Thanks to their accessibility from both Montréal to the north and Boston to the south, the White Mountains have become a year-round tourist destination, popular with summer hikers and winter skiers alike. Commercialized they may be, in built-up strips along the main highways, but the great granite massifs retain much of their majesty and power. Mount Washington can claim the severest weather in the world, and conditions are harsh enough for the timberline to be at four thousand feet, as compared to the norm in the Rockies of ten thousand.

Just a few high passes - here called " notches ," discovered only after infinite pains by the early pioneers - pierce the range, and the roads through these gaps, such as the Kancamagus Highway between Lincoln and Conway, make for an enjoyable driving tour. However, you won't really have made the most of the White Mountains unless you also set off, on foot or on skis, across the long expanses of thick evergreen forest that separate them, with snowcapped peaks poking out in all directions. The best sources of information in the region are the White Mountains Attractions visitor center at I-93 exit 32 in North Woodstock (tel 603/745-8720 or 1-800/FIND-MTS, ) and the info center at Pinkham Notch (tel 1-800/262-4455, ) on Rte-16, open daily year-round 6.30am-10pm.

White Mountains

• White Mountains
• White Mountains eating and drinking
• Hiking, cycling, & skiing in the White Mountains

Explore White Mountains

• Bretton Woods
• Franconia Notch and the Old Man of the Mountains
• Kancamagus Highway
• Mount Washington
• North Conway

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