The horses were probably a little slower, and the carts may have been narrower, but the idea of an animal with a mind of its own on a narrow mountain road still makes me nervous.

At the time, your only choice was a trip up in a horse and buggy – it’s not clear whether that’s better or worse than a car. The HistoryĪmericans have been visiting this travel destination and driving this road since it opened in the summer of 1861.

Somewhat of an adventure! If you’re not up to driving the road, taking the Cog Railway or a guided tour are also options. Unpaved in places too, and you definitely want to go down in first gear. Note that the ~7.6 mile mountain road is some effort to drive – it’s fairly narrow, with steep drop offs, no guardrails, and with high winds. Our boys were quite skeptical when we told them we were going to go there as a family day trip (a bit over 3 hours from Boston to the entrance makes it a long driving day), but actually they liked it much more than they expected – really nice (and slightly dangerous) views from the top, interestingly high wind gusts, nice rock formations, and such.

While the mountain isn’t so tall by western US standards, it’s definitely an interesting family drive to try once.

If you are near New Hampshire, consider a drive up to the top of Northeast’s tallest peak via the Mount Washington Auto Road.

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