The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is opening summer with a warning that has not changed much in twenty years and that hikers, year after year, still find ways to ignore. Memorial Day weekend marks the traditional start of the state’s busy hiking season, and Fish and Game wants Granite Staters and visitors to remember that on the highest peaks of the White Mountains, the calendar lies. The grass may be green in the valleys, but ice and snow linger above tree line into late May and early June. The department issued its annual Memorial Day weekend safety advisory on May 19, 2026, in a public statement posted by NH Fish and Game.

“People must always take personal responsibility as they head out by acknowledging their physical limitations, being aware of changing weather conditions, and knowing when it’s time to turn back,” Fish and Game Law Enforcement Chief Colonel Kevin Jordan said in the advisory. “Some locations at higher elevations are still holding snow and may require microspikes or even snowshoes to cross. It is imperative that people enjoying New Hampshire’s natural resources exercise a high degree of caution. Unsafe and irresponsible behavior also puts first responders at extreme risk of injury.”

That last sentence is the part of the message that often gets lost in coverage of hiker rescues. Every time a Conservation Officer or a volunteer search and rescue team member crawls up a ravine in the dark, that person is exposed to the same weather, the same loose rock, the same iced-over scree fields that put the lost hiker in trouble in the first place. The Hike Safe message is not only about the hikers. It is about the people who come looking when something goes wrong.

The 10 essentials

Jordan strongly recommends that hikers and outdoor enthusiasts carry the 10 essentials for changeable weather conditions and unanticipated emergencies. Fish and Game lists them as a map, a compass, warm clothing including a sweater or fleece jacket, long pants in wool or synthetic, and a wool hat, plus extra food and water, a flashlight or headlamp, matches or firestarters, a first aid and repair kit, a whistle, a rain and wind jacket and pants, and a pocket knife.

Veterans of the White Mountains tend to bring all ten and a few more. The basics matter precisely because they are easy to skip on what looks like a perfect day. Cell signal is unreliable across most of the National Forest, paper maps do not run out of battery, and a whistle carries farther than a voice. Hypothermia happens in the high country in July when an exposed hiker gets soaked in a thunderstorm at 4,000 feet. The 10 essentials are designed to handle exactly that scenario.

The 2026 Hike Safe Card

The agency is also asking hikers to purchase the voluntary 2026 Hike Safe card. The card costs $25 for an individual and $35 for a family, the same price for residents and nonresidents, and remains good through the calendar year ending December 31, 2026. The cards do not provide search and rescue insurance in the traditional sense, but they do something close to it. A Hike Safe card holder generally cannot be billed for the cost of a search and rescue operation unless the person was reckless or intentionally created the situation that required rescue.

Card revenues are not symbolic. They go straight into the Fish and Game Search and Rescue Fund, which pays for the training and equipment that Conservation Officers need to do their job. The fund is also supported by a $1 fee collected for each boat, snowmobile, and OHRV registered in New Hampshire. Together, those small dollars pay for a year-round operation that costs the state real money every time someone hits the panic button on a ridgeline at 8 p.m.

Hike Safe cards can be purchased online at www.wildnh.com/safe and in person at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Headquarters at 11 Hazen Drive in Concord. Holding a valid hunting or fishing license provides the same protection as a Hike Safe card, which is a useful detail for the many Granite Staters who already pay a license fee but never thought of it as rescue coverage.

Why Memorial Day is the test

Memorial Day weekend functions as a stress test for the White Mountain National Forest, the Presidential Range, and the smaller but heavily trafficked mountains like Monadnock, Cardigan, and Major. Trailheads fill at sunrise. Strangers from out of state ask locals if they need crampons “even though it’s almost June.” The answer in 2026 is the same as it has been in every recent year. Sometimes yes. Always check.

Fish and Game responds to more rescues over Memorial Day weekend than over almost any other weekend before late June. The pattern is consistent. Hikers underestimate snowpack on north-facing slopes above 3,500 feet. They start late because the early morning was warm. They get caught in a fast-moving afternoon thunderstorm. They take a wrong turn on a poorly marked trail and try to bushwhack out instead of backtracking. By dark, they are calling for help.

Many of those callouts end well because the volunteers and Conservation Officers who respond know the terrain and the protocols. Some end badly. Fish and Game does not publish a Memorial Day rescue forecast, but the agency’s repeated and unchanging advice is the closest thing to one. Be prepared, be aware, be responsible.

