West Rattlesnake Mountain — Attraction in Holderness

The Bridal trail is one mile to the top with an overlook along the way. This trail is easy for children and dogs, just remember to bring enough water. I would not recommend bringing children on the other trails, and you will definitely need hiking boots for them. The Pasture trail is incredibly steep and brings you down to Col trail. We were only on Col until it connected with the Ridge path, but you can go pretty far in either direction on it. There is a stream along part of it, and it also has some steep bits. The Ridge path we took back to the top and had some quite steep parts as well. It took us 4 hours all around. Make sure to bring your bug spray! The black flies will eat you alive. There are also ticks and mosquitoes. There is a lot of wildlife on the trail, we saw woodpeckers, tree frogs, turkey vultures, and chipmunks. If you want parking near the trail head you'll want to head up early or at an odd time. The trails are very well taken care of. You're not likely to run into many people outside of...

Always a wonderful spot to revisit especially if your daughter got engaged at this magical spot over looking the beautiful Squam Lakes with distant views of Lake Winnipesaukee to the left. Forty minutes up and recent work on the trails by local volunteers have done a marvelous job of tackling the constant erosion and frequent use of a very popular trail making it much more navigable than in the past. Plenty of room at the top to lounge and gaze at this remarkable vista and if so inclined venture on down to more meandering trails at the lake's edge and do the "Five Finger Trails" If in the area a great take in, with more moderate hiking across the street to Mt. Morgan and Percival. The Squam Lake Science Center is a wild life interactive preserve just a mere two miles away for families with young children to see what lives in the local environs and how they survive in an extreme climate. Also not...

West and East Rattlesnake are great hikes for hikers of various experience levels. The West summit is the more popular of the two, with an open granite top overlooking most of Squam Lake in nearly a 180º view. There are two routes to reach the West side (Old Bridle Path or Ramsey Trail). Ramsey is the shortest distance (≈1 mi round trip) but is steeper. OBP is longer (≈1.7 mi round trip) but is more gradual.

You can continue to East Rattlesnake for an additional 1.8 mi round trip. East Rattlesnake provides a view facing slightly more east but less open than the West side.

The trails are well-marked, easy to navigate, and maintained. If you're looking for a hike to ease into either by yourself or with your family/friends, this is a great one to pick. Or, if you're a seasoned hiker and want to take it easy, this is also a...