Blueberry Mountain NH: Dog Friendly Trails and Blueberry Bushes

Blueberry Mountain NH is a small mountain near Benton, New Hampshire that is on New Hampshire’s 52 with a view list. This easy to tackle mountain sits at an elevation of 2,662ft. Blueberry Mountain NH is a wonderful option for hikers of any skill level.

A quick recap of Blueberry Mountain NH and hiking to the summit from the southern trailhead is contained in this post:

• Trailhead Options
• Blueberry Mountain Trail
• Blueberry Bushes

Blueberry Mountain NH Trailhead

Blueberry Mountain NH is by a town called Benton which is on the western side of New Hampshire. The drive to the area is very remote and does not contain cell service once you are closer to the trailhead so be cautious of where you are traveling. Have a map on hand in case you lose directions and be sure to plan ahead of time which trailhead you are driving to.

There are two trailheads by which you can access trails to the summit of Blueberry Mountain NH. One is at the western end and heads east to the peak while the other is at the eastern end and heads west. 

Eastern Trailhead

When I hiked Blueberry Mountain NH, I started at the eastern trailhead described here. If you are driving north on Route 25 you will pass a fork where Route 118 heads off to the right. A few miles later you will see High Street on your right in Glencliff, NH which is where you will want to turn.

A short ways down High Street (about a mile), the turnoff for the road to the trail (Long Pond Road) is on your left. It comes up fairly quickly after coming around a bend and is not paved so be sure not to miss it! There is a wooden trail sign and a town PSA sign by the road that you will turn before.

Note this road is not maintained in winter and driving in in the spring, there are some deep potholes right before and after a small bridge you immediately have to go over. Going slowly, my car easily passed over or around them though. From there you only have to watch out for fallen branches and trees possibly cutting into the road.

Blueberry Mountain’s eastern trailhead is the third trail junction down the narrow gravel and dirt road. You should pass the trail to Jeffers Brook Shelter on your left and Tunnel Brook Trail on your right before reaching the large lot for Blueberry Mountain NH on your left. 

However, the day I hiked, there were fallen pine trees completely crossing the road so I parked about a quarter mile prior to the true trailhead (by the Tunnel Brook junction). On a clean gravel road though this is a very quick walk from the car to the actual trailhead.

Walking up the road, you reach a point where there is a large gravel lot on your left and the road appears to go straight. You should turn left into the lot, find the wooden sign marking the beginning of the Blueberry Mountain Trail, and continue into the woods from there.

Western Trailhead

Again, I did not hike Blueberry Mountain from the western trailhead, and I cannot share everything in my trail book. Please do your research and have a map with you for any further exploration. I did see some more info for this trailhead at NH Family Hikes here.

Blueberry Mountain NH Trail

The Blueberry Mountain Trail, which I took from the eastern trailhead, starts at a gradual incline and is a nice walk through the forest. There are a couple small stream crossings but nothing difficult. There was a lot of long grass but many people had walked through before me so it wasn’t in the way.

This hike is very dog friendly, but if you are bringing your dog be wary of ticks in the tall grass! There will be a ton of smells and your dog will want to explore, but be ready to pick off anything that might’ve latched onto your pup!

The hardest part about hiking Blueberry Mountain Trail in spring was the number of fallen trees over the trail and the mud. There were many large trees and branches covering the trail that had to be maneuvered over or around. I was hiking with another girl and her dog and it sometimes took a minute or two to determine the best path around the obstacle.

Hiking from the eastern trailhead to Blueberry Mountain’s summit is only around 1.6 miles. Most of this mileage is in the woods and occasionally the trees clear to provide a partial view. Close to the summit are some bare rocks to climb up but none were technically challenging.

Navigating the Rocks

I understand people’s warnings of being extra cautious on this trail when it is wet or icy though because the rocks would become very slippery. Even at the end of April there was still snow on half the trail which made it a little slippery. 

Also, while we were following yellow trail markers and cairns up the trail, on this spring day we did briefly get lost and end up way left of the trail we were supposed to be on. While hiking we must have missed one of the yellow markers on the rocks or headed towards something that appeared to be a cairn but wasn’t. 

We noticed this because we were on wide open rocks that were certainly fun to explore, but no matter which way we tried going nothing appeared to be a true trail as we saw no markers. With some backtracking and a correction down some rocks, we eventually found the trail again and continued on. 

Enjoying the Summit

As we made our way up Blueberry Mountain Trail, we eventually approached a fork in the path. Left would lead us to hike the other trail to the western trailhead for Blueberry Mountain NH while right is the quick spur to the summit. Today we headed right to the summit but I have heard others having very enjoyable days walking the entire length of the west and east trails out and back as a day hike. 

Following the markers, the summit cairn for Blueberry Mountain NH appeared very suddenly. A nice little spot to sit with wonderful views of Mt Moosilauke but no sweeping views of the White Mountains like some other entries of the 52 with a view list are known for.

My hiking buddy and I took some photos, got some dog pets in, and headed back down after enjoying our time at the summit.

Trail stats:

Descending Blueberry Mountain NH was easy and provided even more wonderful views. Maybe we had just missed them getting lost on the way up, but there were tons of open spots to take photos on the trail. The foliage was vibrant greens and the distant mountains were quite blue making for some beautiful photos on such a sunny day.

Blueberry Bushes on Blueberry Mountain NH

Blueberry Mountain NH gets its name from the hundreds of blueberry bushes that line the trails. In spring, these bushes are very bare and gray. At the end of April they were just starting to come to life again with the warmer temperatures.

However, if one hikes Blueberry Mountain NH in the summer, these bushes may be teeming with blueberries! And in the fall, as temperatures get cooler, the leaves become a bright maroon color. That would be gorgeous to see and I would love to revisit Blueberry Mountain, maybe trying the western trailhead to see them. 

Even without the batches of blueberries and strong red colors to add to the landscape, we had a beautiful hike. This was another perfect length and elevation gain for me in the spring as I get back into my summer hiking shape. I need to retrain my calves and lungs!

A quick and easy hike, Blueberry Mountain NH is perfect for families, new hikers, and anyone looking for a casual day hike. Being so far west in New Hampshire, you get to explore an area that you may not visit often. To check out other mountains from the 52 with a view list, visit my page here!

Thank you for reading about hiking Blueberry Mountain NH! Any questions or comments feel free to comment below or contact me.