A steep hike to a glacial erratic with spectacular views as a reward, Glen Boulder is a glacial erratic that is perched on the mountainside above Pinkham Notch. To get to the boulder, hike up the Glen Boulder trail from the Glen Ellis Scenic Area parking lot. The trail climbs steeply to a relatively low-elevation treeline. Once above the tree line, the views are spectacular. The boulder is 1.6 miles from the parking lot. The Glen Boulder trail continues another 1.6 miles past the boulder to the Davis Path. 

The Glen Boulder trail starts from the Glen Ellis Scenic Area parking lot. The turn off for the Glen Ellis Scenic area is on the west side of NH-16, 11.2 miles south of Gorham and 11.3 miles north of the NH-16 and US-302 intersection in Bartlett. After turning into the scenic area parking, park in the pull-off around the loop. Please pay the day-use fee as described on the kiosk when entering the parking lot.

In the decades prior to 1911, the unregulated logging practices of private timber companies in the White Mountains had resulted in a damaged landscape susceptible to both fire and flood. Fires had burned thousands of acres, and flash floods affected the water power necessary to the mills of major industrial centers downstream, such as Manchester, New Hampshire, and Lowell, Massachusetts. Concerns over losses to industry, business, and tourism, and the growing conservation movement led to citizen action. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) and Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests (SPNHF) spearheaded an effort to ensure the permanent protection of the White Mountains from further depredation. After years of lobbying and intense public pressure, Senator John Weeks of Massachusetts, a native of Lancaster, New Hampshire, introduced legislation that became known as the Weeks Act. The Weeks Act was passed by Congress in 1911, appropriating 9 million dollars to purchase 6 million acres of land in the Eastern U.S. In turn, this led to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in 1918, and twenty-one other national forests throughout the north and southeast. Many of the groups who were instrumental in the passage of the Weeks Act, including the SPNHF and the AMC, are still active today, and the WMNF has grown from 7,000 acres to almost 800,000. Today, the reforested mountains and hillsides supply forest products and provide magnificent recreational opportunities while maintaining healthy watersheds and ecosystems.

The TrailFinder website and the AllTrails website have descriptions and maps of hikes using the Glen Boulder Trail.