I love winter hiking, but I get that it isn’t for most. It’s not the easiest recreational activity, both effort-wise and logistically. Especially this winter, when the snow keeps piling on. But, if you’re willing to give it a try, I’m willing to bet that you’ll find the experience very rewarding.
My new rhythm for my spirit, health, and mind, is to climb a mountain each week. Or at least have a mountain experience. Last week I went backcountry skiing somewhere, and I’d love to tell you all about it, but I’m forbidden to speak of the location. Well, I could tell you, but then, no—I wouldn’t have to kill you. But a hit might be put out on me by the backcountry community, of which I am a mere applicant hoping to be accepted. I can’t take the risk.
But I can tell you about one of the more local hikes I’ve been taking lately, with my dog Bullet.
He looks pissed here, but I swear, he loves it.
Wildcat Conservation Area
In southern New Hampshire, there are literally hundreds of places to bust out the snowshoes right now, or the microspikes, if you know where to look. The easiest way to find them is to enter “hiking trails near me” in Google Maps. You’ll be surprised how many are near you.
One of the places I’ve found using this strategy is in Merrimack, NH, where the Souhegan River cascades down the bedrock in a section known as Wildcat Falls. Located in the Wildcat Conservation Area, I’ve explored the area a few times so far this winter, and on each visit I’m taken by how the waterfall seems too large to belong in Merrimack. I can picture it up north in the mountains more readily than down in the Merrimack valley. But there it is, thundering past a few homes on its way to meet up with the Merrimack River.
Exploring What’s Around You
Wherever you live, you no doubt have some natural formation you wouldn’t expect to see near you. Some river or hillside, tucked in behind the strip malls or a waterfall in that sleepy town next door you never check out. Merrimack certainly isn’t sleepy, though, and that’s what surprised me the most when I first discovered Wildcat Falls. I was waiting for my son’s baseball game near the high school to start, and had an hour to go exploring. After a quick search in Google Maps, I was shocked to see that a waterfall was near me. I couldn’t hear it. I didn’t even know a river was nearby.
The area around Merrimack high school has a host of recreational fields, and is tucked in between a busy section of the Daniel Webster Highway and the Everett Turnpike. It’s not an area you’d expect to go hiking. But the Souhegan River passes under the Everett Turnpike here and tracing it with your finger on the map, you’ll quickly find what’s called the Wildcat Conservation Area. Here is where you can take the Falls Loop Trail to Wildcat Falls.
A shortcut trail bypasses the Falls Loop Trail, but it’s snowy right now. Take snowshoes to avoid getting wet.
The Falls Loop Trail — Wildcat Falls
An easy hike, no more than 1.5 miles long, it’s worth checking out if you’re in the area. It’s easy to explore in the winter as well—even if you don’t want to bother with snowshoes or spikes. One of the trail’s caretakers actually plows a section of it leading right up to the river, so you don’t have to deal with extra gear if you don’t want to. But to actually see the falls you have to walk a little further, and if snowshoe-less, expect to get your pants a little wet because there is a fair amount of snow to trudge through right now.
On the Falls Loop Trail, I’ve sometimes used snowshoes, sometimes not. Once I used spikes, but only to be cautious around the ledge overlooking the falls. But regardless of what you want to use, you have options to access it, which makes this a great place to get outside during the winter. And because it’s so accessible, there’s no excuse not to check it out. Right?