Devils Hopyard
Description: In this boulder-strewn ravine you’ll find an exemplary spruce - moss wooded talus community, in addition to scenery dramatically different from all that surrounds it. Starting off in mixed northern hardwood forest, the trail takes a turn and leads up into the dark, narrow gorge where spruce and fir trees dominate the tree canopy and feathery mosses grow in wild abundance. Listen for the roaring sound of the stream below the boulders along the steeper pitches. Near the upper limit of this lush ravine, a seepy, vertical cliff blocks the path to the left, and you can see the steeper talus slope in the woods off to the right. The trail dead ends just beyond this point.
Directions: Start at the South Pond Recreation area off of Rte. 110 (a day-use area in the White Mountain National Forest; there is a small parking fee). Take the Kilkenny Ridge Trail south from the beach area for about 0.7 miles through mixed hardwood forest, then take a right on the Devil’s Hopyard Trail. After crossing the stream, the route bears right up into the ravine. Follow for about a mile up into the conifer-dominated, boulder-strewn gorge. The trail ends near the top of the ravine - retrace your hike from here.
Landowner: White Mountain National Forest
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