What To Know About New Hampshire's Historic Crawford Path

There’s something kind of wild about this… you can lace up your boots in New Hampshire and walk a trail that people have been using for more than 200 years. When I go hiking I have never really thought about how long a trail has been there.

It’s called the Crawford Path, and it’s widely recognized as the oldest continuously used hiking trail in the United States.

It was first cut back in 1819 by Ethan Allen Crawford and his dad, Abel, basically clearing a path straight up into the Presidential Range. And here’s the part that gets me… this wasn’t just some casual hiking trail at the time. They actually used it as a route to guide visitors up Mount Washington… sometimes even on horseback.

Think about that for a second. People were climbing the tallest peak in the Northeast… on horses… in the early 1800s.

Credit: Getty Images

According to the Concord Monitor, the trail runs about 8.5 miles from Crawford Notch up to the summit, cutting through some of the most unreal scenery in the White Mountains. You go from forest to full-on above-the-treeline views where it feels more like you’re on another planet than in New England.

And if you’ve ever hiked any part of the Appalachian Trail, there’s a good chance you’ve already stepped on a piece of it without even realizing, because sections overlap.

What I love about this is it’s not just history you read about… it’s history you can actually go do. Same path. Same mountain. Same views but, probably a few less horses now.

So if you’re looking for something different this season, something that feels a little bigger than just “a hike”, this might be it. You’re not just getting outside… you’re literally walking through American hiking history. That's cool.