Ossipee Mountains
The isolated and undeveloped mass of the Ossipee range is the largest and least disturbed wildlife habitat in the region. The range is 9 miles in diameter, its tallest summit rising to an elevation of 2,975 feet and its viewsheds embracing Winnipesaukee, the Belknaps, Monadnock, Kearsarge, Red Hill, and the Sandwich and Presidential ranges of the White Mountains. The Ossipees consist of a circular land mass of more than 40,000 acres, accessed by only three interior roads, none of which bisect the area. There are 25 named mountains, including Turtle Mountain which shows features of the columnar basalt jointing and Bald Mountain, where part way up the trail many columns can be found. 16 named brooks originate in the Ossipees, including Shannon Brook. The Ossipees feed the watersheds of Lake Winnipesaukee (and thus the Merrimack), the Bearcamp River, and Ossipee Lake, which in turn flows
into the Ossipee river system.
As a part of its conservation work within the Ossipees, the Trust has commissioned a series of scientific bioinventories which serve to underscore the uniqueness of this natural treasure which contains one of the best examples of a volcanic ring dike.