The hiker responsibility code

Fish and Game directs hikers to www.hikesafe.com, which spells out the hiker responsibility code in plain English. The code asks hikers to know where they are going, to leave their plans with someone, to be prepared with the gear and skills the trip requires, to turn back in inclement weather or running out of daylight, and to plan for emergencies. It is the kind of list that sounds obvious until you read it on a Wednesday morning instead of a Saturday at the trailhead.

The “leave your plans with someone” line is the one that rescuers want hikers to take most seriously. Search and rescue calls that start with a worried family member who knows the trail, the route, and the planned turnaround time are solved in hours. Calls that start with “we have not heard from him since Friday” and no other information turn into multi-day operations with helicopters, dogs, and dozens of volunteers. The math is brutal.

The bigger New Hampshire picture

The push for Memorial Day weekend safety lands in a year when the state has been actively wrestling with how to manage public access to its outdoor spaces. Recent coverage on the federal Roadless Rule rollback affecting the White Mountain National Forest and on the future of the Bartlett Experimental Forest shows that the policy debate over New Hampshire’s forests is as active as the trail system itself. Hikers and policymakers are now part of the same conversation about what these mountains are for and who is responsible for managing the risks they hold.

Air quality is the other variable in the 2026 outdoor season. The state’s first Code Orange air quality alert of the year, issued in Rockingham County earlier in May, is a reminder that high-effort outdoor activity in early summer is not free of risk even at lower elevations. Hikers with asthma, heart conditions, or other respiratory sensitivities should check forecast pages alongside trail conditions.

For families planning a Memorial Day hike, the practical takeaways are short and unglamorous. Buy or renew a Hike Safe card. Pack the 10 essentials. Check the higher summits forecast at the Mount Washington Observatory. Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be home. Turn around if the weather changes, if you are running out of daylight, or if a member of your group is starting to slow down.

What the state is asking for

Fish and Game frames the Memorial Day weekend message as a partnership rather than a lecture. The agency cannot reach every trailhead. It can issue an advisory, post the 10 essentials, sell Hike Safe cards, and ask the New Hampshire public to do the rest. The success of that approach over the last decade has kept the state’s rescue costs manageable and has prevented a shift to mandatory paid permits that some neighboring states have considered.

For Conservation Officers, the test of any Memorial Day weekend is whether the rescues they end up running could have been prevented by basic preparation. When the answer is yes, the agency renews the message. When the answer is no, when the call was a true accident handled well by a prepared hiker who turned back when conditions deteriorated, that is the version of summer New Hampshire’s outdoor managers are working toward.

The Granite State’s mountains will reward almost any visitor who shows up prepared. The same trails will punish almost any visitor who shows up underprepared. Fish and Game is asking everyone this weekend to land on the right side of that line. Read the advisory. Carry the gear. Buy the card. Then go enjoy the hike.

What are the 10 essentials NH Fish and Game recommends hikers carry?

The 10 essentials are a map, a compass, warm clothing including a sweater or fleece jacket, long pants in wool or synthetic and a wool hat, extra food and water, a flashlight or headlamp, matches or firestarters, a first aid and repair kit, a whistle, rain and wind jacket and pants, and a pocket knife.

How much does the 2026 New Hampshire Hike Safe card cost and what does it cover?

The 2026 Hike Safe card costs $25 for an individual and $35 for a family, the same price for residents and nonresidents, and is valid through December 31, 2026. The card generally protects holders from being billed for the cost of a search and rescue, unless the situation was caused by reckless or intentional conduct. A valid hunting or fishing license provides the same protection.

Where can I buy a Hike Safe card or a New Hampshire hunting or fishing license?

Hike Safe cards can be purchased online at wildnh.com/safe and in person at NH Fish and Game Department Headquarters, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH. Hunting and fishing licenses, which provide equivalent search and rescue protection, are available through the same channels.

Why is snow and ice still a concern on New Hampshire trails in late May?

The highest peaks in the White Mountains, including Mount Washington and surrounding summits in the Presidential Range, often hold snow and ice into early June, especially on north-facing slopes above 3,500 to 4,000 feet. Memorial Day hikers heading above tree line may still need microspikes or snowshoes even when conditions look mild at the trailhead.

What should I do if I get caught in bad weather above tree line in the White Mountains?

Fish and Game's hiker responsibility code says to turn back in inclement weather or if running out of daylight. If you are already exposed, descend below tree line as quickly as it is safe to do so, layer up with the spare warm clothing in your pack, eat and hydrate, and signal for help using a whistle in patterns of three. Leaving plans with someone before the hike gives rescuers a starting point if they need to come find you.

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