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Photo: Jiaqian AirplaneFan / CC BY 3.0 · source

Mountains

Mount Washington

Gorham, NH · White Mountains, New Hampshire$$Auto Road $36 adults, $15 ages 4 to 12, under 4 free

About

Mount Washington tops out at 6,288 feet, the highest point in the Northeast, and the summit observatory clocked a 231 mph gust in April 1934, still the fastest wind ever recorded at a staffed surface station. There are three ways up. The Auto Road climbs 7.6 miles of switchbacks from Route 16 with no guardrails. The Cog Railway grinds up the west side from Marshfield Base Station on grades near 37 percent. Or hike the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from Pinkham Notch, about 4.2 miles and 4,000 feet of gain, a full day even in July. Above treeline the path is a boulder field marked by cairns, and rime ice shows up in September. Season matters more than weather luck here: the Auto Road runs late April to early November, the summit building opens only late May to mid October, and in winter the Cog turns back at Waumbek Station. Check the summit forecast, not the valley one.

Highlights

6,288 ft, Northeast high point231 mph gust in 1934Auto Road late Apr to NovCog Railway runs year roundSummit building May to OctTuckerman hike 4.2 mi

Getting there

1598 Mt Washington Auto Road, Sargent's Purchase, NH 03589

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