Mount Madison, at 5,363 feet, is the northernmost summit of the Presidential Range and the fifth highest peak in New Hampshire. Its summit sits entirely above treeline on a field of rough granite boulders, and on clear days the views sweep north toward the lowlands of Randolph and south along the Presidential ridge to the cone of Mount Washington.
The most-traveled approach is the Valley Way Trail, an 8.4-mile round trip from the Appalachia trailhead on Route 2 in Randolph. Valley Way follows Snyder Brook through sheltered boreal forest, staying protected from the wind almost all the way to the AMC's Madison Spring Hut, which sits in the col between Madison and Adams at roughly 4,800 feet. From the hut, the Osgood Trail climbs the open rocky summit cone in under half a mile. The Howker Ridge Trail provides a more varied alternative, starting from Dolly Copp Road and traversing a series of subsidiary ridges called the Howks with sustained views across to Carter Notch. Star Lake, a small alpine tarn in the basin between Madison and Adams, is worth the short detour on any of these routes.
Weather on the northern Presidentials can shift rapidly. The exposed summit offers no shelter from wind or lightning, and appropriate layers are essential at any time of year.
David Andre
