Trail 04 · Donald Ross Golf Trail

New Hampshire Mountain

Lakes Region to the White Mountains — Grand Resort Golf Through the Granite State.

Courses

2–3

Days

~120

Miles

$52–159

Green Fees

NH Mountain

The Mountain Trail

Four Ross courses, from lakeside to the Presidential Range.

New Hampshire gave Donald Ross some of his most spectacular canvases. From the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee to the shadow of Mount Washington, Ross laid out courses across terrain that most architects could only dream of — ancient riverbeds, rolling hills dotted with conifers, and panoramic mountain vistas stretching into Vermont and Canada.

The NH Mountain Loop threads four of those courses together across the state's most scenic corridor. It begins in Wolfeboro — "America's Oldest Summer Resort" — at the lakeside Kingswood Golf Club, then climbs northwest to Bethlehem, where an extraordinary coincidence awaits: two Donald Ross courses less than a mile apart, including his very first design in the state. The loop culminates at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, where a Brian Silva restoration has returned Ross's 1915 masterpiece to its original grandeur beneath the Presidential Range.

This is grand resort golf in the truest sense — courses born from the great hotel era when trains brought well-heeled vacationers to the White Mountains for entire summers. The grand hotels may have changed, but the Ross greens haven't.

The Courses

Four public-access Ross designs across the Granite State.

From Lake Winnipesaukee to Bretton Woods — presented in recommended play order.

1 Semi-Private

Course 01 · Wolfeboro

Kingswood Golf Club

24 Kingswood Rd, Wolfeboro, NH 03894 (603) 569-3569

Kingswood opens the loop in the heart of New Hampshire's Lakes Region, just minutes from Lake Winnipesaukee in the village of Wolfeboro. Ross built this course in 1915 on gently rolling terrain, threading fairways between five ponds and three creeks — water comes into play on thirteen of eighteen holes, demanding strategic thinking off every tee. The layout is a classic study in Ross's residential-era design: tight sequencing between greens and tees, sand bunkers guarding every putting surface, and those signature turtleback greens with false fronts that devour approach shots that come up short. Tom Clark revisited six holes in 1990, but the course's Ross DNA remains unmistakable. The club's reputation for immaculate conditioning — plush bentgrass fairways and velvet-smooth greens — has made it a destination for Ross enthusiasts from across New England.

Par: 72
Yards: 6,366
Year: 1915
Green Fee: $58–88

Water hazards on 13 of 18 holes — five ponds and three creeks thread the layout
Sand bunkers guard every green — classic Ross strategic bunkering throughout
Slope ratings from 118–134 across five sets of tees — challenge for all abilities
Set in "America's Oldest Summer Resort" — pair with lakeside dining in Wolfeboro village
Bistro 19 on-site restaurant with views of the course — open to the public

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2 Public

Course 02 · Bethlehem

Bethlehem Country Club

1901 Main St, Bethlehem, NH 03574 (603) 869-5745

This is where Donald Ross's New Hampshire story begins. A 9-hole course opened here in 1898 to serve the summer visitors flocking to Bethlehem's mountain hotels — at the time, a season pass cost five dollars. By 1909, Ross was engaged to redesign and expand it to 18 holes, making it his first course in the Granite State. The clubhouse, built in 1912 on the site of the former Bellevue Hotel, still overlooks his fairways today. Bethlehem CC is an early Ross at its most honest — shorter than his later resort designs but brimming with the slopes, angles, and elevation changes that would become his hallmarks. The fairways mostly play straightaway with pot bunkers scattered across partially hilly terrain, but the greens are where Ross shows his hand: small, contoured, and deceptively challenging. The course was town-owned from 1949 to 2020 and continues as a public course under new private ownership, with White Mountain views from nearly every hole.

Par: 70
Yards: 5,812
Year: 1909
Green Fee: ~$52

Donald Ross's first New Hampshire course — the design that started his Granite State legacy
Less than a mile from Maplewood Golf Club — play two Ross courses in one day
Small, contoured greens with Ross's signature undulation — the scoring challenge lives on approach
Putter's Pub on-site with deck dining and mountain views — open to non-golfers too
One of New Hampshire's most affordable Ross experiences at ~$52

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3 Resort

Course 03 · Bethlehem

Maplewood Golf Club

2691 Main St, Bethlehem, NH 03574 (877) 869-3335

Nicknamed "The Jewel of the White Mountains," Maplewood is the surviving gem of one of New England's most spectacular grand hotel developments. The property first operated in 1816 as a small cottage, eventually growing into the legendary Maplewood Hotel — so prestigious that Presidents Grant and Roosevelt stayed here. When a fire destroyed the hotel in the 1960s, only the 1889 Casino building survived, now serving as the Inn at Maplewood. The golf course, thankfully, endured. Ross expanded the original 9-hole layout (built 1904) into the current 18-hole championship design in 1914, threading fairways through tall pines and young maples with the White Mountains as a constant backdrop. The most distinctive feature is the par 6 on Hole 16 — over 650 yards of strategic challenge that you won't find on any other Ross course in New England. Ross's greens here are notoriously deceptive — several feature dramatic slopes that are nearly invisible on approach, and a few greens are among the smallest he ever built. The Lady of the Fairways Shrine, built in 1958, commemorates the generations of caddies from Boston's North Bennet Street School who served here from 1915 to 1963.

