Mount Chocorua rises to 3,490 feet as the easternmost peak of the Sandwich Range, its bare rocky cone visible from much of central New Hampshire and western Maine. Despite its modest elevation, the trailheads sit low, and most routes involve 2,300 to 2,700 feet of gain. Three main approaches cover the mountain well: the Champney Falls Trail from the north passes a long cascade before breaking above treeline; the Piper Trail from the east follows the Chocorua River valley for 4.2 miles to the summit; and the Liberty Trail from the southwest provides a slightly shorter ascent from the other side of the range. The Carter Ledge Trail offers an alternative with exposed granite scrambling on its upper sections.
The summit is a rocky crown with views in every direction. Chocorua Lake lies to the south, and its reflection of the peak was chosen for the 2013 New Hampshire America the Beautiful quarter. Generations of painters have been drawn here; one art historian described it as the most frequently depicted mountain in American art, with Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt among those who returned to it repeatedly. The name itself comes from the Algonquin for "rocky home of the water serpent," tied to a legend about an Abenaki figure who cursed white settlers from the summit.
Trails see heavy use on summer weekends. Ice and snow linger on the upper ledges into May, and the exposed cone calls for care in high winds at any season.
