Mount Sunapee
{{Short description|Mountain in New Hampshire, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Sunapee
| photo = MountSunapeefromLake.jpg
| photo_caption = View from Lake Sunapee
| elevation_ft = 2726
| elevation_ref =
| prominence_ft = 1466
| location = Newbury / Goshen, New Hampshire, U.S.
| range =
| coordinates = {{coord|43|18|49|N|72|4|27|W |type:mountain_region:US |display=inline,title}}
| topo = USGS Newport Quadrangle
| type =
| age =
| first_ascent =
| easiest_route = Andrew Brook Trail
}}
Mount Sunapee (or Sunapee Mountain on federal maps) is a {{convert|5|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} mountain ridge in the towns of Newbury and Goshen in western New Hampshire, United States. Its highest peak, at the north end of the mountain, is {{convert|2726|ft|m|0}} above sea level. The mountain has three secondary peaks, White Ledges at {{cvt|2716|ft|m|0}}; North Peak at {{cvt|2280|ft|m|0}}; and South Peak at {{cvt|2608|ft|m|0}}. The north end of the mountain, including the summit, is within Mount Sunapee State Park, which encompasses {{convert|3.85|sqmi}} and is home to the popular Mount Sunapee Resort. The mountain extends south to Pillsbury State Park in the towns of Goshen and Washington.
The entire mountain ridge is traversed by the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway, a hiking trail that links the summit of Sunapee with that of Mount Monadnock, {{convert|50|mi}} to the south in the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Also crossing the summit in an east–west route is a section of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway, a {{convert|75|mi|adj=on}} trail linking ten towns in west-central New Hampshire as it circles the Lake Sunapee region and crosses the summits of the three mountains for which it is named. The two Greenway trails meet at Lake Solitude and use the same trail to the summit.
Hydrology
The ridgeline of Sunapee Mountain forms the divide between the Merrimack River and Connecticut River watersheds. Lake Solitude, a {{convert|6|acre|adj=on}} body of water, lies just {{convert|0.2|mi|1}} southeast of the White Ledges summit, at an elevation of {{convert|2510|ft}}. The lake flows into Andrew Brook, a tributary of the Warner River in the Merrimack River watershed. Farther south along the ridge, the east slopes of the mountain drain via the West Branch of the Warner River into the Warner and Merrimack rivers.
The northern and western sides of the mountain drain to the Connecticut River. Johnson Brook flows down the north slopes of the mountain, entering Lake Sunapee, the outlet of which (the Sugar River) flows west to the Connecticut in Claremont. On the western slopes of the mountain, Gunnison Brook, Blood Brook, and Baker Brook flow to the South Branch of the Sugar River. The southwestern end of the mountain drains via Cherry Brook into the headwaters of the Ashuelot River, which reaches the Connecticut River near the Massachusetts border.U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute topographic map series: Newport, NH (1984)
Recreation
Skiing and snowboard riding are popular winter activities at Mount Sunapee Resort & Ski Area. The ski area lies within Mount Sunapee State Park, but in 1998 the state leased the {{convert|968|acre|adj=on}} ski area of the park to be operated by Tim and Dianne Mueller, who own Okemo Mountain Resort. In 2018 the operations contract was bought by Vail Resorts.
The state park's extensive trail system is used in all seasons for hiking and in winter for snowshoeing. The park is linked to Pillsbury State Park and southern New Hampshire by the {{convert|50|mi|km|adj=on}} Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and to the ten-town Lake Sunapee region by the {{convert|75|mi|km|adj=on}} "emerald necklace" of the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge (SRK) Greenway which connects Mt. Sunapee to Wadleigh State Park in Sutton and to Winslow and Rollins State Parks on Mount Kearsarge in Warner and Wilmot. From the ski area parking, the Summit Trail travels {{convert|2|mi|0}} along the western slope to the summit, where it meets the Solitude Trail for a {{convert|1|mi}} walk to Lake Solitude and White Ledges. The Solitude Trail then links to several trails, notably the popular Andrew Brook Trail and the steeper Newbury Trail, both heading eastward, and to the M-S Greenway as it heads south along Sunapee Mountain toward Pillsbury State Park.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mount Sunapee has a warm-summer humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded at Mount Sunapee was {{convert|98|F|C|1}} on July 10, 1988, while the coldest temperature recorded was {{convert|-26|F|C|1}} on January 8, 1968. A weather station is located near the base of the mountain.
