Mount Willard Trail from The Buttonwood Inn on Mount Surprise

Weather is perfect this morning as our guests stir from their slumber. Coffee and tea are served and the oven and stove are fired up as Paula prepares another memorable breakfast.

The snowfall which started last night continues as we look to be headed towards at least another 8 inches. The trails out back of the Inn will be in great shape for snowshoeing and the local cross-country trails are all groomed and ready to go.

The photo above is from two of our guests who snowshoed up Mount Willard after I had suggested it to them during breakfast. They were definitely happy to have been able to see the beautiful panoramic views especially looking south straight down the Valley towards the towns of Bartlett, Glen, and North Conway.

What’s in the Mount Willard Area: 
•Crawford Notch, one of the best examples of a glacially carved U-shaped valley anywhere in the world
•Evidence of rock slides on Mount Webster and Mount Willey
•Peregrine falcons occasionally nest in the area


The trailhead for Mount Willard is located at the Gateway of Crawford Notch behind the Crawford Depot Information Center off US 302.

•From the Jackson-North Conway area, follow US 302 west at Glen where it splits from NH 16. US 302 passes through Bartlett, then heads north through Crawford Notch. At the top of the Notch, roughly 20 miles from the junction of NH 16 and US 302, the road goes through a narrow pass between two cliffs. The parking area for Crawford Depot, is a few hundred yards up the road on the left.

•From Twin Mountain, take US 302 east. Crawford Depot is on the right just beyond the turnoff for the AMC’s Highland Center, about eight miles south of the junction of US 302 and US 3.


Happy Trails!