Gorham, New Hampshire
Mount Washington via Tuckerman Ravine
The Northeast's most demanding day hike up its highest peak.
- Difficulty
- Strenuous
- Length
- 8.4 mi
- Elevation Gain
- 4,250 ft
- Duration
- 7–10
- Best Season
- Jun–Sep
- Permit
- Not required
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Features
- Alpine summit, Glacial cirque
About the trail
Mount Washington holds the record for the highest wind speed ever directly measured on Earth (231 mph). The Tuckerman Ravine Trail leaves Pinkham Notch and climbs steeply into a glacial cirque, then scrambles up boulder fields to the 6,288 ft summit. Above treeline, weather can shift from sun to whiteout in under an hour. The summit cone is alpine tundra found nowhere else in the eastern US.
Trailhead map & directions
Trailhead: 44.2706, -71.3033Get directions →
Turn-by-turn route
- Park at the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center on Route 16.
- Follow the Tuckerman Ravine Trail west.
- After 2.4 miles, reach Hermit Lake Shelters.
- Climb steeply into the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine.
- Above the headwall, follow cairns across the boulder field to the summit.
- Descend via Lion Head Trail (safer when wet).
Parking
Pinkham Notch Visitor Center lot, $5/day. Arrives fill on weekends — get there by 7 AM.
Tips from the trail
- Check the higher summits forecast before leaving the parking lot.
- Pack layers, rain shell, gloves, and a hat even in July.
- Do not summit if forecast calls for thunderstorms — there is no shelter above treeline.