{{Weather box
|location = Mount Sunapee, New Hampshire (elevation 1275 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1957–2015
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high F = 63
|Feb record high F = 61
|Mar record high F = 82
|Apr record high F = 88
|May record high F = 88
|Jun record high F = 93
|Jul record high F = 98
|Aug record high F = 93
|Sep record high F = 91
|Oct record high F = 85
|Nov record high F = 72
|Dec record high F = 67
|Jan avg record high F = 50.0
|Feb avg record high F = 50.9
|Mar avg record high F = 61.4
|Apr avg record high F = 76.5
|May avg record high F = 83.7
|Jun avg record high F = 87.2
|Jul avg record high F = 88.7
|Aug avg record high F = 87.1
|Sep avg record high F = 81.8
|Oct avg record high F = 73.0
|Nov avg record high F = 64.6
|Dec avg record high F = 53.0
|year avg record high F = 90.1
|Jan high F = 28.7
|Feb high F = 31.5
|Mar high F = 39.7
|Apr high F = 53.4
|May high F = 66.4
|Jun high F = 74.5
|Jul high F = 78.9
|Aug high F = 77.3
|Sep high F = 70.2
|Oct high F = 56.8
|Nov high F = 45.0
|Dec high F = 34.0
|year high F =
|Jan mean F = 20.8
|Feb mean F = 23.0
|Mar mean F = 30.8
|Apr mean F = 43.1
|May mean F = 55.3
|Jun mean F = 64.2
|Jul mean F = 69.0
|Aug mean F = 67.3
|Sep mean F = 60.2
|Oct mean F = 47.7
|Nov mean F = 37.0
|Dec mean F = 27.0
|year mean F =
|Jan low F = 12.9
|Feb low F = 14.6
|Mar low F = 22.0
|Apr low F = 32.7
|May low F = 44.2
|Jun low F = 54.0
|Jul low F = 59.2
|Aug low F = 57.4
|Sep low F = 50.1
|Oct low F = 38.6
|Nov low F = 29.0
|Dec low F = 19.9
|year low F =
|Jan avg record low F = -7.2
|Feb avg record low F = -4.4
|Mar avg record low F = 2.0
|Apr avg record low F = 21.4
|May avg record low F = 31.6
|Jun avg record low F = 40.7
|Jul avg record low F = 47.7
|Aug avg record low F = 44.7
|Sep avg record low F = 35.3
|Oct avg record low F = 24.9
|Nov avg record low F = 13.8
|Dec avg record low F = -0.1
|year avg record low F = -9.9
|Jan record low F = -26
|Feb record low F = -20
|Mar record low F = -11
|Apr record low F = 9
|May record low F = 22
|Jun record low F = 32
|Jul record low F = 38
|Aug record low F = 30
|Sep record low F = 25
|Oct record low F = 16
|Nov record low F = 5
|Dec record low F = -23
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.34
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.07
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.74
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.21
|May precipitation inch = 3.91
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.41
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.42
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.66
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.18
|Oct precipitation inch = 5.52
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.73
|Dec precipitation inch = 4.27
|year precipitation inch =
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 11.4
|Feb precipitation days = 8.4
|Mar precipitation days = 10.1
|Apr precipitation days = 9.5
|May precipitation days = 13.3
|Jun precipitation days = 13.7
|Jul precipitation days = 12.5
|Aug precipitation days = 10.8
|Sep precipitation days = 10.3
|Oct precipitation days = 11.9
|Nov precipitation days = 10.8
|Dec precipitation days = 11.5
|Jan snow inch = 18.4
|Feb snow inch = 24.6
|Mar snow inch = 12.3
|Apr snow inch = 4.7
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 1.2
|Nov snow inch = 3.6
|Dec snow inch = 20.6
|year snow inch =
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 6.1
|Feb snow days = 5.2
|Mar snow days = 4.2
|Apr snow days = 1.1
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.3
|Nov snow days = 1.0
|Dec snow days = 5.4
{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00275629&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: MT Sunapee, NH
|access-date = March 4, 2023
}}
|source 2 = XMAICS2 (mean maxima/minima 1981–2010)
{{cite web
|url = https://xmacis.rcc-acis.org/
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = xmACIS2
|access-date = March 4, 2023
}}
}}
References
External links
- [http://www.nhstateparks.org/state-parks/alphabetical-order/mt-sunapee-state-park/ Mount Sunapee State Park]
- [http://www.srkg.com/ Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Coalition]
{{Mountains of New Hampshire}}
{{clear}}
Category:Tourist attractions in Merrimack County, New Hampshire
Category:Tourist attractions in Sullivan County, New Hampshire