On yet another unseasonably warm January day, I arrived at the Oak Hill City Forest trailhead to squeeze my car into the last parking space. The lot holds about 15 cars and, in the time it took me to put on my boots, two more cars parked on the road outside the parking area. Since this place is so busy, I recommend getting here early!
The good news is that, based on the number of cars at the trailhead, I expected the route to the fire tower to be quite busy. But the trail was mostly quiet, except for the hum of the highway and a number of passing airplanes. I encountered a few hikers who all cheerfully wished me a Happy New Year. Dog lovers take note: most of the hikers I encountered had dogs with them, and even though leashes are required on this trail, it seemed common to let dogs run free – so this might not be the best trail if you have a reactive pup.
The Oak Hill Fire Tower Trail is wide and extremely well-marked! Trail signs and fresh blazes abound, making the city forest easy to navigate. My plan was to hike the Fire Tower Trail, but I took the Swope Slope Vista detour for the view. I recommend you do the same because it’s your best chance of any kind of view other than the view from the fire tower.
I hate to say it, but compared to the other New Hampshire fire towers, Oak Hill may be on the boring end of the spectrum. There’s not much to see, the trails are quite wide and mostly flat, and there aren’t any water features along the way. And, because this is a multi-use area, the Swope Slope Vista is a field of cut trees with minimal mountain views. Also, once you reach the top of the fire tower, there are a number of antennae and things in the way. While you can look around them, they can obstruct the view. For these reasons, I wouldn’t put this particular hike in my favorites category.
However, there are plenty of reasons to hike the Oak Hill Fire Tower. If you’ve got kids who can manage a 4-mile 2-hour hike, this could be a perfect starter trail. I’d also recommend this trail for anyone who wants to take up trail running and of course, you should consider hiking the Oak Hill Fire Tower if you want to earn the NH Fire Tower Quest badge. Finally, you should absolutely hike this trail if you want to stoke your appetite for a couple of rolls from Splendid Sushi on Pleasant Street in Concord.
After my hike, I drove the 15 minutes or so into downtown Concord to check out the state buildings – something I don’t think I’ve done since a 4th grade field trip about 2,000 years ago! I had a nice time wandering around checking out the shops, monuments, and, of course, eating really excellent sushi.
- Difficulty - Easy/Moderate
- Distance - 4.2 Miles with Swope Slope Vista Loop
- Plenty of Parking - Busy Trail - Arrive Early
- NH Fire Tower Quest
- Leashed Dogs Allowed
