The White Mountains

The Presidential Range runs across northern New Hampshire and culminates in Mount Washington, which at just over nineteen hundred metres is modest by world standards and yet holds a wind record of three hundred and seventy kilometres an hour, measured in 1934 and unbeaten by a surface station for over sixty years. Three storm tracks converge here and the summit sits in cloud most days of the year, which is why the mountain has a serious fatality record. You can reach the top three ways: on foot, by the auto road, or on the cog railway of 1869, the first mountain-climbing cog line ever built. Below, the Kancamagus Highway crosses the range through forest that turns spectacularly in autumn.

What you actually see

• Mount Washington - the summit, its weather observatory and record wind.
• The cog railway - the world's first mountain cog line, running since 1869.
• The Kancamagus Highway - the scenic pass road, superb in autumn.
• Franconia Notch - the flume gorge, cliffs and the notch itself.

When to go

June to October for hiking, with autumn colour peaking in the first half of October and filling every road and inn. The cog railway and auto road run roughly May to October. Winter here is arctic in character and the range is used for serious cold weather training.

Honest expectations

Mount Washington kills people, usually in summer, usually hikers caught by weather that arrives in minutes; the summit can be below freezing with hurricane-force wind in July. Turn back early and carry proper kit. Autumn foliage weekends bring gridlock on the Kancamagus and rooms are booked months out.

Nearby

North Conway is the main base; Portland, Maine is under two hours east.