Mount Monadnock Photo - New Hampshire

Mount Monadnock, the faint mountain on the horizon, as seen from Saugus Massachusetts.

I suspect many Saugus residents are not aware that while standing on the ground in Saugus, it's possible to see to Mount Mondadnock in New Hampshire. The photo above was made from the top of Castle Rock, one of the highest points in Saugus, Massachusetts. The steeples in the foreground are in Wakefield, the buildings beyond that are likely in Reading, Massachusetts.

This photo of Mount Monadnock was not posted here because it looks nice. It's certainly a dull photo. I posted it to demonstrate that Mount Monadnock can bee seen from great distances, and to demonstrate the distant places which can be seen from Castle Rock in Saugus. On the day these photos were made, the sun was partially obscured by high, thin clouds.

The measuring tool on Google Earth indicates Mt Monadnock ( often misspelled Manadnock ) is about 59.5 miles from Castle Rock, about the same distance as is the southern end of Lake Winnipesaukee. These distances are measured straight line, not over roads.

The photo above is a small portion of the frame shot with a Canon 100-400MM zoom lens. The contrast was raised to make the mountain more visible but it's still faint due to the distance.

The full-frame, directly below, shows the Jordan's Furniture / Home Depot building on Route 128 in Reading, Massachusetts at upper right. The black dot in the image below is just above the barely visible Mt. Monadnock. It should be noted that both images here, showing Mount Manadnock from Castle rock, are telephoto views.

Castle Rock Saugus

Castle Rock offers the visitor distant views in every direction. Several other distant mountains can be seen.

Castle Rock is shown on the upper right in this photo, made from Baker Hill in Saugus.

Access to Castle Rock can be gained from upper Main St. in Saugus. You'll see Castle Rock on the right as you near the Wakefield line. About 75 yards before the overhead power lines, there is a gate which leads into trails in Breakheart Reservation. This may be the best, but not the easiest way in.

The most direct route into Castle Rock is under the power lines, but NO TRESPASSING is posted so don't go in that way!

If you do venture to the top of Castle Rock, don't expect the distant mountains to be clear. They are just hazy bumps on the horizon and can only be seen when atmospheric conditions allow. Maybe bring a good pair of binoculars.

Related questions and comments are encouraged. Send e-mail to the address shown on the photo above. Your comments relating to Castle Rock or Mount Monadnock can be posted here to add more useful content to the page.

Here is an e-mail which came in as a result of this page, 9 years after the page was published:

Just wanted to thank u for posting the great photos and interesting text/descriptions...finally went there yesterday using your excellent directions and was completely blown away at the expansive beauty...Boston Harbor all the way to (as u pointed out) Mt Manadnock...which I never would have noticed without your prompting! thank you again, Jim!
anu gerweck
Wakefield resident of 15 yrs and castle rock first-timer!
anu