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 state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and adjacent

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, in the northeastern United States. The range is considered very scenic and rugged with many bare summits and ledges ranging from . The Wapack Trail, one of the oldest interstate hiking trails in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, 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 showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes ...

and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which 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 tec ...

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

New Ipswich New Ipswich is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,204 at the 2020 census. New Ipswich, situated on the Massachusetts border, includes the villages of Bank, Davis, Gibson Four Corners, Highbridge, New ...

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, 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 Tra ...

; 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 publ ...

. 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 and th ...

Pratt Mountain Pratt Mountain is a summit within the Wapack Range of mountains in south-central New Hampshire, United States. It lies within the town of New Ipswich and is traversed by the Wapack Trail. The subordinate peak, Stony Top, , forms the north should ...

New Ipswich Mountain New Ipswich Mountain is a summit within the Wapack Range of mountains in south-central New Hampshire, United States. It lies within the town of New Ipswich and is traversed by the Wapack Trail. Barrett Mountain is located directly to the north a ...

, Barrett Mountain,

Kidder Mountain Kidder Mountain is a summit located in south-central New Hampshire within the Wapack Range of mountains. It lies within New Ipswich and Temple, New Hampshire just off the Wapack Trail on a side trail. Temple Mountain is located directly to ...

, Temple Mountain, Pack Monadnock 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, 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, is 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 http://www.wapack.org/ 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