Mount Israel: Spring Hiking Wentworth Trail

Mount Israel is on the southern edge of the White Mountains National Forest in New Hampshire. This little mountain is a perfect day hike and doesn’t get the credit it deserves! Mount Israel has been one of my favorite peaks I’ve hiked from New Hampshire’s 52 With a View list so far.

With excellent summit views and a fun trail, you put in relatively little effort for a great reward. There are other trails nearby and even campsites at the base. This makes Mount Israel and the surrounding area a wonderful place to have an adventure.

This post will provide a quick recap of the Wentworth Trail I took up to the summit of Mount Israel and what to expect at the trailhead.

• Friends of Mead Base Conservation Center
• Parking and Trailhead
• Wentworth Trail
• Mount Israel Summit
• Spring Hiking Reflection

Friends of Mead Base Conservation Center: Preservation of Mount Israel and Surrounding Area

The trailheads for Mount Israel are in Center Sandwich, NH. I was hiking the Wentworth Trail the day I went up in May so I had to head to the Friends of Mead Base Conservation Center. This is the southernmost entrance to the White Mountains National Forest!

The conservation center sits on 11 acres of land at the end of Diamond Ledge Road that contain three campsites, a few public buildings, and multiple trails. There is a farm nearby as well and it was funny driving down the road seeing cow crossing signs on either side of me. They could have decided to cross in front of me at any time.

The farmhouse on the property has space available to rent for events and the campsites (two for 8 people and one that can have up to 30) are available to pay for and reserve as well. The smaller campsites are $25/night and the larger is $50/night if your group is bigger than 8 people. There is also a composting toilet by the campsites which is a huge plus!

Diamond Ledge Road

The drive down Diamond Ledge Road was beautiful and I was so excited to explore one of the trails on the land. However, it is important to note that the road into the conservation center is not paved! It is a dirt road with some gravel patches to help your car over rough spots but there are still a lot of bumps and holes.

Be cautious driving in and drive slow. I drive a Honda CRV and was able to slowly maneuver over and around everything, but there were a couple sections I was fairly worried about bottoming out briefly. Since I drove down the road in mid-April though, it was still early season and maybe the road is improved closer to the summer. If anyone knows if this is true or not please let me know!

Sandwich Notch Road

Another note about hiking in mid-April, the Sandwich Notch Road that leads to the Guinea Pond and Mead Trails (another way to summit Mount Israel) is still closed for winter. Therefore, I had to park at the conservation center no matter what my plan may have been. Luckily I was looking to hike the Wentworth Trail anyway to summit Mount Israel.

As the Friends of Mead Base are a non-profit, please consider donating at the trailhead before heading up Mount Israel or after camping for the night. Check out the website for Friends of Mead Base Conservation Center here to get more information on the area, booking the farmhouse, and reserving campsites.

Parking and Trailhead for Mount Israel

To hike the Wentworth Trail to Mount Israel’s summit, hikers should park in the lot outside the Mead Base Conservation Center which was discussed above. It is a wide open lot on your right at the end of Diamond Ledge Road. There are about 8 to 10 spots in the lot so it could easily fill up quickly on a beautiful day!

The trailhead for Wentworth Trail is to the left of the conservation center if you are facing the building. There is a brown trail sign that says “Wentworth Trail” behind the large map of the area at the edge of the parking lot. In warmer months the trail is well worn from the road into the woods so the path is easy to spot.

Head up the grassy hill, walk into the woods to the left of the conservation center, and you are on your way!

There are other trails that you can climb to reach Mount Israel, such as Guinea Pond and Mead Trails, but I haven’t been able to hike them yet.

Wentworth Trail up Mount Israel

I was so excited to start up the Wentworth Trail because being mid-April, it was my first warm hike of the year! Doing a solo hike on such a beautiful sunny day is always so good for my mental health. Today was no different and I had such a blast.

I’d felt cooped up for a long time and hadn’t tackled a solo hike in a bit. I’m glad the Wentworth Trail was well marked and easy to follow because it took away any stress of following a trail and let me focus on enjoying the climb.

