Derry Hill

Length: 2.4 mile loop

Difficulty (click for info): Beginner

Elevation Gain: 340 feet (loop total)

Rating (click for info): 4/10

Elevation: 1669' (true summit), 1588' (High Blue), and 1620' (east viewpoint)

Prominence: 494'

Driving Directions:
Trailhead and parking area are on Scovill Road in Walpole, NH. From the junction of Rt. 12 and Rt. 12A in Keene, go north on Rt. 12A for 0.8 miles to a traffic circle. Take the third exit (turn left) onto Old Walpole Road. Drive 5.8 miles on Old Walpole Road, then turn right onto Crehore Road. In 0.2 miles, turn left onto Merriam Road. Continue 0.4 miles, then turn right onto Scovill Road. Drive 0.4 miles to an unmarked four-way intersection and pull into a small parking area next to the road on the left. Click here for a Google map.

About the Hike:
This easy loop will bring you to two limited viewpoints in the Forest Society's High Blue Reservation. It's a nice gentle forest ramble through historic pasture land with open fields, old roads, and stone walls. The terrain is easy and provides a nice variety of scenery including views in different directions over the course of a quick two and a half mile loop. The views are best to see when the leaves are off the trees.

Start walking down the rough dirt road you parked next to (a left turn at the intersection). A short descent leads past a wetland area and to the trailhead for the Vista Loop on the left in a quarter mile. The trail climbs very gradually, soon crossing a field with a view of Mt. Monadnock. It re-enters the woods past a gate at the top of the field and flattens out. The trail passes a tiny pool in the woods, then arrives at the High Blue viewpoint, marked with a sign, after 0.35 miles. A bench sits at the top of a cleared area with a view of Stratton Mountain in Vermont. From here, the trail meanders through the woods across the broad top of the hill for 0.4 mile, eventually swinging right then left and ending at the dirt road. Turn left and walk about 0.2 miles on the road until you see a sign for Falkner Loop Trail on the right. This mossy and rocky path runs around the east side of the hill and passes a very limited view to the east with another bench, about 35 feet below the summit of Derry Hill, in 0.2 miles from the road. Past here, the trail runs 0.1 miles downhill, takes a right turn, and swings around the south side of the hill for 0.3 miles before returning to the dirt road. It's a walk of another 0.3 miles back to the start of the loop.

Printable directions page