White Arrow Variations
(Old Toll Road Parking & Trailhead coordinates: 42.83554 N, 72.11387 W)None of these trails go directly from parking or a roadway to the summit, but many may be used in routes to it. Some links will open a new page, others will link within this page.
- Distance from parking lot to summit:
- Depends on the trail—and are you using it to
get to the summit?
- Ascending time:
- Depends on the trail—as little as one hour 15 minutes. Park rangers suggest two hours for the most direct routes.
- Descending time:
- Depends on the trail—as little as 55 minutes. Park rangers suggest two hours for the most direct routes. (Yes, the same time in both directions.)
- Difficulty rating/rank:
- Varies, see individual descriptions.
- Crowd Factor:
- Varies, but typically quite low, 1 – 2.
- Trail marker:
- See the individual trail descriptions.
- Average Grade:
- Varies
- Access:
- You reach all of these variations most directly by parking at the lot just off of Rt. 124, about 2.4 miles (3.5 km) west of the main road to the state park. Entry fee is $4.00 per person (April 2008). The Parker Trail is also readily accessible at the Headquarters area. Several trails intersect major trails, as seen on the map.
All of these trails have some connection with something, sometimes both ends connect, with one another or the primary Old Halfway House/White Arrow route to the summit. Several of them are quite short and simply link one major trail to another. Others are alternate routes. Several of them offer important links from the Old Toll Road/Old Halfway House area to the Headquarters area, or to the Marlboro Trail. They vary from a nice "walk in the park" to very difficult shots straight up a peak. They are all less traveled than the direct routes to the summit, and a few of them on any given day may have no visitors at all—but I've almost always seen some sign that they were recently visited. In fact, in good weather during prime hiking season, I've usually met at least one other person on every trail I've been on.
The Old Toll Road
The Old Toll Road is an alternative to the Old Halfway House Trail. This is a maintained gravel road, with nothing special about it except that it is much smoother than the typical trail. The Parker Trail originates along the road, about 15 minutes or so into the hike. The road also seems to be popular (in 1998) with a pair of wild turkeys. There are no markers, the road being way too obvious and not an official trail. It takes 20–35 minutes to get to the Old Halfway House site from the parking lot. (My time: 22 minutes.)
The Fairy Spring Trail starts just above the Old Halfway House Site and ends at Monte Rosa. This trail generally ascends the mountain and is fairly steep. (Rating: 4)
The Marian Trail begins as the Great Pasture Trail at Monte Rosa and extends to the northwest joining the Marlboro Trail. This trail traverses the mountain and is generally gentle. However, there are several steep sections. (Rating: 2–3)
The Mossy Brook Trail starts as the Cart Path on the Old Toll Road, crossing the Old Halfway House Trail, and continues to the Marian Trail. This trail traverses the mountain in a gentle climb. (Rating: 1–2)
The Smith Summit Trail ascends from Monte Rosa to the Dublin Trail, just below the summit. This trail climbs the mountain in a fairly steep slope. See Smith Summit Trail. (Rating: 4)
Sidefoot Trail
- Distance from parking to summit:
- 2.13 miles/3.45 km via Old Halfway House Trail (2.0 km), Sidefoot Trail (0.83 km), Amphitheater Trail (0.12 km) and White arrow Trail (0.54 km). (GPS determined, rounded)
- Ascending time:
- About two hours and 10 minutes.
- Descending time:
- About one hour 10 minutes.
- Difficulty rating/rank:
- 4/–
- Crowd Factor:
- 2 (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being near-continuous contact with others.) You may meet an occasional person on the trail, or see fresh footprints.
- Access:
- Old Halfway House Trail or Old Toll Road to Halfway House site and Sidefoot Trail (ascent), Amphitheater Trail.
- Trail marker:
- A white spot, when you can find it.
- Average Grade:
- 24% (Sidefoot Trail only).
The Sidefoot Trail parallels the White
Arrow Trail for a bit under 2/3 mile (1 km) from the Old Halfway House site, and
is often less than a couple of hundred yards/meters to its east, yet it has a completely
different character, largely because it's much less traveled—I'm tempted to
keep it a secret. The trail winds mostly through hemlock forest, with a base of
soil occasionally broken up by rocky sections. Very little of the trail is along
watercourses, so the hiking itself is quite easy on the feet and ankles. It's
still quite steep, but almost seems to traverse the mountain more than many of
the other trails. It rejoins the White Arrow Trail by way of the Amphiteater
Trail. From the junction, it's roughly 540 meters (600 yards) to the summit.
Several lesser trails, notably the Do Drop Trail, the Noble Trail, and the Hedgehog
Trail branch off the Sidefoot Trail.
Trail marker: Its marker is a white dot—but just try to find it! Going
up the trail, there are a few locations where you may need to look carefully to
find the trail. At its upper end, it meets the Amphitheater Trail at a
"T" and turns left toward the White Arrow Trail, about 130 yards (120
meters) away. Here, both the white dot of the Sidefoot Trail and the yellow dash
of the Amphitheater Trail are obvious.
