Sugarloaf (Stratford) sits in the Nash Stream Forest of northern New Hampshire's Coos County, making it one of the northernmost peaks on the NH 52 With a View list. At 3,703 feet, the summit is open and ledgy, with remnants of a fire lookout tower that burned in 1982 still visible near the upper trail.
The Sugarloaf Mountain Trail covers 4.2 miles round-trip with about 2,200 feet of gain. The route begins on a wide snowmobile corridor, passes a small waterfall, and then splits onto an old jeep track that climbs steeply and without much relief all the way to the top. There are no technical challenges, but the sustained pitch earns the trail a hard rating; the final mile is the steepest section. A lush belt of ferns lines the trail in the upper reaches before rock slabs emerge near the summit.
Two viewpoints offer the payoff: a clearing near the trail's end looks out across the Nash Stream watershed toward Maine, and ledges just past the summit sign open toward the White Mountains. Nash Stream Road, the access route, is a seasonal dirt road that closes in late fall and typically reopens in late spring. Insects can be severe in summer, particularly higher on the mountain.
