Hiking Welch and Dickey Loop

The first weekend of September 2024. I joined a friend of mine for a hike of Welch Dickey Loop, a popular trail located in the southern part of New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

The day was Saturday, September 7, and I was joined by one of my buddies that just did Monadnock together earlier this year. Having just returned from my Labor Day trip to Colorado a few days prior, we decided to choose a hike that wasn’t too demanding. My friend suggested the Welch-Dickey Loop, a trail he had planned to visit weeks earlier but had postponed due to bad weather. This was finally our chance to check it out.

Welch-Dickey Loop was a popular trail in the southern part of New Hampshire’s White Mountains. So popular, that there was even a National Forest tent and ranger at the trailhead. The loop took hikers over both Welch and Dickey Mountains. A high portion of the trail was on granite slabs and open rock faces, a unique composition not often seen elsewhere in the White Mountains. Minimal scrambling (no more than YDS class 2) was needed for this hike, and for that reason it’s recommended to take the loop in the counter-clockwise direction.

We arrived at the trailhead at 10:35am and the main parking lot was full. We parked a few steps away in the small overflow lot. Parking was $5 at the trailhead, unfortunately I left my pass at home and had to fork out the money.
After some warmup, we started the hike at 10:50am. Here’s GPS tracking:

The trail started out in dense forest, just like most others in the area.

Click here to display photos of the trail in the woods.

Trail

Trail

Trail along Creek

Trail

Trail

Trail

About 2.3km into the hike, the trail reached an overlook. Aside from the two summits, this was the only major overlook along the trail. The views were primarily Tripyramid mountains to the northeast, which I hiked two months ago, as well as Jennings Peak and Sandwich Mountain to the southeast. The views from the top of Welch Mountain were similar, so this was like a preview.

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Tripyramid Mountain

Mountains to the Southeast
Mad River winding through the mountains.

Sandwich Mountain

Overlook

First Overlook along Trail
The small clearing in the lower-center of this photo, taken later along the loop trail.

Between the overlook and the summit of Welch Mountain, much of the trail consisted of granite rock faces, giving this loop its unique character. The trail became noticeably steeper, with a few short sections requiring minimal scrambling.

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Trail on Rockface

Trail on Rockface

 
Scrambling Sections of the Trail

Trail on Rockface

Less than half an hour later after leaving the overlook, we reached the summit of Welch Mountain. Its higher elevation afforded some additional views to the west.

Click here to display photos from the summit of Welch Mountain.

Mountains to the Southeast
Mad River winding through the mountains.

Tripyramid Mountain

Sandwich Mountain

Exposed Rocks on Dickey Mountain
Unbeknownst to me, the trail downhill from Dickey Mountain would lead across these rocks.

Mount Moosilauke to the West

Foothills to the Southwest
I93 also visible in the right.

Cone Mountain to the West
This one also featured some steep cliffs.

After leaving the summit of Welch Mountain, the trail gently descended before beginning the climb up Dickey Mountain. Along the way, the path featured a mix of distinctive granite rock faces, and rocks tangled with tree roots, the latter was typical in the White Mountains.

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Trail

Trail on Rockface

Trail

Trail

The summit of Dickey Mountain was more wooded and less open, and the views were similar to that of Welch Mountain. Since it was a bit crowded, we didn’t stay there for long. A few steps away from the summit, we found a clearing along the trail where we caught our only glimpse of the day of mountains to the north (p6 below), including the impressive Franconia Ridge.

Click here to display photos from or near the summit of Dickey Mountain.

Sandwich Mountain

Mount Tecumseh and Green Mountain

Tripyramid Mountain

Looking Back at Welch Mountain

Mountains to the Southeast

Mountains to the North
The ones along Franconia Notch, Cannon Mountain in the left, Franconia Ridge in the right.

Mountains to the West

Just as I thought it would be an uneventful stroll back to the trailhead, the trail led me across a massive, open rock face (p4-5 below), the same one as seen from the summit of Welch Mountain. The rock face was minimally exposed to be striking, but in my opinion not at all dangerous. From there, I enjoyed views of both Welch Mountain and Dickey Mountain, along with the distant peaks beyond them. I felt a twinge of envy when I spotted an ingenious gentleman who had brought camping chairs and was relaxing comfortably in the breeze.

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Trail on Rockface

Looking Back at Dickey Mountain

Sandwich Mountain among Mountains to the South

Trail on Rockface

Welch Mountain

Finally, we were back at the trailhead at 1:40pm, finishing the hike in less than 3 hours (including all the rest). This was early enough that we managed to head for Manchester NH for a proper (but late) lunch, before concluding the day.
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