From the author: I am no longer updating this site, but you can find my more recent posts about the Cohos Trail on Granite State Walker. See you on the trail!

About the trip

Cohos to Canada is the journal of a first-timer’s backpacking trip along New Hampshire’s Cohos Trail in August 2009. I’m Ellen Kolb, and decided to celebrate my 50th birthday by heading to the northern third of the trail. I expected good scenery and a good workout. I found much more than that. Let me share with you how I fell in love with New Hampshire’s north country (Photo in header: First Connecticut Lake and Mt. Magalloway in Pittsburg, seen from the Cohos Trail on Prospect Mountain.)

About the trail

The most up-to-date information about the Cohos Trail may be found at the official Cohos Trail web site and the Friends of the Cohos Trail Facebook page.

Always check the Facebook page before hitting the trail, for recent trail reports from hikers and trail maintainers. You can also use the Facebook page to post your questions about the trail.

Kim Nilsen had a dream three decades ago about a long-distance trail through New Hampshire’s north country, and he worked to make that dream come to life and to bring together other people with the same vision. The result is the Cohos Trail. It’s over 160 miles long, stretching from the Davis Path in Crawford Notch to the Canadian border at Pittsburg. It’s an international trail, now that it connects with the Sentiers Frontaliers trail network in Quebec. The southern part of the trail piggybacks on trails maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Randolph Mountain Club in the White Mountains. North of NH Rt. 110 in Stark, the Cohos Trail comes into its own, bringing hikers to areas quieter and more remote than the much-traveled paths of the Whites.

About the accommodations mentioned in my trail journal

The trip described in this journal took place in 2009. The following information is accurate as of March 2020: Sportsman’s Lodge is no longer in business. Rudy’s Cabins and Campground on Clarksville Pond less than a mile from the trail still welcomes Cohos Trail hikers. The cabin in which I stayed there has since been upgraded, and is priced accordingly. Camping is available at Lake Francis, Deer Mountain, and Coleman State Parks. On the way to or from the Trail, travelers can still enjoy Robie’s Cabins on US 3 in Pittsburg village. The cabins, each with kitchenette, bathroom, and air conditioning, are conveniently located and reasonably priced.