Mossy Glen

Length: 0.7 miles out-and-back

Difficulty (click for info): Beginner

Elevation Gain: 130 feet

Rating (click for info): 5/10

River: Carlton Brook

Driving Directions:
Trailhead and parking area are on Durand Road in Randolph, NH. Park in the lot for the town hall or in the pull-off across the street. Turn north off Rt. 2 onto Durand Road 4.5 miles west of Rt. 16 in Gorham and 8.0 miles east of the junction with Rt. 115. Turn left after 0.1 miles at the T-junction and continue 0.5 miles to the town hall. Click here for a Google map.

About the Hike:
Take a short stroll into the quaint setting of Mossy Glen, where local treasures await. It will please both the waterfall enthusiast and those who seek a peaceful walk in the woods. Begin at the Randolph town hall on Durand Road, a parallel of Route 2 that accesses an overabundance of walking paths maintained by the Randolph Mountain Club. Walk east on the road for 500 feet, passing a war memorial honoring the town's servicemen, including many from the famous Lowe clan. Turn left and walk uphill on a gravel driveway (Mossy Glen Way) at a signpost marking the Groveway path. In another 500 feet, bear right away from a house on a footpath into the woods. The trail ascends gently, approaching Carlton Brook. Soon you pass over the top of an amphitheater cut into the hillside, where town functions are occastionally put on with the beautiful natural setting of the brook in the background. Just a little further, pass by the junction with Bluffway and arrive at the Nepalese Bridge. This evocative steel and wooden structure is a 1960's-era replica of a Himalayan footbridge. Standing on the bridge provides a nice place to view the brook below and the lowest cascade of the glen. Cross to the other side and turn left onto Glenside to follow the short string of cascades uphill. The water fans out in beautiful fashion over moss-draped ledge slabs beside the trail. In the center of one, observe a unique pothole scoured out of the streambed where the water circulates. In just a short distance, the path crosses to the other bank above the glen, with even more luxuriant greenery in the streambed above. You can cross here and turn left on Bluffway to return or just walk back the way you came.

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