For an introduction to sunset hiking see Hiking NH Mountains for Sunset. Being in the mountains at sunset is a lot of fun! Late afternoon light is great for photography and sunset color is beautiful. Once a month there is the added bonus of full-moon rise. [See the U.S. Navy's Astronomical website to find out on what date the moon is full, at what time the moon will rise and where to look for moonrise on the horizon.] A good time of year for sunset hikes is fall, when the sun sets early and evenings are still warm. I prefer to hike down the trail I just hiked up, often enjoying a twilight/moonlight descent without headlamp. Good candidate peaks can be found on the NH 52 With-A-View list, since these all have good views and the hike down is easier than most of the NH 4000-Footers.
Below is my personal list of 79 sunset hikes (in alphabetic order):|
Bald -- muted color Bald Knob -- Lake Winnipesaukee Belknap -- muted color Big Ball -- lake sunglow Blue Job -- snow flurries Bog -- brimstone sky Bond -- night hike Boott Spur -- local clouds Boulder Loop -- stray clouds Boy -- southern Presidentials Cannon -- moonrise (Jun, Sep) Cardigan -- varying sunset display Carrigain -- sunrise/moonset Cherry -- pink clouds Chocorua -- fine views Cotton -- occluded moon Crawford -- Mt. Washington twilight Crotched -- moonrise (May) Cube -- moonrise (Dec) Eagle Cliff -- Squam Lake Federal Hill -- blue moon Fort -- cloudy sunset Foss -- orange sunset Garfield Ridge -- abstract sunset Green -- dramatic sunset Hayes -- moonrise (Feb) Hedgehog -- encroaching storm |
Hight -- sunrise Holt's Ledge -- ski area Horse Hill -- moonset Hyland Hill -- green flash Israel -- dissipating storm clouds Kearsarge -- great color Kearsarge North -- pastel moonrise Kinsman -- moonrise (Jul) Lafayette -- sudden storm Lonesome Lake -- twilight moonrise Lovewell -- Halfmoon Pond Major -- Winnipesaukee view Massabesic -- frozen lake Middle Sister -- copper sunset Moat, South -- moonrise (Jan) Monadnock -- moonrise (Jan) Moosilauke -- wide vista Oak Hill -- sunset Osceola -- limited color Pack Monadnock -- moon through clouds Pack Monadnock, North -- cairn silhouette Pawtuckaway South -- sunset Pemigewasset -- moonrise (Sep) Pinnacle -- winter sunset Pitcher -- moonrise (Jun) Potash -- mountain silhouette |
Rattlesnake -- late sun / twilight Rattlesnake, West -- Squam Lake Red Bench -- moonrise over Washington Red Hill -- eerie blue vista Roberts -- varied beauty Rose -- moonrise (Nov) Rowe -- dappled clouds Squam -- Squam Lake Stinson -- subdued color Stratham Hill -- pastel color Sugarloaf -- moonrise (Nov) Sunapee -- moonrise (Oct) Table Rock -- tree silhouettes Tecumseh -- moonrise (Dec) Tom -- pastel sunset Tremont -- dark clouds Twin, South -- mountain panorama Uncanoonuc -- sunbeams, fireglow Uncanoonuc South -- cloud swirl Ward Reservation -- tree silhouette Webster -- foliage and twilight Weir Hill -- sunset and moonrise (Feb) Welch -- Franconia Ridge twilight Whiteface (Belknap) -- morphing color Willard -- Crawford Notch sunset Winn -- November sunset |
Names for the Full Moon:
| Month | Name |
|---|---|
| January | Wolf |
| February | Snow |
| March | Worm |
| April | Pink |
| May | Milk |
| June | Strawberry |
| July | Buck |
| August | Sturgeon |
| September | Harvest |
| October | Hunters |
| November | Beaver |
| December | Cold |
| (extra) | (Blue) |