Mount Washington — Up the Cog Railway, and a Rainy Last Day in the Notch

New England Road Trip 2026 · Bretton Woods, New Hampshire · Wednesday–Thursday, June 10–11

The Omni Mount Washington was our base for three nights, and it gave us the two ends of a great mountain stay: one big bucket-list day, and one gloriously lazy one. Here's both.

Day one: the Cog Railway to the top

The whole reason Bretton Woods was on our map: the Mount Washington Cog Railway — the world's first mountain-climbing cog railroad, running since 1869, that grinds you straight up the side of the Northeast's highest peak on a rack-and-pinion track. We had a 9:45 boarding out of Marshfield Station at the base, about fifteen minutes from the resort, and I'd had everyone layer up the night before. That's not optional: even on a warm June morning, the summit of Mount Washington can sit in the 30s and 40s with serious wind. (This is the mountain famous for some of the worst weather on Earth.)

The ride up is the thing. You climb out of the forest, the grade tilts under you, the trees give way to bare rock and ridgeline, and the world drops away on both sides — slow enough to take it all in, steep enough that you feel it. (Good news for our motion-sensitive crew: the Cog is a steady, slow climb, not a winding road, so it sat fine with everyone.)

At the top, the Sherman Adams summit building and the actual highest-point marker, with the views stretching out as far as the weather lets them. We poked around the summit, took it in, and rode the cog back down. Three hours, top to bottom, and one of the highlights of the whole trip.

We spent the rest of that day exactly the way you should at a resort like this: doing not much. Pool, the grand old hotel to explore, and a relaxed afternoon. (We also squeezed in a waterfall hike in Crawford Notch that the whole family loved — more on the notch below.)

Day two: rain, and an easy lake loop

Our last full day forecast was warm but wet — 70% rain with afternoon thunderstorms — so the plan was simple: keep it free, keep it easy, and work around the dry windows. A leisurely breakfast in the resort's dining room, a slow morning, and then when a dry slot opened up mid-morning we grabbed it.

We headed into Crawford Notch for the Ammonoosuc Lake loop near the AMC Highland Center — a flat, easy walk around a quiet little lake, the kind of short trail that's beautiful without asking much of anybody (which is exactly what we wanted; we were keeping the hiking gentle this stretch). Just enough to be outside and in the notch before the storms rolled back in.

When the rain came back in earnest, we did the smart, free, everyone-included thing: indoor pool for the kids, the grand hotel to wander, board games, and a slow afternoon. No spa, no fuss — just a low-key last day before the next leg. Dinner was a casual one at Stickney's in the hotel, and I closed out our New Hampshire stay the right way: a local Stoneface IPA off the menu, a New Hampshire gem.

Three nights at the foot of Mount Washington: one peak conquered by cog, one quiet lake walked, and a grand old hotel that the kids will remember. Tomorrow we point the car toward Vermont.

Up next → over to Vermont — Stowe, the Route 100 food trail, and a certain ice cream factory in Waterbury.