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Pemigewasset Wilderness

Expansive views, ragged peaks and mixed forest of hardwood and conifer

August 3, 2014

Pemigewasset Wilderness in New Hampshire Courtesy of Flickr user davidgalestudios

East Branch Pemigewasset River, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of the BU Outing Club via Flickr

Mount Bond, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of Flickr user walknboston

The summit of West Bond, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of Northfoot Adventures via Flickr

The slide trail up the side of Owl's Head, Pemigewasset Wilderness Courtesy of Tim Sackton via Flickr

Location: New Hampshire
Size: 46,018 acres
Year Designated: 1984
Fast Fact: New Hampshire’s largest wilderness area.

Today, Pemigewasset Wilderness shows barely a trace of human interference. But a little over 50 years ago, New Hampshire’s largest wilderness area was a completely different place, as years of logging had essentially destroyed all of the area’s tree cover. Thanks to preservation efforts, the area has been able to recover into a thriving forest, with moose, deer and black bears roaming its tree-lined slopes. The wilderness area flattens out near the eastern portion in an area called Desolation Region, a nod to the destruction that logging wrought upon the area. Desolation Region, however, is not desolate: Thoreau Falls cascades beautifully for nearly 80 feet and multiple ponds dot the wooded landscape.