New Hampshire

New Hampshire lies between Maine and Vermont, north of Boston, with the White Mountains in its north and a strip of seacoast around Portsmouth. The White Mountain National Forest covers more than 800,000 acres and reaches across the border into Maine. Mount Washington rises above it to 6,288 feet, with a toll road and a cog railway to the summit.

The mountain season is short, and much of it closed in the week we checked. We read the figures below on 27 October 2026 on the National Park Service's pages, New Hampshire State Parks', Recreation.gov's, the Mount Washington Auto Road's and Cog Railway's, Concord Coach Lines', Amtrak's and NOAA's normals.

Who runs New Hampshire's mountain sights, and what do they charge?

New Hampshire's main sights are run by four kinds of owner: the Park Service, the Forest Service, the state parks and private companies. Each charges separately, and only the federal sites accept the America the Beautiful pass.

Saint-Gaudens had 28,451 recreation visits in 2025, July the busiest month with 8,920. The Park Service counted 6,215,118 visits on the Appalachian Trail across all 14 of its states and gives no figure for New Hampshire alone.

What is still open around Mount Washington and Franconia Notch in late October?

Mount Washington and Franconia Notch were mostly closing down on 27 October 2026. The Flume Gorge closed for the season on 26 October, and its boardwalks are removed in winter. The summit building on Mount Washington closed on 16 October and reopens "at a TBD date in May of 2027", in New Hampshire State Parks' words.

The summit closure takes in the visitor centre, food, water, the hikers' shelter and the Mount Washington Observatory's museum. The Auto Road still ran to the summit for all traffic on 27 October, and its 2026 season ended on 1 November.

• Cog Railway: summit trips ended on 1 November. On 3 November 2026 its home page listed daily winter trains to Waumbek Station, at 4,000 feet, until 29 April 2027, and summit trains again from 30 April 2027.
• Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway: "RETIRED", closed since May 2026 for a replacement project.
• Saint-Gaudens: the buildings and fee season ended on 31 October; the grounds stay open in daylight all year, with icy, unmaintained walkways from November to May.
• State campgrounds: usually open from Memorial Day weekend to Columbus Day weekend.

How do you get up Mount Washington by road or rail?

Mount Washington can be climbed by car on the Auto Road from the east or by train on the Cog Railway from the west. The two bases are about 41 road miles apart, on opposite sides of the mountain.

The Auto Road leaves NH 16 in Pinkham Notch, eight miles south of Gorham and 12 north of Jackson. It climbs more than 4,000 feet in 7.6 miles, about 30 minutes up and 30 down. The road's own page calls it steep and narrow, without guardrails, at an average grade of 12%. Drivers are told to come down in low gear.

Adults aged 13 and over pay $36, children aged 4 to 12 $15, and under-fours nothing. The price table lists people, not cars. Pay at the Toll House in cash or by card; no reservation is needed. A guided two-hour tour costs $59. In winter the road closes to private cars, and a SnowCoach runs from December to March.

The Cog Railway's base station is six miles east of Route 302, near Bretton Woods. Most trains run on biodiesel, and two coal-fired steam engines run in summer and autumn. A biodiesel train climbs in about 45 minutes and a steam train in about an hour. The round trip takes just under three hours, with about an hour at the top.

The railway asks passengers to arrive 45 minutes early and warns that some GPS apps send drivers to Pinkham Notch, 50 miles away. Its site prints no summit fare, since tickets are sold through a separate booking system.

What can you still do in Franconia Notch with the Cannon tram retired?

Franconia Notch still has the Flume Gorge, Echo Lake and the Appalachian Trail, though the Cannon Mountain tram is gone. I-93 runs for eight miles through the notch between the Kinsman and Franconia ranges. A parkway links the Flume Gorge in the south with Echo Lake, at 1,931 feet, in the north.

The Flume Gorge is 800 feet long, with granite walls 70 to 90 feet high and 12 to 20 feet apart. The Flume Trail is a two-mile loop of about an hour and a half, with uphill walking and stairs. Avalanche Falls drops 45 feet. Tickets are sold for an arrival window: adults aged 13 and over pay $18 online or $21 at the window.

Children pay $16 online or $19 at the window. The gorge's own page puts children at 6 to 12, while the state's fees page says 6 to 11. Walk-up places are not guaranteed, and the gorge reopens next season.

The notch was also the home of the Old Man of the Mountain. The state park lists the New England Ski Museum, a recreational bike path and hikes on the Appalachian Trail. Lafayette Place Campground has 97 wooded tent sites. From 22 September 2026 the Falling Waters Trail to Franconia Ridge has significant route changes near Cloudland Falls.

What does the White Mountain National Forest's $5 day pass cover?

The White Mountain National Forest's day pass costs $5 and covers one private car and its passengers at the forest's day-use fee sites. It is valid until 11:59 p.m. on the day and is the only pass type the forest sells on Recreation.gov. Interagency passes, America the Beautiful among them, are accepted instead.

Bought on site, the pass needs no printed copy: the car's licence plate is checked. Bought ahead, it should be printed, because connectivity in the forest is limited. The pass does not guarantee a parking space, and cars parked illegally may be fined and towed.

