Andrew Brook Trail

The Andrew Brook Trail is the most direct and rewarding hiking route to the 2,743-foot summit of Mount Sunapee, offering dramatic Lake Sunapee panoramas as an intermediate reward before the final summit push. The trail climbs steeply from the state park day-use area alongside Andrew Brook, a clear mountain stream with several small cascades in its lower reaches, through mature northern hardwood forest transitioning to balsam fir and red spruce near the summit. Lake Sunapee, one of New Hampshire's largest and most scenic lakes, comes into view progressively as elevation is gained, eventually revealing the full breadth of the 4,085-acre lake and its wooded shoreline from the summit viewpoints. The 2,743-foot summit of Mount Sunapee, served in winter by the Mount Sunapee ski resort, offers a summit café and chairlift service during summer and fall, but the hiking approach delivers a more genuine mountain experience. The summit area was historically cleared for fire tower observation and the open summit provides views extending to Mount Ascutney in Vermont to the west, the Green Mountains on the horizon, and the White Mountains to the north. The Lake Solitude trail connection near the summit provides access to one of New Hampshire's most remote and scenic alpine ponds, rarely visited compared to the main summit.