Go deep into the wilds of New England. Better yet, submerse yourself on a multi-day hiking adventure. excerpted from the new book, AMC’s Best Backpacking in New England, these hikes represent the author’s favorite destinations and showcase the essential features of the book’s 33 trips. The vast majority of hikes are loops, designed to maximize scenery and eliminate car shuttling, traversing some of the wildest, grandest, most remote corners of the New England backcountry.

Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock State Reservation, Mass.
Mount Greylock, an isolated massif, lords over the hillscape of western Massachusetts. A loop around the 3,491-foot peak, from base to summit, explores old growth forest, spattering waterfalls, and three-state views. Approach from the west via the broad ravine known as the Hopper, ascend the Money Brook Trail to attain the mountain’s ridge, and then traverse south over the summit to return via the Hopper Trail. Three overnight shelters are available en route. This is a great year to make the trip; the park road is closed for construction, leaving the mountain exclusively to hikers.

Distance: 11 miles round-trip

Mount Mansfield
Mount Mansfield State forest, Vt.
Mount Mansfield’s spine is said to resemble a human face looking upward. The top of the head points south. The features are named promontories—the Forehead, Nose, Adam’s Apple—but the Chin juts highest, the state’s tallest point at 4,393 feet. A series of trails ascend the flanks and ridgelines leading to spectacular views from the weathered furrows of Mansfield’s face. Begin the climb from Underhill State Park to the west, completing a full traverse via the Maple Ridge, Long, and Sunset Ridge trails. Two Green Mountain Club shelters are available at either end of the ridge.

Distance: 10.6 miles round-trip

Wild River Wilderness
White Mountain National Forest, N.H.
The open summits—and far-reaching views—of the Carter and Baldface ranges hem the Wild River watershed, where crystalline streams, swimming holes, and idyllic stands of paper birch await. Ascend from the Wild River Campground beside Moriah Brook, traverse south on the AT along the Carter Ridge to the deep cleft of Carter Notch, then cross the remote Wild River headwaters on the Wild River and Eagle Link trails to explore the Baldface Range summits. Return home via the Meader Ridge, Basin Rim, and Basin trails. Imp Campsite and AMC’s Carter Notch Hut offer overnight possibilities along the AT; campsites are abundant elsewhere.

Distance: 28.8 miles round-trip

Great Gulf Wilderness
White Mountain National Forest, N.H.
The Great Gulf carves deep into the mountains, guarded thousands of feet overhead by the peaks of the northern Presidentials. Hike the Gulf to its headwaters, skirting the ravine before ascending the formidable headwall—1,700 feet in less than a mile. The Great Gulf Trail then meets the AT, which heads north along the ridgeline past the summits of four 5,000-footers: Mounts Clay, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. The rugged Osgood Trail returns you to the trailhead. Campsites are scattered in the Gulf; AMC’s Madison Spring Hut is the only overnight option directly on the ridge.

Distance: 19.3 miles round-trip

The Kilkenny Region
White Mountain National Forest, N.H.
A mountain range in miniature, the Pilot Range rises above a landscape of roaming moose, bald summits, and few people. Part of the Kilkenny region and the northernmost section of the White Mountain National Forest, this area blushes with peak foliage color earlier than anywhere else in the Whites. It also makes for a quality escape-the-crowds destination any time of year. From the east, follow the Mill Brook Trail to the dramatic cliffs of Rogers Ledge, then traverse south on the Kilkenny Ridge Trail to visit placid Unknown Pond, the spectacular summit view from the Horn, and a small cabin atop 4,170-foot Mount Cabot. Return home via the Bunnell Notch Trail.

Distance: 16.1 miles round-trip

Bigelow Mountain
Bigelow Preserve Public Reserved Land, Maine
Bigelow Mountain creases the landscape of western Maine, a long, rocky ridge dotted with peaks and far-reaching views. At lower elevations, enriched soils create habitat for abundant sugar maples that blaze in leaf-peeping glory each fall. Come experience the full range of the mountain, climbing 3,000 feet from the base to its dramatic high point atop 4,145-foot West Peak. Ascend the Fire Warden’s Trail to the little used Moose Falls tentsite, then clamber up stairways of stone to meet the AT along the ridge. Views stretch north to Katahdin and Canada as you follow the AT south to Horns Pond Campsite, returning down the mountain on the Horns Pond Trail.

Distance: 12.7 miles round-trip

Katahdin and Beyond
Baxter State Park, Maine
Surrounded on three sides by soaring granite cliffs, Chimney Pond sits in the mountainous heart of Baxter State Park. Adventurous trails scrape up mountain flanks and lead into a little-traveled realm of alpine plateaus, far-flung ponds, and hidden valleys. From Chimney Pond climb the Saddle Trail to the little-trod Northwest Basin Trail, which visits remote Davis Pond and the upper watershed of Wassataquoik Stream en route to Russell Pond, where you can explore the area’s trails and lakes before returning home. Campsites at Chimney, Davis, and Russell ponds are extremely popular—book as far in advance as possible.

Distance: 19.8 miles round-trip