New England Hiking

NH48, NE67 or 52 With a View? Choosing a New England Hiking List

Compare NH48, NE67 and 52 With a View by difficulty, geography and time. Check the 2025 52WAV changes before starting or updating your peak list.

Hike ListPosted on 18 Oct, 2026

If you are choosing between the NH48, the New England 67, and 52 With a View, do not start by asking which list is hardest. Ask what kind of hiking life you want for the next year or two. The three lists overlap geographically, but they reward different things: the NH48 is the classic White Mountains progression, the NE67 turns that project into a regional commitment, and 52 With a View trades the 4,000-foot rule for scenic variety and more flexible days.

Choosing your list

List	Best for	Main commitment	Character
NH48	Hikers who want the classic White Mountains project	48 summits, mostly substantial mountain days	Steep trails, long approaches, alpine weather, list culture
NE67	Hikers who want to take the 4,000-footer project across New England	67 summits across New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont	More driving, more logistics, broader regional variety
52 With a View	Hikers who value scenery, variety, and more flexible objectives	52 eligible hikes below 4,000 feet; previously completed retired entries can count	View-led peaks, shorter options mixed with genuinely hard days

For many hikers, the sensible order is 52 With a View → NH48 → NE67. But that is not a difficulty ladder. Some 52 With a View hikes are harder than some NH48 hikes. It is better understood as a progression from flexibility, to White Mountains depth, to regional commitment.

NH48: the best first serious peak-bagging project

The NH48 is officially the White Mountain Four Thousand Footer list. It contains 48 peaks, and the AMC Four Thousand Footer Committee notes that the summits are reached by official trails except Owl's Head, whose herd path is described in the AMC White Mountain Guide.

What makes the NH48 valuable is not the number 4,000. It is the repetition. Over dozens of hikes you learn what steep New Hampshire footing feels like, how quickly weather changes above treeline, how much a long approach changes the day, and why two hikes with similar mileage can feel completely different.

Choose the NH48 first if: you already hike comfortably in the Whites, want a clear multi-season project, and are willing to spend full days on the road and trail.

Choose something else first if: your weekends are usually short, you are still building confidence on rocky mountain terrain, or you care more about a rewarding view than whether a summit clears an elevation threshold.

NE67: the NH48 becomes a New England project

The New England 67 includes the 48 White Mountain 4,000-footers plus the qualifying peaks in Maine and Vermont. The official list totals 67: 48 in New Hampshire, 14 in Maine, and 5 in Vermont.

The biggest jump from the NH48 to the NE67 is not simply harder hiking. It is geography. Now a completion project asks you to plan weekends around the Green Mountains, western Maine, Baxter-area objectives, and trailheads that may be much farther from home. Check the current approach, land-manager notices and access arrangements for each destination rather than treating the summit list as a route guide.

Choose the NE67 if: you like the structure of peak-bagging enough that travel is part of the appeal. It works especially well as a second act after the NH48 because you keep the same basic idea while widening the map.

Do not choose it just because 67 sounds more impressive than 48. If the extra driving will make you hike less often, it is probably the wrong project right now.

52 With a View changed in 2025: what counts toward your 52?

In June 2025 the Over The Hill Hikers, who maintain the list, added Bald Peak in Easton, Iron Mountain in Jackson, and Owlshead in Carroll. They retired Blueberry Mountain in Benton, Starr King in Jefferson, and Mount Martha in Carroll. This is a change to the list, not a requirement to start again. See the organizers' June 2025 announcement.

If you already hiked a retired summit, it still counts. The organizers' FAQ says you can complete 52 qualifying hikes using a combination of previously listed and current entries. Check the official current list and printable checklist and official patch FAQ before treating any digital tracker as the authority. Keep the date and actual summit or combined listed hike in your log so you can reconcile old and new names.

52 With a View: the better list if the day itself matters more than the number

52 With a View was created around New Hampshire peaks below 4,000 feet that reward the climb with a view. It is often treated as the gentler alternative to the NH48, but that shorthand is misleading. Lower elevation does not guarantee an easier route. The list includes short and approachable days, but also long loops, steep ledges, exposed terrain, and hikes that can feel harder than some 4,000-footers.

Its real advantage is flexibility. You can choose a smaller objective when time or weather is limited, then return for a bigger ridge or loop when conditions line up. You also see parts of New Hampshire that a strict 4,000-footer project can make easy to overlook.

Choose 52 With a View if: you want a project that fits ordinary weekends, you care about scenic payoff, or you want to build White Mountains experience without making every outing a major summit day.

Which list fits you right now?

You are new to New England mountain hiking

Start with 52 With a View, but choose routes individually rather than assuming the whole list is beginner-friendly. It gives you more room to build judgment without making elevation the objective.

You already have 10–20 NH48 peaks

Keep going with the NH48 unless you have stopped enjoying it. Once you are meaningfully into the list, the value comes from seeing the whole project through and noticing how different the ranges become.

You finished the NH48 and loved the list structure

Move to the NE67. The additional Maine and Vermont peaks make the project feel larger without changing its basic logic.

You finished the NH48 and are tired of chasing elevation

Do 52 With a View. It is a good reset because the question becomes: is this mountain worth the day? That can bring back some of the curiosity that disappears when every weekend becomes another required summit.

You have limited weekends or a long drive to the Whites

52 With a View usually gives you more options. A list is only useful if it gets you outside consistently.

These lists are not one mapped trail

The NH48, NE67 and 52 With a View are collections of destinations, not single GPX routes. Before choosing a summit, match the actual trailhead, approach and exit to a current land-manager map and notices. Confirm weather for the exposed terrain you may reach, not just the nearest town. The NE67 adds travel and access decisions in Maine and Vermont. A check mark on a challenge page does not tell you that a route is currently open, safe or passable.

The seasonal reality matters more than the list

New England list planning changes dramatically by season. Spring mud can make some trails poor choices. Black flies can change an otherwise easy day. Shoulder-season ice can turn straightforward mileage into slow travel. Winter is a separate skill set rather than a colder version of summer hiking.

Do not let a checklist override trail conditions. A lower summit on 52 With a View can be the smarter objective than a 4,000-footer when weather is marginal, and a familiar NH48 peak can be the better choice than an unfamiliar remote objective when daylight is short. Lower elevation alone does not make a route safe: check the actual terrain, forecast and current notices before deciding.

Our recommendation

If you want the strongest progression through New England hiking culture, start with 52 With a View if you are still building experience, move into the NH48 when full mountain days feel normal, and take on the NE67 when the travel itself sounds exciting rather than inconvenient.

If you are already a confident White Mountains hiker, skip the warm-up and start with the NH48. The right list is the one that changes where you go, what you learn, and how often you actually hike.

For a broader comparison of New England peak-bagging projects, see our guide to New England hiking challenges.