Also known as: North Piper
Piper Mountain (2,044 ft) sits in the Belknap Range, a compact cluster of peaks spread across New Hampshire's Lakes Region between Lake Winnipesaukee and the Merrimack Valley. The mountain extends a short ridge with two summits, each capped by open ledges. The north peak is the more heavily visited, famous among regulars for the stone chairs and benches that hikers have assembled over the years from surrounding rock; the south peak, connected by a quarter-mile spur via the Piper-Whiteface Link Trail, adds another vantage point over the same broad lake-and-ridge panorama.
The Piper Mountain Trail is the main approach, leaving Carriage Road and climbing 1.3 miles through hardwood and spruce forest before breaking out on summit ledges. A view southwest to Mt. Kearsarge appears partway up. The shorter Old Piper Trail provides a faster approach from the Belknap-Piper col, gaining only 250 feet over 0.5 miles; a viewpoint along this route overlooks Manning and Sunset Lakes above a wide scree field. The two trails combine naturally into a loop that also takes in neighboring Belknap Mountain.
From the summit ledges, the views spread across a landscape of lakes, including Lake Winnipesaukee to the east and Lake Winnisquam to the west, with the Ossipee and Sandwich ranges visible to the north and Mt. Washington appearing on clear days. Ice and snow make the upper ledges slippery in cold conditions; the Carriage Road access gate closes in the evenings and over winter, so early-season hikers should confirm access before heading up.
