This article is about the White Mountains of New Hampshire. For other White Mountains, please see White Mountains (disambiguation).

The White Mountains are a mountain range that covers about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire in the United States, and are the most rugged mountains in New England. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston and New York City.

Most of the area is public land, including the White Mountain National Forest as well as a number of state parks. Its most famous peak is Mount Washington, which at 6,288 feet (1916 m) is the highest mountain in the Northeastern U.S. and home to the fastest winds (231 mph or 372 km/h, over 100 m/s, in 1934) measured on the surface of the earth. Mount Washington is one of a group called the Presidential Range, many of which are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans.

Looking south on the Franconia Ridge Trail

The range included the Old Man of the Mountain, a rock formation on Cannon Mountain that resembled the craggy profile of a man until it fell in May 2003. It remains the state symbol of New Hampshire.

The range is known for the system of huts for hikers, operated by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The Appalachian Trail crosses the area from southwest to northeast.

The range is crossed by two north-south highway routes (U.S. Highway 3 and Interstate 93 through Franconia Notch, and Route 16 through Pinkham Notch ), and two east-west roads (the Kancamagus Highway through Kancamagus Pass, and Highway 302 through Crawford Notch). The White Mountains includes several smaller groups including the Presidential Range, Franconia Range, Sandwich Range, Carter Range, Kinsman Range and Pilot Range.

(New Hampshire's other famous mountain, Mount Monadnock, which is called the second-most-climbed mountain in the world after Mount Fuji, is further south, and is not part of the White Mountains.)

See also

• Four-thousand footers
• White Mountains Region