Continuing our autumn adventures in New Hampshire, we drove from North Conway to the base of Mount Washington for a driving experience we will never forget on the Mount Washington Auto Road. We had been warned it was not for the faint hearted, and we did indeed hold our breath for quite a bit of the journey up, and down. Read on to find out why.
The Mount Washington Auto Road is a 12.2 km privately owned toll road climbing to the 1,917 m summit of Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast. It is steep, narrow and without guardrails – allow 30 minutes up, longer down in your lowest gear, and check the toll rates and opening times on the official site before you go.
At 1,917 m (6,288 ft), Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Presidential Range of the White Mountain National Forest, famous for experiencing the world’s worst weather at its summit, which explains the Extreme Weather Museum at the top. There are three ways up – a challenging hike, the cog railway on the western side, or the iconic Mount Washington Auto Road on the eastern side. More on that shortly.
We left North Conway first thing to make the Auto Road’s 10am opening, and the 30 minute drive was stunning – quiet winding roads through the multicoloured trees of the forest. We stopped at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center, which was serving canteen breakfasts to hikers on the Appalachian Trail. The building smelt of wood fires and pine cones and made me want to lace up my boots; instead we picked up breakfast scones and a strong cup of tea to fortify us.
The Auto Road is legendary, one of New England’s top adventures – a 12.2 km privately owned toll road, the “Road to the Sky”, winding around Mount Washington all the way to the summit. Sounds fine, until you read the warning signs at the bottom:
“Attention. The Mt Washington Auto Road is a steep, narrow, mountain road without guardrails. If you have a fear of heights, you may not appreciate this driving experience. Guided tours are available.”
We decided to take our chances.
Opened in 1861 as the Mt Washington Carriage Road after a seven year build, it originally carried horse drawn carriages of tourists to the summit, which is why it is called America’s first man made attraction. Adapted for automobiles, it became a hillclimb course – the Climb to the Clouds race first ran in 1904, and the current ascent record of 5 minutes 28.67 seconds was set in a Subaru in 2021.
The toll covers car, driver and passengers and includes summit museum entry; check current rates and opening dates on the official Mount Washington Auto Road site. We were handed the cherished bumper sticker declaring “This car has climbed Mt Washington” at the bottom, slightly premature, but hey! A free guided audio tour is available on the Auto Road app before you set off.
The road starts gently, climbing through the trees and pretty colours, then narrows. There are pull offs along the way, for admiring the views or calming the nerves.
At some point you pop out of the safety of the trees onto the scarier section – sheer drops beside the road and, exactly as warned, no guardrails. The mountain views up here are incredible, and I held my breath for the entire second half of the climb. In total the road gains over 1,200 m from Pinkham Notch to the parking areas just below the summit. We were delighted to arrive safely, park up and explore on foot.
The views are the star at the top: you can see for miles, all the way to the coast in one direction. Also up there:
The summit signpost: For the obligatory posed photographs.
Trinity Heights Connector: A short 500 m trail.
Tip Top House: Built in 1853, believed to be the oldest surviving building on the summit and the oldest mountain top hostelry in the world, now a museum.
Extreme Weather Museum: Exhibits on how scientists track conditions year round through hurricane force winds and Arctic temperatures, included with your Auto Road entry.
Mount Washington Observatory: Where the observations actually happen, including the highest wind speed ever observed by man, 372 km/h (231 mph), recorded in a storm on 12 April 1934.
Sherman Adams Summit Building: Restaurant, toilets, gift shop and a post office stamping mail with a special summit postmark.
Super fit? Hike. Daredevil? Drive. Neither? Catch the Mount Washington Cog Railway up the western side. Steam powered from 1869 to 2008, its brightly coloured biodiesel locomotives now climb an average gradient of 25 percent year round, a round trip of about 3 hours with an hour at the top. When the trains arrive at the summit they cause quite a stir, with everyone taking photos, much to the driver’s annoyance!
It took us 30 minutes to drive up, and a lot longer to come down. Ascend in your normal drive gear, but descend in your lowest gear; even then the car wants to run, and the brakes take real pressure. The average gradient is 12 percent, some sections hit 18 percent, and the final stretch is a very steep 22 percent. The advice is to pump the brakes rather than riding them, and use the pull offs to let them cool. One stopping place overlooks the Huntington Ravine Trail climbing from the valley, lined with stone cairns as far as the eye can see.
It was a relief to drop back into the trees and away from the drops, but what a drive to remember. If you would like the experience without driving yourself, guided tours run to the summit, including sunrise and sunset trips.
Across the highway from the start of the Auto Road, the Pinkham Notch Market sells food and souvenirs, and behind it sits the Red Barn Museum – a small barn packed with Auto Road photographs, memorabilia and vehicles that have made the ascent, including carriages, cars, motorbikes and a Segway!
We had planned to return to North Conway and drive the famous Kancamagus Highway, 56 km of US Route 112 through the White Mountain National Forest between Conway and Lincoln, supposedly one of the best foliage drives of all.
But the foliage trackers (the visitnh.gov Fall Foliage Report and a weather app) suggested peak colour further north, so we changed plans and looped around the top of Mount Washington towards the Great North Woods and Franconia Notch State Park instead. Honest verdict? The colours on our impromptu route looked much the same as further south, so I am not convinced the detour gained us anything. Flexibility is the point, though – check the trackers and chase the colour.
We stopped for food in Lancaster, off the main tourist route. The visitor centre was closed and the town centre had a slightly Twilight Zone feel, but two highlights delivered – the Polish Princess Bakery, with delicious breads, bagels and pastries, and the town’s iconic covered bridge, one of around 100 covered bridges in New England, built in 1862, painted a cheerful red and still standing strong. Lovely!
The next stage of our short road trip took us west into Vermont, the state line sitting just over the bridge out of Lancaster, all part of our New England fall road trip. Next stop Stowe.
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