Beginning the Trail

The Wentworth Trail for Mount Israel starts as a gentle incline after you enter the woods next to the Mead Base Conservation Center. It is kind of rocky and has a lot of roots which is typical of other trails in this area, but it was still easy to follow. 

At the beginning there are also 3 or so stream crossings. I wouldn’t worry about these though since they were easily passable even while I was hiking in the prime springtime for everything to be melting. I don’t anticipate them being difficult to cross at any point.

Be Cautious of the Leaves and Incline

The most difficult part was actually all the fallen leaves left over from the previous autumn. They made the path quite slippery in spots, especially if I could see additional roots underneath. Luckily the day I hiked was very dry so these weren’t an issue, but I would keep the leaves in mind if you are hiking on a wet spring day.

Though the Wentworth Trail is only 2 miles up to Mount Israel, after the initial gradual incline I found the trail became quite steep. Granted, I hadn’t been hiking as much, but I was almost immediately getting tired, haha. With a gain of ~1,740ft over 2 miles, that’s 870ft gained per mile.

I admitted to myself that my calves were shot and my lungs were practically non-existent in April. A good reminder to take my hikes slowly to get back in shape for tackling harder ones later in the year.

Views on the Way Up

While most of the hike was consistently ascending and steep, there were some flatter parts near the top. With the leveled out areas you could catch your breath and take in glimpses through the trees of the lakes and mountains below.

There is one viewpoint about 0.75 miles up that is worth stopping at because you get a beautiful view of Squam Lake (maybe Lake Winnipesaukee in the distance). Mount Israel’s summit faces the other direction so you won’t see this lake at the top!

Trail stats:

Mount Israel Summit

In mid-April there was still some mud and snow near Mount Israel’s summit, but it was easily passable and my micro spikes were not needed. As I mentioned, there are some sections closer to the top where the path levels out a bit in the forest. Then, Wentworth Trail comes out of the woods and travels back and forth over open rocks.

With how many bare rocks I was walking over I kept anticipating that I was at the summit of Mount Israel. So many times I thought I was at the top, which made the 2 miles feel very long. Wentworth Trail actually heads back into the woods after these open rocks though!

The trail winds through the woods very briefly before you see the trail own you in front of you and a large cairn coming into view. The spot with the cairn is the actual summit!

Large Open Summit

Mount Israel has a wonderful summit and fully belongs on the 52 with a view list! While it appears you are still in the woods as you approach the cairn, the trail suddenly opens onto a huge area of bare rocks overlooking so many mountains! There is so much room to walk around, explore, take in the views, and rest for a snack and some water.

To read my posts on other mountains from the 52 with a view list, check out this page here. 

The mountains you face while sitting atop Mount Israel are so pretty and the sun coming through the fluffy clouds in a bright blue sky that morning lit everything up. The early spring foliage was bright green giving a high contrast to the brown shrubs and gray rocks around it. I couldn’t get over how gorgeous this day was and how beautiful the landscape looked.

I did need my fleece at the top so I was glad I packed it! It was quite warm in the parking lot but the wind on top of Mount Israel chilled my sweaty body very quickly. I enjoyed every minute of it though!

Enjoying the Summit Solo

I sat at the summit of Mount Israel by myself with my thoughts for quite a while. The trail had not been very quiet (I saw just over a dozen people with maybe 3 dogs the whole day) but no one was there to share the summit with me. The doggos really made me crave the day my pup could hike with me!

The weather was beautiful and Mount Israel is the perfect spot to rest for a bit. I cozied up in my fleece, sipped some water, and worked on a little knitting I’d brought with me. Overall this day was just good for my soul!

Spring Hiking Reflection

Spring hiking is always exciting to me because I’m not a big winter hiker. Heading out in the spring is like leaving my mini hibernation. I’m stretching my muscles and refamiliarizing myself with the trails. 

The first few hikes of the season make me question how I tackled the big mountains the previous year every time haha. But they always get me so excited to try new peaks and get back in hiking shape for the summer months. From then on I pretty much try to get outside every chance I get!

If you have any other questions about Mount Israel definitely let me know in the comments below or from my Contact page! And if you want to browse my other posts written about hiking and traveling in New Hampshire, click here!