How climate change is reshaping trails in the White Mountains

MAINE MORNING STAR • June 26, 2026

“When the trails…in New Hampshire were laid out, they were laid out to maximize adventure, challenge,” said Matt Moore, senior operations manager for Appalachian Mountain Club Trails. It’s common for trails in the White Mountains to follow direct routes up slopes, eschewing twists and turns, or switchbacks, that would moderate their ascents. The trail crews that charted these routes in the 1920s and 1930s often crafted them to mark a straight path up the slope, Moore said. That approach created some iconic routes up and down the region’s famous peaks — but it also established trails that tend to be aligned with the path of rainfall runoff. That means trails in New England are particularly susceptible to erosion to begin with, Moore said. And as climate change continues to make rain events more intense, that creates a growing problem for hikers and trail crews alike.