Denmark Mountain Hikers

November 7, 2025 – Greeley Ponds (2,180 ft), Lincoln, NH  – 4 miles RT,  240 foot elevation gain.  RT hiking time 3 hours 30 minutes.  RT driving 3-hour.    

Driving Directions:

Trailhead and parking area are on the Kancamagus Highway in Lincoln, NH (Ponds are in Livermore), 9.7 miles from Rt. 93. The parking area is on the south side of the road, marked by a sign for Greeley Ponds Trail. Click here for a Google map.

From Conway NH take the Kancamaugus Highway (NH Route 112) west towards Lincoln NH for 25.7 miles. After crossing thru Kancamaugus pass there is a hairpin turn that descends rapidly. The trailhead is on the left at a broad sweeping turn to the right.  Parking is $3.00.  It is not a large parking lot and this is a popular trail. Coming from the west the trailhead is 9 miles east of Lincoln on the Kancamaugus Highway.

About the Hike:

The last time we visited the ponds was in May 2024.  Allen waxed rather poetic when he described the hike:

“The Greeley Ponds, in the Mad River Notch off the Kancamaugus Highway, are true scenic wonders. The Greeley Ponds are a designated White Mountain National Forest Scenic Area.   Nestled in a grove of old growth trees and framed in the towering cliffs of Mount Osceola and Mount Kancamaugus, they are one of nine designated White Mountain National Forest Scenic Areas.  The trail to the two ponds is short with an easy grade, passing through a forest of towering red spruce, yellow birch, maples and white pine reminiscent of the trees that once covered the White Mountains before widespread and indiscriminate logging stripped the mountains bare.

“I never see the tree yit

that didn’t mean a damned sight more to me

goin’ under the saw

than it did standin’ on a mountain”

                        J. E. Henry, Timber Baron

[Given how Ronald Reagan has been in the news of late, I believe Allen would find us remiss not to include that president’s rather famous quote

“A tree’s a tree. How many more do you need to look at?”. Ronald Reagan, Western Wood Products Association, San Francisco on 12 March 1966]

Back to Allen, “This beautiful spot came within a hair-breadth of being logged and despoiled.  The J. E. Henry Company began logging operations in the Zealand Valley in 1881 and moved to the Lincoln area in 1892 where the Henrys bought thousands of acres of virgin timber in the Pemigewasset River valley.  They developed sawmills and a paper mill in Lincoln and had been clear cutting timber lands all up and down the mountain valleys in the area.  Their East Branch and Lincoln Railroad laid rail lines throughout the area to haul logs and pulp to the mills in Lincoln.  Any timber within hauling distance of the railroad was cut. When J. E. Henry died in 1912 the Henry family sold their operation to the Parker Young Company in 1917. 

“The new company continued logging and in 1925 purchased 22,000 acres of timberland in the Waterville area from the International Paper Company. Included in this sale were the Mad River Notch and the area around the Greeley Ponds. Much of it had not been logged and it was considered prime land.   Parker Young began making plans to extend their Hancock Branch line from Logging Camp 12 some 14 ½ miles through the Mad River Notch and the Greeley Ponds to access the timber in this new tract.  Logging Camp 12 had operated from 1903 to 1908 and was only a little more than a mile from the ponds (The camp was located near where the Greeley Ponds parking lot on the Kancamaugus Highway is located today.).

“By the early 1900’s much of the White Mountains had been logged and wild fires in the tops, slash and branches left after clear cutting had burned over much of the land that is now the White Mountain National Forest.  The blackened hillsides, streams clogged with ashes and debris, and valley flooding from denuded slopes prompted vociferous outcries from the public.  Pressure over the indiscriminate destruction of the forest led Congress to pass the Weeks Act in 1911, and the Forest Service began buying tracts of land from the timber companies, often land that had been cut over and burned.  In 1928 Congress approved funding the purchase of 22,000 acres from the Parker Young Company, including the Mad River Notch and Greeley Ponds. 

“The primeval forest around the Greeley Ponds today reminds visitors of what the White Mountains area used to look like before logging.  Hurricanes in 1938 and 1950 damaged some of the old growth forest but the area around the ponds retains its wild appearance and many old trees remain. Hiking the trail to the ponds is almost like walking in a cathedral as you pass through groves of mature trees.  Here and there are the trunks of huge white pine lying on the forest floor that were felled in one of the storms.” 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                From the website NH Family Hikes:             

“At the beginning of the trail, there is a brook crossing, which could be difficult in high water.”

Indeed, we should note that in May 2024, Jeff Sturgis who led our last trip here, described this section as, “…a fairly difficult crossing as the stream was wide and the water was  high and rapid. It consisted of rock hopping with the last hop being a long one.”

Jeff’s description continues: “Once we conquered the stream crossing, the trail was extremely bony with many roots and rocks necessitating careful foot placement. It was also quite wet with many muddy sections. The first half of the trail also had several stretches of split timber boardwalks that stretched out over the swampy areas. These stretches were somewhat challenging as some were quite narrow with some rotted and collapsed logs. The trail rose gently, but the footing made it a little tiring as we hiked.”

Returning to the NH Family trail description: “The trail leads through the forest, with minor inclines along the way. There are a few boardwalks over wet areas. At 1.3 miles, the trail passes a large boulder and a trail leading up to East Osceola. Just after this, cross Greeley Ponds Ski Trail, marked with blue diamonds. At Upper Greeley Pond, follow a spur trail down to a small beach. From the beach is a beautiful view of the pond with the mountains on both sides. The trail continues down to the south side, where there is a spur to another viewpoint at the tiny beginning of the Mad River.

The trail travels a short distance through the woods to another small beach on Lower Greeley Pond, from which there is an even better view of Mt. Kancamagus and a good look at some cliffs on East Osceola. The north end of this pond is a small bog. There is also a viewpoint on the south side of the pond. After this, the trail leaves the ponds and continues to its other end in Waterville Valley, so the hike ends here.”

Jeff summed up our last visit to Greeley Lakes: “This is a nice hike. While the trail and stream crossing posed some inconveniences, the spectacular scenery of the valley, the ponds and the mountains arising on both sides of the notch made this 4.4 mile trek worthwhile.”