Practical Information for visiting New Hampshire

Phone coverage is good across the south and the seacoast and unreliable in the mountains. The Kancamagus Highway, the notches and much of the Great North Woods have no service at all.

Wi-Fi is standard in lodging and cafés. Mountain huts have none by design.

Download offline maps and, if hiking above treeline, do not plan on a phone working. Carry a paper map and a compass — this is standard local advice rather than caution.

New Hampshire has one of the lowest crime rates in the country, and ordinary precautions suffice.

The danger here is the mountains. Mount Washington and the Presidential Range kill hikers in every season, most often from exposure in summer, when people set out from a warm valley into conditions that are winter above treeline. The higher-summits forecast is issued daily and should decide the day. Turn back early; the terrain above treeline offers no shelter.

Driving in winter requires proper tyres, and the notch roads are exposed. In autumn, foliage traffic and roadside parking create genuine hazards on two-lane roads.

Moose are numerous and are a serious collision risk at dawn and dusk.

No vaccinations or precautions are required, and tap water is safe.

Ticks are widespread from spring to autumn and Lyme disease is common in the southern half — check after any walk in grass or woodland.

Black flies in late May and June are severe inland, and mosquitoes follow them through summer.

Hypothermia is the region's characteristic medical emergency, and it happens in July as readily as January on the high summits.

Hospitals are concentrated in the southern half and in the Upper Valley on the Vermont border; the mountains rely on volunteer search and rescue, which the state may bill for if a rescue results from genuine negligence.

No sales tax, which is why prices are the prices. There is a tax on prepared meals and lodging, so a restaurant bill will still carry one.

Spirits and wine are sold only in state liquor stores; beer is available in supermarkets. The drinking age is 21 and identification is checked as a matter of routine.

Tipping is expected: 18–20% in restaurants and bars.

Hikers are expected to sign trailhead registers where they exist, and to carry the ten essentials. Local culture takes preparedness seriously and has limited patience with people who do not.

911 reaches police, fire and ambulance statewide.

Mountain rescue is coordinated by New Hampshire Fish and Game with volunteer teams. Response times above treeline are measured in hours, not minutes, and the state can recover costs where a rescue follows genuine negligence — a Hike Safe card is available and covers that liability.

The major hospitals are the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in the Upper Valley and the larger hospitals in the south of the state. Mountain communities rely on small facilities with transfers out.

Check the Mount Washington Observatory higher-summits forecast before any hike above treeline. It is the single most useful safety resource in the state.