After deciding that it was too late to ascend and descend Mt. Washington and deciding to head home, we made a plan to go back the next day and make the drive up in daylight, and that is just what we did!

Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at an altitude of 6,288.2 feet- hard to believe!  It’s also the site of the second highest wind gust ever recorded – at over 200 mph – and to this day, it is one of the most important weather centers.  

Before driving up, there is a small hut to stop and pay (you pay per person and also the vehicle), and they give you a CD to listen to on the drive up.  Unfortunately, our car didn’t have a CD drive, but the views make up for that.

The drive is twisty and turny and there were many parts where I couldn’t bare to look out at the views and preferred to look at the mountain side that was sloping UP instead of DOWN.

Once we made it to the top, everything was a-ok and the views were incredible!

We spent some time exploring the weather observatory exhibit and also took in the views before heading back down.  There is a restaurant there, as well as places to fill up bottles, eat your picnic, or even take a shower.  Mount Washington is a popular place to hike for many people, but it’s not a place to hike if you are unprepared!  We saw an exhibit that warned of people dying who were unprepared for the sudden changes in weather that can happen in the blink of an eye.

On the way down, we stopped to snap a few photos…

But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little happy to be right back on the ground…

What a cool place to experience with my family!