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Mount Sunapee, the summit rises to the left, extends south along the Pillsbury-Sunapee Highlands, as seen from Goshen, NH.
Mount Sunapee—Sunapee Mountain, as charted on federal
maps—is located in western New Hampshire and rises to its highest point at
2,726 feet above sea level. Along the five-mile ridge, there are secondary
peaks—White Ledges (2,716 feet), North Peak (2,290 feet) and South Peak (2,608
feet). At the northern end of the ridge is the summit, located within Mount
Sunapee State Park in Newbury, NH. The state park extends west into Goshen, east to Newbury Harbor, and
south along the Pillsbury-Sunapee Highlands to Pillsbury
State Park.
Mount Sunapee is an iconic mountain—beloved for its
natural, cultural, recreational and historical resources. On and around the
mountain there are diverse ecosystems, varied forestland and important water
resources; vast acreage of protected land provides habitat for
wildlife and open space for public outdoor enjoyment, discovery and recreation.
 Within the boundary of Mount Sunapee State Park, there is rare, Old Growth forest and, high on
the Sunapee Ridge, sits Lake Solitude—a spectacular, highland tarn or mountain
lake. The White Cliffs rise steeply from Lake Solitude’s western shore and
provide for spectacular views. (Photo, right: Lake Solitude)
Formed in 1948 by legislative act, Mount Sunapee State Park
now encompasses approximately 2900 acres. The trails and othe recreational assets are managed by NH Parks and Recreation, a
division of the Department of Resources and Economic Development. The park
takes in both the mountain’s summit, the ski area and shore land on Lake Sunapee, where the
state operates a public beach. The state also maintains a summer campground on
the mountain.
The Ski Area
In 1998, after 50 years of public investment and operational management, the state
leased the ski area, approximately 968 acres at Mount Sunapee State Park, to a
private company (Okemo, Inc. from Vermont) and the ski area was immediately renamed and rebranded Mount Sunapee Resort.
The New
England Handicapped Sports Association now maintains facilities at the ski area within the park. And in the summer, in August, the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, the oldest fair in the nation, holds
its celebrated Craftsmen’s fair at the base of the mountain.
Hiking Trails
As they have for centuries, paths and trails
traverse Mount Sunapee, and are an important part of the mountain's heritage and the public's mountain experiences.
In the early 1900s, before establishment of the state park,
Herbert Welsh, known as the Walking Crusader, initiated the first land protection
efforts on Mount Sunapee. At the time, large manufacturing companies were clearing cutting the mountain's highlands and around the summit for the timber. Welsh and the fledgling Society for the Protection of
New Hampshire Forests intervened. They organized, purchased and protected hundreds of acres on Mount Sunapee, and then went on to build and maintain hiking
trails on the mountain.
In 1915, the Forest Society published the "Manual of Mount
Sunapee" that chronicled the geology and natural history
of the area. It eloquently spoke about the importance of
“preserving the mountain for the enjoyment of all.”
In 2008, the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition updated its area guide that includes maps and descriptions of hiking trails on Mount Sunapee. SRK's 75-mile trail network, the so called Emerald Necklace, links the three peaks: Mount Sunapee, Ragged Mountain and Mount Kearsarge.
Also, there is the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway that links Sunapee
and Mount Monadnock, 50 miles south in Jaffrey, NH.
Wild Goose Waters
The name Sunapee is said to be derived from two Algonquin
Indian words that are interpreted to mean the “wild goose waters.” The Penacook Indians,
it is told, hunted the area heavily and, in the spring, would travel from the
shores of the Merrimack River to the Waters of the Wild Goose, Lake Sunapee, to
fish for spotted trout.
In earlier days, settlers often adopted permanent Indian
paths for roads, and that occurred here, as well. In fact, remnants of the
old Province Road, an 18th century carriage road that extended into
the state’s western province, cuts through the area is memorialized by a
small plaque at the entrance of Mount Sunapee State Park.
The plaque relates
the road’s history: “The Province Road 1769 - Military Road 1754 - Scout Path
1743 - Penacook Trail.”
Help FOMS tell the story of Mount Sunapee. Send us your
experiences, photos and video clips, and if you have reference materials or
history to relate about the mountain, please contact us.
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