Devil's Den

[mcdude]

From "Back Porch Tales" by Karl M. Frost - 1974 - pp. 25-26

Located in East Alton, Devil's Den was a very popular visiting spot years ago. It is located on a high site of land, pretty much in the wilderness. Devil's Den is a large rock. The story goes that probably at least 100 years ago, maybe more, it was struck by lightning. the bolt must have hit the top and gone down through the rock and cut at ground level. For some unknown reason, as the bolt of lightning neared the ground, it cleared out a complete circular room and left an entrance large enough for an average person to walk in.

Although the Devil's Den rock is not in itself more than twenty feet or so tall, being on a high elevation the view from the top, over a wide valley, is beautiful.

Some sixty years ago an iron ladder up one wall on the inside allowed a person to climb easily to the top and sticking one's head out of the hole offered an unobstructed view. There are, or were, at least three or four niches cut into the wall of the room, probably to hold candles. Today, (1974) the ladder is gone and only one or two iron spikes are left to show where the ladder was once located.

There are many stories about the den - some claim it was first used as an indian lookout. Others say it was a smuggler's den where liquor run in from Canada was stored. Once, years ago, there was a fairly good road right to the foot of the den. Parties were taken there by horse and team for outings. Treks were made every summer from many local towns. A fairly good set of directional markings were put up for directions. Today it is just wilderness - the road is impassable for carriages and the signs are mostly gone. It is a long walk now over extremely rough terrain, recommended only for those who have a lot of intestinal fortitude. Devil's Den is an unusual sight created by nature's own handiwork. Most any of the local people in Alton or Alton Bay can give you directions if you want to visit the cave, but be sure to take a flashlight along with you.

[AMekler]

does any one have the lat/lon coordinates so i can put it in my gps?
thanks,
A.Mekler

[viands]

All of the information posted so far is great and is only making more interested in wanting to visit the den. Need someone to post EXACT description of how to get to the darn thing.

[mcdude]

Originally Posted by Yankee

If you're heading north on rout 11 to Alton, take a left at the flashing yellow light(New Durham) where Ridge road crosses the highway.There's a restaurant on the southwest corner--used to be Dot's Lunch .....

um......wouldn't you take a right if you were heading north (actually west people I've given directions to have informed me it is West not North as I always thought!) on Rt. 11 towards Alton?

Dot's Lunch...
Mamarina's...
New Durham Station..
....and now....Johnson's Steak and Seafood. (and ice cream!)

[HillBilly]

My home is in the shadows of Devils Den. To get there from Rt28, go east on Rines Rd. App 1.4 mi. crossing Beaver Brook and thru seasonal gate. This section of Rines rd. is part of the Powder Mill Snowmobile Trail System.

Take 2nd rt (A large open trail junction with many orange trail signs).
At next junction (more signs), go right again, you should be going in a south west direction winding thru dense woods. Approx 2mi you will come to another trail junction. Go right thru a steel green gate.
devils den will be appr 200 yds on left (LOOK UP). There will be places to pull in to park.
These roads are rough in places, but a road car will make it. I recommend an SUV or other off-road vehicle.

The cave ladder is still there but missing a few rungs. Be careful...Have fun..

Hillbilly

[mcdude]

I just had to add this photo taken from devil's den and posted on the gallery today by dcr

Here's his commentary...

Devil's Den Mt is located in New Durham, a little north of Merrymeeting Lake. In a much earlier time it was a popular outing site for people looking for interesting features of the natural world. It has a large section of internal fractured ledge which has formed an interesting long, narrow, cave-like opening through part of the mountain (perhaps 100 ft long - it's been decades since I last went through it and my memory may not be accurate) ending at a spot where an opening in the roof leads, in about 15 or 20 ft, to the top of the ledge and out on the mountain's surface again. It was once a tourist's site, but it has been essentially abandoned for a least a century now, and only the few who know something of its history are likely to visit it these days. Its summit does have limited views of Merrymeeting Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee. A little bit of Merrymeeting can be seen below Birch Ridge in this photo.

click here for a larger version of the photo

[dcr]

I just noticed the inquiry about the "precise" location of the Devil's Den on Devils Den Mt. I happened to have revisited that site yesterday for the first time in decades - I used to hike to it often long ago when I was a kid who spent summers at the family camp on Merrymeeting Lake. Finding Devils Den Mt is the first step and that should be fairly easy if you have access to a good Atlas - the old roads leading in to the mountain are best traveled by a 4-wheel drive vehicle, but one can drive a car in to within a mile or two of the mountain before having to hike the rest of the way. A recent poster identified what is probably the easiest way in, starting with the Rines Rd off Rte 28 in Alton, close to the Wolfeboro line. Finding the summit, only a short walk off the 'Devils Den Rd' at the top of a small ridge, is not very hard - however, the den itself is not particularly close to the summit, probably 2 to 3 hundred yards down the ENE side of the mountain. A number of paths lead from the summit in that general direction - using the coordinates 43-30.8 N, 71-10.3 W might be some help, but be advised that those are rough numbers, taken from my mapping program and my best guess of where on the map the cave is located - they are not coordinates taken at the actual cave site with a GPS unit. Walk one (or more, if necessary) of the paths which lead generally ENE, going steadily downhill - you will probably come upon some high, steep vertical cliffs, which the paths should lead you north or south to get around to more favorable sites to continue your descent. The first part of the cave you are apt to see is the exit hole coming out atop one of those sections of steep cliff. From there you should be able to find a path(s) leading downhill still further, soon leading you to the cave entrance, which you will have to climb back up a small ways to get to. I hope this rather rambling description can prove to be of some help rather than simply causing more confusion.