Mount Washington

Mount Washington rises in the US state of New Hampshire and is part of the White Mountains within the Appalachian Mountains. At 1917 m, it is the highest elevation in the northeastern United States.

When the weather is nice and on weekends, it is important to arrive early, otherwise there will be a long queue at the entrance to the Auto Road. For this reason, we made our way to Mount Washington at around 9 a.m. The drive from North Conway took about 20 minutes. It led north and past many vantage points and starting points for some challenging hikes. Here, too, the Indian summer was felt very strongly. It is impossible to describe all of the many red, orange and yellow tones.

How do I get to Mount Washington?

Mount Washington Auto Road

With entry to the Auto Road we received a certificate, a car sticker (“This car climbed Mt. Washington”) and a CD. During the 25 minute serpentine ride uphill we were told a lot about the history of the mountain, in German. Really good and informative idea. It's exciting how early and with what effort the first settlers scaled the mountain. The ascent then took a whole day with a horse-drawn carriage and sometimes on foot.

Mount Washington Cog Railway

In addition to the Auto Road, there is also a well-known hiking trail, the 4-mile Tuckerman Ravine Trail, and the Mount Washington Cog Railway, which opened in 1869. However, we found the train ticket to be very expensive at 66 USD.

On top of Mount Washington

When we finally arrived at the 1917 meter high summit, we quickly found a parking space. The weather up here was just great! Luckily we had a totally clear blue sky and could even see the Atlantic in the distance. It wasn't as cold as we thought it would be either. The mountain had the title “TheWorst Weather In The World“ inside. On April 12, 1934, a wind record of 372 km/h was measured in the weather station. For this reason, some houses were secured with chains. In addition to the great view, we also visited a natural history museum and the historic tip-top house. Opened in 1852, this hotel is now an interesting museum about life on the mountain.

Covered Bridge bei Jackson

After driving down Mount Washington, we headed back towards North Conway. Halfway we stopped again at a covered bridge near Jackson. It is even possible to drive over this red-painted bridge.

Mount Washington Hotel

Since it wasn't even lunchtime yet, we decided to drive to Bretton Woods on the other side of Mount Washington. Here is the famous Mount Washington Hotel and the station of the Cog Railway. We marveled at the incoming and outgoing trains and then made our way back. Also along this route there is the possibility to stop at many points and enjoy the beautiful view and small lakes.

We used the afternoon to go shopping at the outlet center Settlers' Green. This is not very big, but offered the most important shops for us. Actually, there are always the same brands anyway. It is also worth noting that there is no tax on clothing in New Hampshire. So one or the other bargain is quite feasible.