By Katie Salvatore
Hiking the Cook Interpretive Loop trail in Wilmot, NH
This is a delightful trail with many unique attractions. It’s 1.3 miles long and should take about an hour and a half to travel. It forms a loop that is intersected by several other trails which crisscross within it: there are ten intersections between the Cook Loop and the other trails.
Follow the orange trapezoids and pink dots blazed on the trees. In winter, snowshoes are welcomed but vehicles aren’t. Leashed dogs, however, are. During hunting season, be aware that this area is not posted and there might possibly be hunters in the woods; wear bright colors.
Soon after hikers enter the trail from the parking area on Whitney Brook Road, they meet glacial erratics: rocks and boulders left by the glaciers.
Some of these rocks were formed into stone walls during the New Hampshire sheep-farming boom in the 1800’s, making use of the stones cleared from fields to create enclosures for property and sheep. All the walls around here were once property lines.
There is also a “Teddy Bear Cave” which is too wet for bears to live in. At the end of the loop, there is an erratic split in to seven pieces, which you can walk through; it’s named the Seven Sisters after the Mythological daughters of Atlas.
There are a few interesting trees on the trail. The ‘Wolf or Witch” tree, an old white pine scarred by barbed wire and with several malformed trunks and branches. It was thanks to these things though, that it survived the time this area was logged and has grown to a ripe old age.
There are also examples of White Ash, also known as Iron Wood because of its strength, Yellow Birches, the roots of which can grow on bare rock, a Juniper tree, which normally grows as a bush, nearly 1000 feet of Juniper bushes, and a possibly 200 year old hollow Ash tree. There are many other unique trees as well.
Besides the great trees, there are other sights here, too. Towards the end of the loop, the trail interweaves with Whitney Brook, crossing it by stepping stones twice and four times by bridge. There are also several old quarries with evidence of hand drilling.
About half way through the trail is an overlook which give 180 degrees of incredible sights, like Mount Kearsarge, the Belknap Hills, Moose Mountains, and Mount Sunapee. Also along the trail can be seen evidence of moose, deer, and bears.
The intersecting trails can get confusing so it is recommended that you bring a map which is available online and at the trail head. There are the Elkins Erratics Loop (blazed by blue dots), the Historic 1830 Spring Trail (blazed in white dots) which bypasses the third quarter of the trail, the Power Line Parallel Trail (in orange dots), and the Pleasant Lake High Trail (blazed in green circles and orange trapezoids).
There are also shorter loops that take you to interesting things just off the trail or provide detours in rainy weather. Some of the rocky outcroppings can get slippery and dangerous in the rain or the ice. While this is a fun trail to snowshoe, as always be safe and smart.
Before hitting the trails check out our page of hiking safety tips.