Lincoln, New Hampshire
Artist's Bluff
A short Kancamagus hike to a bare bluff over the Pemigewasset Wilderness.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Length
- 3.4 mi
- Elevation Gain
- 700 ft
- Duration
- 2–3
- Best Season
- May–Oct
- Permit
- Not required
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Features
- Pemigewasset views, Rocky bluff
About the trail
Artist's Bluff earns its name: a bare granite shoulder above the Kancamagus Highway with the entire Pemigewasset Wilderness spread out below. The trail climbs through old-growth hemlocks and rhododendron, then the canopy breaks and the last 200 feet is rocky and steep. The Blackberry Loop makes it a circuit with a second, smaller viewpoint.
Trailhead map & directions
Trailhead: 44.0170, -71.6700Get directions →
Turn-by-turn route
- Park at the Artist's Bluff lot on the Kancamagus Highway (RT-112) in Lincoln.
- Climb the Artist's Bluff Trail through hemlocks and rhododendron.
- Push through the thinning forest to the bluff's rocky overlook.
- Return downhill, then take the Blackberry Loop Trail for the second viewpoint.
- Close the loop back to the lot. Total: 3.4 miles.
Parking
Artist's Bluff lot on the Kancamagus Highway — small, no facilities, and it fills by mid-morning in peak foliage season.
Tips from the trail
- The bluff's edges are unguarded — keep kids and dogs close.
- Best light on the Pemigewasset peaks is late afternoon.
- Black flies are thick in early June at this elevation.
- The Kancamagus Highway is a toll road — have cash or a pass.
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