don’t have a fall. Once you’re back at the loop junction, you’ll retrace your steps all the way back out to the car. We were able to make good time on the 3.6 miles back to the car since the terrain offers very good footing and very gradual elevation loss.
A cool tree in the col between the two Hancock peaks
Taking in the views at the outlook just below the summit of South Hancock
The outlook offers limited views of the area
Alternative routes:
We have not yet done any alternative routes to the summit of South Hancock Mountain. This page will be updated once we have!
Hiking South Hancock Mountain in the winter
We have not yet climbed South Hancock Mountain in the winter, but once we do, we will update this page with our full report!
Questions? Comments? Want to share your take on this hike? Get in touch with us using the contact page!
As experienced hikers, we always make sure that we are hiking with The Ten Essentials which include navigation, a headlamp, sun protection, first aid, a knife, shelter, extra food, water and clothes. Overtime, we have discovered some items that we always bring on our hikes and consider them to be our personal, expanded ten essentials.