Galehead Hut offers co-ed bunkrooms and separate washrooms with composting toilets and cold water sinks. AMC Huts are in backcountry locations and are “off the grid,” meaning they are only accessible by hiking. Bunkhouses are not heated, have no lighting, and no electrical outlets. Rooms stay cold, so bring an appropriately rated sleeping bag and a headlamp or flashlight for your overnight visit.

The legendary AMC hut “croo” or caretakers are available to assist you with trip planning, trail information, and weather reports while our Hut Naturalist offers daily programs about the local flora and fauna, geology, and hut history before and after dinner during full-service season.

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.

A challenging 4.6 miles from the trailhead, Galehead Hut offers day hikes to some of the most remote and sought-after peaks, including the three peaks that make up the Bonds for the ultimate White Mountains experience. During the full-service summer and fall season, fuel up with delicious, homemade breakfasts and dinners for the day’s exploration of nearby Twin or Bond peaks, or to support your adventure to the hut’s nearest neighbors seven miles away.