The Washington Auto Road is a privately owned and has a very interesting history. It first opened to the public in 1861. Before that the only way to the summit was on foot or on horseback using one of the existing bridle paths. The road is 7.6 miles long and ascends 4,725 feet.
The day we showed up to drive the road was the morning of the annual Mt. Washington Road Race. They have over 1,000 runners participate. We had to stage up in the parking area waiting for the race to complete.
Staging up for the end of the race 
Jethro all staged up 
Some of the bikes rolling in 
Bikes of all kinds
Once the majority of the runners had come down the mountain the road was open for us to ascend. We paid our toll, received or CD to play in the radio, and made our way to the top. The CD plays the history of the road and points out landmarks on the way up and shares additional information on the way down. On the way down they stress the use of low gear and not riding the brakes, for obvious reasons. It is interesting that the road follows the same path as laid out 150 years ago. While it has been widened and improved over the years it is amazing to think how it was built with hand tools, horses and oxen, and old fashioned blasting powder. Before the invention of dynamite and before Lincoln was President.
At the summit we took our requisite picture at the summit and explored the Tip Top House, The Mt. Washington Weather Observatory, and the Sherman Adams Summit Building. The day we were at the summit the temperature was 52 degrees and the winds were around 30 mph with gusts to 45 mph. It was blowing really good on the back side of the Tip Top House. The Observatory Building is actually chained down as is the row of porta potties. Mt. Washington held the former world record for peak wind speed of 231 mph recorded on April 12, 1934.
Some fun facts lifted from our Auto Road info given to us before our ascent.
Elevation 6288 ft.
Lowest Temperature -47F
Highest Temperature +72F
Avg. Annual Wind Speed 35 mph
Avg. Annual Snow Fall 281.2 inches
Greatest Seasonal Snowfall 566.4 inches
The summit is in the clouds 60% of the time.
Some Mt. Washington Auto Road Climbing Records:
On Foot Jonathan Wyatt, 2004 56 minutes, 41 seconds
Bicycle Thomas Danielson, 2002 49 minutes, 24 seconds
Auto Travis Pastrana, 2017 5 minutes, 44.72 seconds
Other than driving or hiking to the summit of Mt. Washington you can take advantage of the Cog Railway that is celebrating its 150th year this year. You can schedule a ride on either the Biodiesel or Steam Trains for your ride to the summit. Reservations recommended. The day we were at the summit we saw two of the Bio Diesel trains reach the summit.
We really enjoyed our day on Mt. Washington and the area surrounding it and encourage everyone to take advantage of a visit to Mt. Washington. Every car that climbs Mt. Washington receives a “This Car Climbed Mt. Washington” bumper sticker. Even the little cars.
