The shortest trail route to the summit of Pierce is from a parking lot to the west of the mountain on Mount Clinton Road just off Route 302. The trail primarily follows the Crawford Path, the oldest continually used hiking trail in the United States. Crawford Path was established in 1819 by Abel and Ethan Crawford, who referred to the mountain as Bald Mountain. The Appalachian Trail and Webster Cliff Trail approach from Mount Jackson in the south and meet Crawford Path just north of the summit before continuing to the northeast. Mount Eisenhower and Mount Monroe lie on the ridge northeast of Mount Pierce. All three of these peaks are included on the peak-bagging list of four-thousand footers in New Hampshire.