Stereoscopic photograph of the summit of Mount Washington and the Glen House stage coach by Kilburn Brothers circa 1872.

Other common activities include glider flying, backcountry skiing, and annual cycle and running races such as the Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb and Road Race. The mountain is visited by hikers, and the Appalachian Trail crosses the summit. The Mount Washington Cog Railway ascends the western slope of the mountain, and the Mount Washington Auto Road climbs to the summit from the east. While nearly the whole mountain is in the White Mountain National Forest, an area of 60.3 acres (24.4 ha) surrounding and including the summit is occupied by Mount Washington State Park. The mountain is in several unincorporated townships, with the summit in the township of Sargent's Purchase. The mountain is located in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, in Coös County, New Hampshire. Mount Washington still holds the record for highest measured wind speed not associated with a tornado or tropical cyclone.

On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, the Mount Washington Observatory recorded a windspeed of 231 miles per hour (372 km/h) at the summit, the world record from 1934 until 1996. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288.2 ft (1,916.6 m) and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. Satellite image of Mount Washington, Mount Adams and vicinity, looking west, on a rare clear day, 2014

The mount washington cog railway