Coppermine Trail Shelter

A Heritage Conservation Training Workshop

About the Project
This was a unique TFG undertaking in which an instructor, Guild member Adam Miller, teamed up with US Forest Service personnel to undertake some interesting repairs to a 1935 shelter structure.Participants hiked in and camped on-site for this heritage conservation training workshop, which focused on repair to the log-built structure and the training of Forest Service trail crews to care for and repair simple wood structures in their district. The Coppermine Shelter was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, who utilized the Forest Camp Adirondack Shelter 1935 standard plan. The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) Hiking Shelter System was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to the development of outdoor recreation in New Hampshire and the United States, as a rare and early example of a hiking shelter network, and as examples of the evolution of the Adirondack Rustic Style. The Coppermine hiking trail, which accesses the shelter and Bridal Veil Falls from the west side of Cannon Mountain, was constructed by the Appalachian Mountain Club in 1881. The 1935 WMNF Recreation Plan states that the Coppermine shelter was intended to serve both skiers and hikers; however, the Coppermine ski trail eventually fell out of use, as later ski resort development focused on the eastern slopes of Cannon Mountain. The Coppermine ski trail can be traced with difficulty today, and the shelter is primarily accessed by hikers via the Coppermine hiking trail, which ends just past the shelter at Bridal Veil Falls.

The Coppermine Shelter was built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), who utilized the Forest Camp Adirondack Shelter 1935 standard plan. The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) Hiking Shelter System was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its significance to the development of outdoor recreation in New Hampshire and the United States, as a rare and early example of a hiking shelter network, and as examples of the evolution of the Adirondack Rustic Style. 

The Coppermine hiking trail, which accesses the shelter and Bridal Veil Falls from the west side of Cannon Mountain, was constructed by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in 1881. By the 1930s, skiing had become popular in the White Mountains. In 1932, the CCC constructed the Taft Ski Trail from the summit of Cannon Mountain down to Franconia Notch on the east side of the mountain, and soon after built the Coppermine and Tucker Brook/Meadow Brook Trails on the west side of the mountain. 

The 1935 WMNF Recreation Plan states that the Coppermine shelter was intended to serve both skiers and hikers. The Coppermine ski trail eventually fell out of use, as later ski resort development focused on the eastern slopes of Cannon Mountain. The Coppermine ski trail can be traced with difficulty today, and the shelter is primarily accessed by hikers via the Coppermine hiking trail, which ends just past the shelter at Bridal Veil Falls