The Wapack Range, sometimes referred to as the Pack Monadnock Range, is a range of mountains in south-central

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and adjacent

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in the northeastern United States. The range is considered very scenic and rugged with many bare summits and ledges ranging from . The

Wapack Trail The Wapack Trail is one of the oldest public, interstate hiking trails in the United States. Opened in 1923, it follows the Wapack Range north-south for , between Mount Watatic in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, and North Pack Monadnock mountain i ...

, one of the oldest interstate hiking trails in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, traverses it. The Wapack Range is also the northern terminus of the Midstate Trail. The range, composed of heavily

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

, is oriented north–south and is located in the towns of New Ipswich,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, and

Greenfield, New Hampshire Greenfield is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,716 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to the Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center, to Greenfield State Park, and to part of the Wapack T ...

; and in Massachusetts, the towns of Ashburnham and

Ashby Ashby may refer to: People * Ashby (surname) * Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (1267–1314), governor of Rockingham Castle and steward of Rockingham Forest, England * Walter Ashby Plecker (1861–1947), American physician and public ...

. Notable peaks include, from south to north,

Mount Watatic Mount Watatic is a monadnock located just south of the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border, in the United States, at the southern end of the Wapack Range. It lies in Ashburnham, Massachusetts and Ashby, Massachusetts. The Wapack Trail an ...

, Pratt Mountain, New Ipswich Mountain, Barrett Mountain, Kidder Mountain, Temple Mountain,

Pack Monadnock Pack Monadnock or Pack Monadnock Mountain , is the highest peak of the Wapack Range of mountains and the highest point in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. The mountain, a monadnock, is located in south-central New Hampshire within the towns ...

and North Pack Monadnock. Significant parcels on the Wapack Range have been conserved as state parks, state forests, or properties managed by non-profit land conservation organizations.

Miller State Park Miller State Park is the oldest state-run park in New Hampshire, a state in the New England region of the United States. It is located in the towns of Peterborough and Temple, and is centered on Pack Monadnock, a mountain. Description The pa ...

, the oldest state park in New Hampshire, is located on Pack Monadnock. A defunct ski area on Temple Mountain was acquired by the state of New Hampshire in 2006 and is also slated for state park status. Windblown Ski Area, on and around Barrett Mountain, was one of the oldest operating cross country ski areas in the United States. Conservation efforts on

have resulted in the protection of the mountain from recent attempts to blast a communications tower road to the summit and open the mountain to housing development on the location of another former ski area. The non-profit Friends of the Wapack have been involved in conservation of the range since 1985.

References

External links

Friends of the Wapack
Mountain ranges of New Hampshire Mountain ranges of Massachusetts Mountains of Middlesex County, Massachusetts Mountains of Worcester County, Massachusetts {{WorcesterCountyMA-geo-stub