The listing names 28 fee sites, among them Lincoln Woods, Sabbaday Falls, Diana's Bath, Champney Falls, Rocky Gorge and the Russell Colbath Historic Site. Recreation.gov describes the Kancamagus Scenic Byway as running east from Lincoln to the White Mountain Highway, NH 16. Our own routing puts North Conway to Lincoln over NH 112 at about 40 miles and 1 hour 10 minutes, town streets included.

The Forest Service's own site refused our requests on 27 October 2026. This page therefore gives no official length for the byway and nothing on its winter services or fuel.

How do you reach Saint-Gaudens while the Cornish-Windsor bridge is shut?

Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park is reached by NH 12A, and on weekdays the covered bridge from Windsor, Vermont, is closed. The Park Service says the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge closes on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from 19 October to the end of November 2026, for deck repairs. The detour runs south on US 5 from Windsor, east on VT 131 and north on NH 12A.

From I-89 exit 20 at West Lebanon, take NH 12A south for about 12 miles. From I-91 exit 8 at Ascutney, Vermont, take NH 12A north for about eight miles, then Saint-Gaudens Road for half a mile. The park warns that GPS may route drivers over miles of unpaved back roads. Large RVs and buses cannot use the covered bridge at any time.

The park preserves the home and studio of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and calls itself "Your National Park for the Arts". Entry costs $10 a person aged 16 or over, valid for seven days, and the park takes no cash, only cards. The buildings open Thursday to Monday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from Memorial Day weekend to 31 October.

The Shaw Memorial, the Farragut Memorial and the Standing Lincoln are on view in daylight. An alert posted in May 2025 says the Adams Memorial is temporarily not on view, with no end date. There is no local bus; Amtrak stops once a day at Windsor, Vermont, 2.5 miles away. Windsor lies across the state line in Vermont.

Why does the $250 annual pass rarely pay off in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire's federal fees are small, so the $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass rarely pays off here. No unit in the state is on the 2026 list of 11 parks with a $100 surcharge for non-residents aged 16 or over.

The federal part comes to $25. The pass pays off only on a longer trip that also takes in a surcharge park such as Acadia National Park in Maine. The 27 October fee-free day at Saint-Gaudens applied to US residents only, as at every Park Service site since 2026. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors has the full list.

How do you reach New Hampshire's mountains and coast without a car?

New Hampshire is reached from abroad through Boston Logan, which Massport says flies nonstop to more than 60 international destinations. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport's site refused our requests, so this page names none of its routes.

Concord Coach Lines runs daily buses from Logan to Concord, Lincoln, Franconia, Littleton, North Conway, Pinkham Notch and Gorham, changing in Concord. On the schedule effective 25 October 2026, buses leave Logan northbound at 7:25 a.m., 9:25 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. A Logan ticket does not reserve a date or a seat, and fares are not given here.

The Amtrak Downeaster stops at Exeter, Durham and Dover on its way from Boston North Station. The 8:50 a.m. weekday train reaches Exeter at 9:59 and Dover at 10:19. Five weekday trains run each way, and Portsmouth is not on the line.

Tolls on I-95 at Hampton and on the turnpikes are not given here. New Hampshire's transport and E-ZPass sites refused our requests on 27 October 2026, so ask the rental company how it bills them.

How long are the drives from Boston to the White Mountains?

Boston is about two and a half to four hours by road from the White Mountains, depending on the side of the range. The figures below are our own routing, without weekend or foliage traffic.

The Auto Road gives its own times: three and a half hours from Logan and two and a quarter from Portland's Jetport. It puts Manchester-Boston Regional two and a half hours away, but our routing on the roads it recommends takes about three. The Saint-Gaudens route ignores the weekday closure of the Cornish-Windsor bridge.

How cold is Mount Washington's summit against Concord and North Conway?

Mount Washington's summit averages 55°F on a July afternoon, when Concord reaches 83°F and North Conway 81°F. The table gives NOAA's 1991 to 2020 average highs and lows for four stations; Greenland is the nearest station to Portsmouth with normals.

The summit averages 281.8 inches of snow and 91.23 inches of precipitation a year, and 19.0 inches of snow in October alone. NOAA's normals give it no days at all at or above 90°F, and 233.2 nights at or below freezing. Concord averages 67.7 inches of snow a year and North Conway 84.0. October is the wettest month at Concord, Greenland, North Conway and the summit.

NOAA's heritage page records a gust of 231 mph on the summit on 12 April 1934. A 253 mph reading on Barrow Island, Australia, took the world record in 1996. The state tourism site, home of New Hampshire's foliage tracker, refused our requests, so this page gives no dates for the autumn colour.

What does New Hampshire's Meals and Rooms tax add to a bill?

New Hampshire's Meals and Rooms tax adds 8.5% to restaurant meals, hotel rooms and car rentals, a rate in force since 1 October 2021. The customer pays it, and the restaurant, hotel or rental desk passes it to the state.

The Department of Revenue Administration lists no general sales tax among the taxes it collects. We read both on its pages on 28 October 2026. Our guide to sales tax in the USA explains why American prices are shown before tax.

New Hampshire is wholly on Eastern Time, the same as Boston and Massachusetts. Its clocks go back an hour at 2 a.m. on 1 November 2026.