Introduction
Sometimes finding a trailhead can be as daunting as doing the hike itself! Fortunately in the White Mountains the AMC's White Mountain Guide and Steven Smith and Mike Dickerman's The 4000-Footers of the White Mountains give good directions. In spite of that many hikers may want more detailed navigational instructions. The two downloadable files of waypoints: Trailheads.gpx and Trailheads.kmz are a first attempt to meet that need.
Coverage
All waypoints were recorded by me on the ground; none were calculated from maps. I have almost all the trailheads to the 4,000 footers, as well as all trailheads on I 93 and Rts 3, 302, 16 and 2 and various others. In addition I have most, if not all, the AT trailheads in NH south of Rt 25. On the other hand, I have no coverage of the Randolph trails north of RT 2, nor of any trailheads along Rt 113.
Usage
I am currently providing the data in two formats: .gpx (the GPS Exchange Format) and .kmz (the Google Earth format).
GPX files can be directly loaded into Garmin (and perhaps other) receivers, and are accepted by most, if not all, GPS conversion tools. They ares also acceptable as input for Garmin's POI Loader software and can easily be converted to almost any GPS manufacturer's format with the excellent (and free) GPSBabel program (available in both command line and GUI versions).
KMZ files can beloaded into Google Earth for viewing, and by clicking on a waypoint you can get driving directions to it.
I would be very interested in adding files in other formats if there is a need for them in our community, please let me know and I will attempt to include them.
A good description of "Points of Interest" (POIs) from the Garmin perspective can be found in Sam Penrod's page on Garmin's POI Loader. Garmin users may want to read a very interesting post on Multiple Custom POI Files on GPSr. Note that I have not tried it myself!!
Google Maps for Trailheads
Here are Google Maps of various groups of trailheads. These maps are fully interactive Google maps, you can zoom in or out and and pan to see more or less detail. You can either click on a trailhead on the embedded map, or click on the link below it to get a larger map in a new window or tab. Clicking on the link below the map will not only give you a larger map, but will also list the trailheads. Clicking on the parking icon either on the map or on the list will give you a popup window with a "Directions" option.
Trailheads to the Franconia Notch peaks
This map shows the trailheads to the Franconia and Kinsman ridges, as well as a couple (Georgiana Falls and Mount Pemigewasset) in the area.
Trailheads Along Rt 3
This map shows the trailheads along Rt. 3 and the Forest Service roads going off of it.
Trailheads along RT 302 north of the notch
This map shows the trailheads off of Rt. 302 north of Crawford Notch, as well as those on the Mount Clinton, Base and Jefferson Notch roads.
Trailheads along RT 302 in and south of the notch
This map shows the trailheads off of Rt. 302 in and south of Crawford Notch.
Trailheads along the Kanc
This map shows the trailheads along the Kanc.
Trailheads in Waterville Valley
This map shows the trailheads in Waterville Valley along Rt. 49 and Tripoli Road.
Moosilauke area trailheads
This map shows many of the trailheads in the Moosilauke section of the White Mountain Guide. Zooming out or dragging the map up will reveal the trailheads for Mount Simpson and Rattlesnake Mountain; including them in the view would have required a very tall map, or losing clarity by zooming out too much.