Harding Loop

Harding Loop is an easy, out-and-back hike of about 1.6 miles in New Hampshire's Joe English-Herb Harding Memorial Forest, a little under a mile from the town of Milford. The trail rises about 80 feet from its starting point of roughly 493 feet to a high of about 551 feet, and it turns back on itself, so you end up where you started. The climb is gentle, with a steep patch of about 6% grade at around 0.4 miles. The whole trip takes about half an hour. For more time on foot, the Bacon Trail and Oak Trail both lie about 0.2 miles away, and the Highland Trail is about 0.3 miles off. Late spring and early fall are the most comfortable times to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Milford run highs of about 69°F in May and 73°F in September. That station sits a few hundred feet lower than the trail, so temperatures on the loop run a bit cooler.