Trailhead and parking area are on Slippery Brook Road in Chatham, NH. (Seasonal road - check status on TrailsNH to verify gate status). From the combined Rt. 16/302, 6.5 miles north of their southern junction and 1.6 miles southeast of their northern junction, turn east on Town Hall Road. Drive a quarter mile and go straight across Rt. 16A at a stop sign. After 2.4 miles, bear left at a fork with a row of mailboxes, where the road turns to dirt. Continue 4.0 miles along the road, which becomes somewhat rough, hilly, and windy, as it follows the East Branch of the Saco River. You will come to the trailhead on the right about 0.7 miles after passing East Branch Road on the left. There is a sizeable pull-in parking area. Click here for a Google map.
Chatham’s Mountain Pond sits up on a shelf amidst some of the lower hills between the Kearsarge North and Baldface mountain ranges. Not far from the Maine border, there’s actually no way to get to the pond from any drivable location in Chatham. Though it’s a very short hike to reach the pond, driving to the starting point is a long haul down a dirt road starting from North Conway. The pond is quite scenic, offering shoreside views of the surrounding mountains in every direction as you progress along the 2-mile loop around its oblong perimeter. The hike itself is mainly flat, but a little more difficult than it looks due to the multitudes of unevenly piled rocks around the pond.
Head out on the wide dirt path from the trail sign as it cuts through a stand of hemlocks. The trail crosses a wetland around the outlet brook of the pond, rises slightly through some rocky terrain, and arrives at the junction of the 2-mile loop around the pond after 0.3 miles. Turn right to do the loop around the south side of the pond first. The trail runs down to the outlet brook and crosses it on large rocks. It then heads through a grove of tight spruce trees before gradually approaching the pond. Some faint paths lead out to the water here and there, but the trail finally comes up to the shore around a half mile from the loop junction. Here, in the middle of the southern side, you have a good view in both directions across the blue waters to the low hills around. The trail stays very rocky and uneven as it hugs the shoreline, winding through low bushes. It passes a few more openings with good views over the pond. Soon the rocky pyramid of South Baldface comes into view, with the forested Sable Mountain on its left. As you progress, Doublehead Mountain comes into view looking back to the left.
In 0.4 miles along the shore, the trail begins to swing to the left around the east end of the pond. The trail leaves the shore for a moment, running through hobblebush stands, and returns to pass a couple openings on the far side, looking lengthwise along the pond. The narrow path winds around to the northern shore of the pond, and after half a mile on the east side, passes a grassy cleaing and reaches the Mountain Pond Shelter. The trail continues close along the north shore, with much better footing and numerous views over the water for the next 0.35 miles, then swings away to the right on a relocated section of trail. It heads straight through the woods for the next quarter mile. Just before returning to the loop junction, an unmarked but obvious spur path leads to the left out to a nice spot adjacent to the marshy outlet, where you can take a farewell look back across the pond.
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