Holes: 18
Features: Par 6!
Year: 1914
Green Fee: Call

Rare par 6 on Hole 16 — over 650 yards, one of the most unusual holes in New England
Grand hotel heritage — Presidents Grant and Roosevelt once stayed on these grounds
Lady of the Fairways Shrine (1958) — memorial to generations of caddy camp boys from Boston
Some of Ross's smallest and most deceptively sloped greens — the approach game is everything here
Inn at Maplewood offers group Stay & Play packages — the original 1889 Casino building

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Omni Mount Washington Resort course with grand hotel backdrop

4 Resort

Course 04 · Bretton Woods

Omni Mount Washington Resort

310 Mount Washington Hotel Rd, Bretton Woods, NH 03575 (603) 278-4653

The crown jewel of the loop — and Golfweek's "Best Course You Can Play in New Hampshire" consistently since 2009. Commissioned in 1915 by Carolyn Foster Stickney, widow of the hotel's builder, the Mount Washington Course was Ross's most ambitious New Hampshire design: a 7,004-yard, par-72 championship layout set on the ancient riverbed of the Ammonoosuc, surrounded by the Presidential Mountain Range and the iconic grand hotel. In 2008, architect Brian Silva completed a meticulous restoration to Ross's original plans, rediscovering fairway bunkers perpendicular to the line of play — including the signature "Principal's Nose" bunker on the fourth hole. Silva also restored Ross's "meadowland design" by strategically removing trees to enhance the wide-open mountain vistas. The result is an archetypal Ross layout with wide fairways peppered with bunkers, swales, and two-tiered greens, all with mountain views from every hole. The hotel itself is a National Historic Landmark — the site of the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference that established the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Built between 1900-1902 in Spanish Renaissance style, it remains one of the last surviving grand hotels of the White Mountains.

Par: 72
Yards: 7,004
Year: 1915
Green Fee: ~$159

Golfweek's Best Course You Can Play in NH — every year since 2009
Brian Silva's 2008 restoration returned the course to Ross's original 1915 plans
Host of four NH Opens and the 2010 New England Open Championship
Par-3 14th at 242 yards — a dramatic downhill shot over a ravine
Omni Hotel is a National Historic Landmark — site of 1944 Bretton Woods Conference
Unlimited Golf Package available for hotel guests — play both the 18-hole and 9-hole courses

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Trail Map

The Mountain Trail, mapped.

Click any marker to view that course. Greyed markers show additional Ross courses coming to the loop when they reopen.

Plan your trip

Suggested Itineraries

Two ways to play the loop — from a focused weekend to the full grand tour.

Option 01

The Grand Tour (3 Days)

3 Days4 Courses

Day 01

Kingswood Golf Club — Wolfeboro

Start lakeside in America's Oldest Summer Resort. Play 18, then explore Wolfeboro village — waterfront dining, antique shops, and Lake Winnipesaukee cruises.

Day 02

Bethlehem Double — Bethlehem CC (AM) + Maplewood (PM)

Drive ~90 min northwest into the White Mountains. Play Ross's first NH course in the morning, then tackle Maplewood's par 6 in the afternoon.

Day 03

Omni Mount Washington — Bretton Woods

Just 25 min east to the crown jewel. Play 18, explore the grand hotel, and toast the trip from the Observatory Bar rooftop.

Option 02

White Mountains Weekend (2 Days)

2 Days3 Courses

Day 01

Morning: Bethlehem CC → Afternoon: Maplewood

Two Ross courses, one town, one perfect day. Bethlehem is shorter and walkable — ideal for a morning warmup.

Day 02

Omni Mount Washington — Bretton Woods

The resort experience. The 7,004-yard Ross/Silva restoration with Presidential Range views from every hole.

Local intel

Local Tips & Recommendations

What we've learned from playing the loop.

🏔️

Best Season

Late June through mid-October. Mountain courses open later and close earlier than coastal loops. September offers the best combination of warm weather, fall foliage, and fewer crowds.

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Getting There

Wolfeboro is ~2 hours from Boston via I-93 and Route 28. Bethlehem is ~2.5 hours via I-93 North. Bretton Woods is ~3 hours from Boston via I-93 to Route 302.

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Where to Stay

Wolfeboro has charming lakeside inns for the first night. Bethlehem's Adair Country Inn is a top-rated boutique option. The Omni Mount Washington Hotel is unmissable for the full resort experience.

🥾

Beyond Golf

Lake Winnipesaukee boat tours. Franconia Notch and the Flume Gorge. The Cog Railway up Mount Washington. Crawford Notch scenic drives. Fall foliage that rivals anywhere in America.

Trail Expansion — The Balsams

A fifth chapter, waiting to be written.

The NH Mountain Loop has a fifth chapter waiting to be written. When The Balsams Grand Resort reopens, this loop will extend to the Canadian border.

Temporarily ClosedDixville Notch, NH

The Balsams Grand Resort — Panorama Course

Par 72 · 6,804 yards · Est. 1912

Among the purest surviving Donald Ross courses in America. Ross personally supervised construction, the original 18 has never been altered, and no houses have been built within sight of the fairways. The resort closed in 2011. Developer Les Otten is leading a $300M+ redevelopment. We'll add the Panorama Course to the live trail the moment it reopens.

Follow Reopening Updates

We'll add the Panorama Course — and any other qualifying public-access NH Ross courses — as they come back online. Know of one we're missing? Let us know.

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