Coming down the mountain, branch left off the White Arrow
Trail at the well-marked junction with the Amphitheater/Sidefoot trails, and
turn right at the separation of the two secondary trails. This junction is also
well-marked. The white-dot markers quickly fade away, and you have to watch out
for a sharp turn to the left only a few yards from the junction—I've seen
people turn right here which will bring them quickly back to the White Arrow
trail. Some experience picking trails out of the woods helps.
The Hedgehog Trail
- Distance from Sidefoot Trail to Bald Rock:
- about 0.24 miles/390 m.
- Ascending time:
- –
- Descending time:
- –
- Difficulty rating/rank:
- 4/–
- Crowd Factor:
- 1 (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being near-continuous contact with others.) You will rarely see anyone else on this trail.
- Access:
- Sidefoot Trail (ascending) or Bald Rock, from summit via White Cross and Smith Connecting Link.
- Trail marker:
- A mix of and rock cairns, white "Ms", white dots, and rarely, vertical white bars.
- Average Grade:
- 21%, Steepest slope: 28% for 125 yards
The Hedgehog Trail provides a direct link from the
Sidefoot Trail to Bald Rock. This is a fairly short hike, because, true to form,
it takes the most direct route from the Sidefoot to Bald Rock—straight up. It's
through much of the same type of forest as the Sidefoot
Trail, occasionally following watercourses. This is a pretty trail that ends
with a steep, rocky climb up the southern face of Bald Rock. You may disagree
with the average slope; this trail feels like it climbs at about 60%, and for
short distances, it probably does.
Trail marker: "Markers? Markers?! We don't need no stinkin'
markers!" (Apologies to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre).
While most people should be able to follow the trail without too much
difficulty, there are several locations, including one just below Bald Rock,
where you have to figure out for yourself where the trail actually goes (it goes
left; the right fork apparently goes to an old graphite mine—don't expect
anything special there). You may even have to do some reconnoitering along
either of several apparent options to find the true path. Those confident in
their ability to follow unmarked trails should have no trouble; others may find
it a little challenging.
To get to the summit From Bald Rock, take the Smith
Connecting Trail to the junction with the Amphitheater Trail and turn left to go
back to the Sidefoot Trail and eventually join the White Arrow Trail to get to
the top. Or you could stay to the right at the junction with the Amphitheater
Trail and follow the Smith Connector to the White Cross, White Dot or Red Spot
trails and take one of them to the summit. (Parking lot to summit: about 1-1/2
to 2 hours.)
The Old Fire Warden's Trail, aka the Happy Valley Trail. This is an obscure, unmapped, unmarked trail connecting the White Arrow Trail with the White Dot Trail. It passes the former site of a ranger's cabin and well. The trail goes through Happy Valley, with great views up and down the mountain. The park personnel do not recommend that you take any unmarked trails.
Still to come:
Cliff Walk— A good length of this trail follows the top edge of a long, steep slope. This section has a gentle slope of its own. There are many spectacular views to the south. This trail begins about 500 yards (0.47 km) from the western trail head of the Parker Trail, and continues to Bald Rock. Several of the other lesser trails in this area link to it. Above its junction with the Lost Farm Trail, the Cliff Walk's steepness increases. It also increases greatly below its junction with the Pt. Surprise Trail (where climbers will get there first vistas), and especially below the Hello Rock trail, where it cuts across the less steep sections of the cliff on its way to the Parker Trail. This is an interesting trail that traverses hints of former fields, mixed forest, hemlock forest, and open sections. Many twists and turns always bring new surprises.
Lost Farm Trail—Though this trail traverses the mountain for a good distance, it also has a steep slope along it's eastern part. If ascending, it starts in the eastern section of the Parker Trail (about 0.6 mile--0.91 km--from the terminus at Park headquarters) and continues to the Cliff Walk where Cliff Walk turns up the mountain toward Bald Rock just below Thoreau's Seat. However, it might be best as the last, descending leg of a round trip from the Headquarters to the summit (via one of the White Dot variations) then down across Bald Rock to Cliff Walk and finally to Lost Farm Trail, as its length can be especially tiring on the way up.
The following trails are typically short linking trails, often from one minor trail to another, the exceptions being the Amphitheater Trail, which traverses the mountain at a fairly high elevation and for some distance, connecting several important trails, and the Smith Connecting Trail, which extends from a mid-level point at Bald Rock upward almost to the Pumpelly Trail, linking several major trails along the way.
Noble Trail
Do Drop Trail
These two trails link the Sidefoot Trail to Cliff Walk. They are short and very steep.
Thoreau Trail
Hello Rock Trail
Pt. Surprise Trail
The three trails here link to Cliff Walk. The first two are fairly steep.
Amphitheater Trail
Smith Connecting Trail
The Amphitheater Trail links the Smith Summit Trail, White Arrow Trail, Sidefoot Trail
and the Smith Connecting Trail. The Smith Connecting Trail links Bald
Rock, Amphitheater Trail, White Cross Trail, White Dot Trail and the Red Spot
Trail. Together, they provide a major "beltway" around the summit of the
mountain, connecting several points of interest with major trails.