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Pemigewasset Wilderness

Expansive views, ragged peaks and mixed forest of hardwood and conifer

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Pemigewasset Wilderness in New Hampshire Courtesy of Flickr user davidgalestudios
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East Branch Pemigewasset River, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of the BU Outing Club via Flickr
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Mount Bond, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of Flickr user walknboston
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The summit of West Bond, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of Northfoot Adventures via Flickr
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The slide trail up the side of Owl's Head, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of Tim Sackton via Flickr

Location: New Hampshire
Size: 46,018 acres
Year Designated: 1984
Fast Fact: New Hampshire’s largest wilderness area.

Today, Pemigewasset Wilderness shows barely a trace of human interference. But a little over 50 years ago, New Hampshire’s largest wilderness area was a completely different place, as years of logging had essentially destroyed all of the area’s tree cover. Thanks to preservation efforts, the area has been able to recover into a thriving forest, with moose, deer and black bears roaming its tree-lined slopes. The wilderness area flattens out near the eastern portion in an area called Desolation Region, a nod to the destruction that logging wrought upon the area. Desolation Region, however, is not desolate: Thoreau Falls cascades beautifully for nearly 80 feet and multiple ponds dot the wooded landscape.

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