Mount Washington State Park is a parcel perched on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire, the highest peak in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

. Summer seasonal amenities include a cafeteria, restrooms, gift shops, the Mount Washington Observatory and its museum. The historic Tip Top House is located adjacent to the summit building and is open (small fee) to visitors from early May to early October. The park is accessible by the Mount Washington Auto Road, the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

, or numerous other

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Howe ...

from surrounding trailheads including

Pinkham Notch Pinkham Notch (elevation 2032 ft. / 619 m) is a mountain pass in the White Mountains of north-central New Hampshire, United States. The notch is a result of extensive erosion by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Wisconsinian ice age. P ...

Crawford Notch Crawford Notch is a major pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located in Hart's Location. Roughly half of that town is contained in Crawford Notch State Park. The high point of the notch, at approximately above sea level, is a ...

and the Cog Railway base station. The land forming the park was originally given to

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1951 by the estate of the owner of the Cog Railway. Dartmouth sold to the

State of New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in 1964 for use as a park and then sold the final in 2008 for $2.1M, after a long-term broadcasting lease had expired. A small segment of the summit is still owned by the Cog Railway and used as the upper terminus of the railway.

History

In 1642, Darby Field was the first to climb to the summit of Mount Washington. He supposedly had guidance by local Native Americans. Construction of the auto road started in 1854. After funds ran out in 1856, the current Mount Washington Summit Road Company completed building it in 1859. It was at that time that summit buildings were erected. The Cog Railway completed construction in 1869. In 1908 a major fire destroyed all of the buildings but one — the Tip Top House.

References

External links

* New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources {{authority control State parks of New Hampshire State parks of the Appalachians

State Park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

Parks in Coös County, New Hampshire Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in New Hampshire