A short hike with a view in the White Mountains

New Hampshire’s White Mountains are a hiker’s paradise, featuring some of the best trails in the Northeast.

And such a variety! (Always a plus for hikers with Parkinson’s disease.) You can choose to take a mile-long loop to a waterfall, summit a 4,000-foot peak, or backpack for days though wilderness.

View of mountain

The one thing the trails do have in common is … they go up. And down. Elevation is part of the equation in the “Whites,” as the mountain range is called.


If this is your first time in the region, I suggest something under three miles with less than 1,000 feet of elevation gain. That would be a sensible warmup if you’re aiming to reach higher heights in the White Mountains as well.


I found a nice option for hikers with Parkinson’s who want to get a high view without hours of trudging upward.

The view is at Artist’s Bluff, an overlook with space for artists’ easels and photographers’ tripods. The bluff draws the most crowds during the fall leaf peeping season.

Sign that says "Bald Mountain Artists Bluff"

The trail is 1.5 miles in a loop.

Artist’s Bluff trailhead is easy to get to, and there’s plenty of nearby parking. The trail is well marked and has 435 feet of elevation gain.

Mr. Unshakable and I went out on a partly cloudy Saturday in the spring. It was a 15-minute drive from Lincoln, one of the larger towns in the region that caters to visitors. When we got to the trailhead at 9:30 a.m., there were only six cars in the lot.

We decided to take the trail going in a clockwise direction because we like to go uphill right away on hikes — you know, to get the hardest part over and done with. However, near the end we encountered a very steep section going down. Big steps down can be difficult to negotiate, so perhaps going counterclockwise is best. In fact, it appears that most people do on this particular trail. We zigged; others zagged.

Rocky trail with trees

The uphill start had us huffing and puffing pretty quickly. The trail had inset rocks that you could mostly step around. See the red blaze on that tree? Those marks made it easy to stay on the trail.

After about 10 minutes, we came to an optional spur. It went to Bald Mountain and would add .4 miles to the trek, as well as a good bit of climbing up. You have to scramble over rocks to get to the lookout. We were feeling mighty in both body and spirit, so we went for it.

The side trip added about 20 minutes to the trek, but the view on top was worth it.

Woman hiking up rocks

Back on the main trail, we continued uphill, but here it wasn’t as steep as at the start.

We navigated using the red blazes as we hiked around rocks and tree roots.

You may or may not need trekking poles, depending on your situation and abilities. You’ll really appreciate them for better balance going down, however. So will your knees.

Rock with "bluff" written on it

The trail started to head down a bit, and we wondered if we had missed the bluff. But we hadn’t. We came to another spur to the left with a rock displaying painted directions: “BLUFF” with an arrow.

A couple in front of a mountain view

A few steps later we were on the bluff! The southward view caught lovely Echo Lake, stately Mount Liberty and other big peaks, and, well, a ski resort. (Hey, skiers are people, too.) We stayed a few minutes and snapped photos.

As we continued downward on the trail, the steps got very steep. It was slow going; poles would’ve been handy.

At the bottom of the bluff, we turned around to look where we’d just been and saw rock climbers on the face, just below the bluff’s shelf.

A man hiking through trees.

Finally, the trail flattened out and followed along close to a road that eventually led us to the parking lot. Prepare yourself – while that last stretch had no elevation gain, it felt like it would never end!

We arrived back at the trailhead, invigorated by the beautiful morning view of the mountains we had earned. Total time on the trail: about an hour and a quarter.


Hike info


PD difficulty level (see chart): moderate
Distance: 1.5 miles in a loop
Elevation gain: 435 feet
Trailhead location: off Rt. 18 next to lot across from Cannon Mountain Ski Area
Bathrooms: portable toilets in parking lot
Emergency medical support: urgent care clinic in Lincoln, N.H., 15 minutes away
Costs: none

Insider tip: If it’s raining, this trail could be dangerously slippery because of mud and wet rocks. Better rainy day options in the White Mountains might be Beede Falls (1 mile out and back) or Old Bridle Path (1.7 miles out and back).

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