The Top of New England

Atop Mt. Washington, New England's tallest mountain.

On a recent September day, my family spent a night at Attitash Mountain Resort (specifically, Attitash Grand Summit Hotel), just outside the vacation mecca of North Conway, New Hampshire.  It was not our first time staying there and odds are it won't be our last.  They offer reasonable prices, a huge outdoor heated pool that, given the chance, my son would live in, and of course the dueling outdoor spas.  Put these together with a comfortable studio room with full kitchen, full breakfast included and you have a great place for a family escape.

Entrance to the 8 mile long Mt. Washington Auto Road.

About 20 minutes up the road from Attitash is the Mt. Washington Auto Road that opened 150 years ago to horse-drawn carriages transporting rusticators to its summit at 6,288 foot summit.  Now anyone living in New England for any period of time can relate to the familiar site of the "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper sticker, yet in all my years in the region, I never embarked upon this journey, until now.

Yes, that is snow...and yes it is September.

Although my wife's knuckles were white with anxiety on the trek up, the scenery from above the treeline was beautiful.  We were very fortunate that the weather cooperated, as this mountain's reputation for wild weather is well deserved.  But on this day, it was mostly sunny, the temperature was a cool 34 degrees, and the wind only topped out at about 4 mph.  For Mt. Washington, where the average temperature is about 34 degrees and wind speeds frequently linger around 35 mph, this was a pretty mild day.  This from a mountain where there have been winds so high, they even chained down one of the old buildings at the top to keep it from blowing away.

Note the chains holding down the building.

If you look closely, you see the Mt. Washington Hotel (bottom center) across the street from Bretton Woods Ski Resort

We lingered at the top for quite some time, taking in the views of neighboring mountains such as Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson, and a view of the Omni Mount Washington Resort, dwarfed next to this majestic mountain.  We also wandered around the Tip Top House, built in 1853, which used to provide lodging for people who braved an overnight at the summit, and a museum with interesting memorabilia.

Tip Top House on Mt. Washington.  Built in 1853.

We opted to take our personal car, but many people chugged to the summit on the Cog Railway, whose bright yellow engine pushed a turquoise passenger car that was packed to the gills with travelers of all ages.

Cog Railway with Wildcat Mountain Ski Resort in the background.

So next time you're looking for something to do on a sunny day in the White Mountain National Forest, consider a drive to the top of Mt. Washington.  Plan on a couple of hours to drive up, linger and drive down, stopping occasionally to keep from overheating your brakes.