Mount Hancock is a 4,380-foot mountain in the Pemigewasset Wilderness area of the White Mountains between Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch. The mountain is named after John Hancock, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The hike to the summit of Mount Hancock involves a long walk through the forest and a steep climb over rough terrain. There is a scenic viewpoint near the summit that offers a view of the Pemigewasset Wilderness and the Arrow Slide, a large rock slide on the side of the mountain. Mount Hancock is usually hiked as part of a loop with South Hancock Mountain, another 4,000-footer in the same area.

A pavilion picnic area and interpretive panels are available at the trailhead. Hancock Notch trailhead accesses the Hancock Notch trail, which with the Cedar Brook and Hancock Loop trails provide the easiest and most popular route to Mount Hancock.

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.

This trailhead is located on the Kancamagus Highway (NH-112) at Hancock Overlook, the westernmost view area on the scenic byway, just uphill of the hairpin turn.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike on the Hancock Loop Trail.