Falls of Song & Turtleback Mountain | 2/22/2026

When I finished my Ossipee 10 and LRCT Trace a few months ago, I didn't think I'd be back so soon. Yet, with Turtleback Mountain on my list and people in my life working towards their Mountains for Meals patch- I couldn't have been happier to return!

On Sunday morning, Joe and I got an afternoon start from the Castle in the Clouds hiker lot for a sunny loop of Turtleback Mountain. Joe had never been to the Ossipees, so I planned a loop of Shannon Brook Trail (with a side trip to Falls of Song), Bald Knob Cutoff, and Turtleback Mountain Trail to cover all it has to offer. In just 7 miles, we covered one of the 7 waterfalls of Shannon Brook, a lakeside view from the shoulder of Bald Knob, and a panoramic view of Shaw and Black Snout from the summit!

Snowpack has changed since I've written this, but as of Sunday, it was snowshoes car to car even over the snowmobile sections. Starting counter-clockwise, the Turtleback Mountain trail was nice and flat until we descended briefly to the Falls of Song. Though the falls were frozen over, the water was still audibly running underneath- making for a serene scene. This seemed well packed out along all of the bridge.

Falls of Song

Continuing up from the brook, we intersected with the snowmobiles for a bit longer before branching left to the relatively steep Bald Knob Cutoff trail. I recalled being breathless doing this last fall without snow on the ground- but it was undoubtedly much harder while breaking trail!

Bald Knob Cutoff Viewpoint

To my surprise, the trail was not broken out whatsoever towards Turtleback, and even more surprisingly, the sun had really baked over the packed snow from the snow machines, making that very unstable even with snowshoes. I have a great pair of mountaineering shoes, yet still the snow was relentlessly sticking to my traction.

On that note, with such a beautiful day, there was no shortage of riders. We were getting out of their way roughly once every ten minutes! That said, hopping off for the last stretch of hiking towards the summit was a great relief. At the summit, we enjoyed some outstanding views of Shaw and Black Snout- for "small" peaks, they look huge from Turtleback!

Views towards Black Snout & Shaw from Turtleback

Up top, we both brought surprise snacks that matched well together for snowy charcuterie and then made the long trek down, being sure to cut through the switchbacks solely to avoid stepping off trail for snowmobiles repeatedly. Unfortunately, it looked like some of the snowmobilers had done the same through the switchbacks.

Snow-cuterie

Despite the deep snow, I'd still recommend this one to anyone during any season. The Ossipees have got it all- except the crowds of the Whites that is!