Peaked and Middle Mountains are two smallish mountains overlooking Conway/North Conway, on the east side of the Saco River, opposite the Moats.
They are part of the Green Hills Preserve, basically the Black Cap/Cranmore range , and in conservation managed by The Nature Conservancy.
Each has magnificent views for the moderate hike to their peaks.
Note that either ONE of these peaks is easy-to-moderate, but taken together as in this post they are not trivial, at 5.5 mi/ 2040 ft gain.
TLV and I have hiked them numerous times, in all seasons, but it has been a while since our last visit.
The mountains themselves haven't changed noticeably since our last visit, but the trails have. The trailhead is reached by North-South Rd -> Artist Falls Rd->Thompson Rd.
There is a decent parking area, but the hike is very attractive and it can fill up.
The biggest change is the asphalt path at the trailhead.
But the rec path is only a small part of the hike. Think of it as a very short road walk. And watch for bikes, runners, and child strollers.
Lots of people getting out - it's great ! :)
A port-a-potty and an informational kiosk (complete with a boot brush :O! ) , and a junction with a now-legitimate mountain bike trail network were other new items near the trailhead. I know that there used to be a few unofficial trails, but now they are legit and have wider coverage. These do not impact the hiking trails, once away from trailhead. I think it is a very attractive resource for mountain biking.
Adjacent Mountain Bike Adventure
The Mount Washington Valley area has really upped its game with these changes.
On the hiking trails themselves there are also a few noticeable changes, some reroutes I assume mostly addressing erosion, but still the same basic trails.
There is a (well-signed) junction with the Black Cap Connector , which leads to the Peaked Mountain Trail. IIRC there is also a trail to the right at or near that junction , I think it is primarily for runners & bikers. The TNC map shows it as the "Sidehill Trail".
We took the trail to Middle Mountain, it has generally very good footing. There is one short , fairly steep and narrow section skirting the watershed which may be a little intimidating as the dropoff is steep and deep, and the footing requires some attention.
The trail has a junction with a link trail to Peaked. Going right at this junction is the spur that takes you to Middle mountain, a mostly wooded summit with good views west and south. And an interesting view of Conway/North Conway directly below. This trail shows some appreciated stonework since my last visit; I remember a few spots that were a bit covered with gravel ball bearings. A little tricky on descent; more secure now.
Returning to the Peaked link and taking that path shows a remarkable amount of trail work. This was a very rough, little-used trail the last time I was here. It is much better groomed now. Still steep, though 🙂
The best part of the rework is that the link trail now crosses a ledgy section that used to be off limits. The outlook from this ledge is very nice !
The link trail shortly hooks up with the "main" trail, and a spur to the right takes a ledgy walk up to the Peaked summit. As with Middle, the summit is largely wooded, but good views to the South and west, more restricted views north. Descending to the connector junction and taking the "main" trail to the right takes you to some in-and-out views to the north, including the Montalban ridge and Mt Washington. Sadly, I was thinking more about supper than photo ops at this point 🙄
Once you cross the ledge with a side trail ( pretty overgrown) to the Black Cap Connector, the ledges are done and a rocky descent to the lower junction with the Black Cap Connector follows. Going left at this junction, the trail is smooth with a number of ups and downs until it returns to the intersection with the Middle Mountain trail and the return path to the trailhead.