221 properties in 145 towns, from a tenth of an acre to Nash Stream Forest’s 39,601
of trail open to off highway vehicles in summer 38
~1,200 mi
The Division of Parks and Recreation’s figure, across state, club and private ground together
longest wheelbase the Mount Washington Auto Road takes 55
176 in
And 93 inches wide including mirrors. A private toll road, so these are the road company’s limits rather than the state’s
acres of wilderness on the White Mountain National Forest 5
149,500
Six areas, from the 5,552-acre Great Gulf to the 45,000-acre Pemigewasset. The same page counts 23 developed campgrounds and 1,200 miles of hiking trail
designated roadside campsites on four forest roads 6
57
Gale River Loop 13, Old Cherry Mountain 9, Haystack 11, Town Hall 24. Elsewhere the forest orders decide
the Forest Service’s length for the Kancamagus byway 15
34 mi
The Federal Highway Administration measures the same road at 26.5 miles. Both figures are stated on this page
Three of them are National Scenic Byways: the White Mountains Trail, the Kancamagus Highway and the Connecticut River Byway
Guided trips and what the permits say
The forest draws one clear line: no permit is needed to visit or backpack in its wilderness areas unless you are providing outfitter or guide services, in which case one is. Group size in wilderness is capped at ten people whoever you are.
The season a guide can sell is short at both ends. The Auto Road summit park ran mid-June to mid-October in 2026, the Nash Stream gate opens in late May, and every gravel notch road that is not maintained for winter travel becomes part of the snowmobile system instead.
A guide earns the fee in the places where the map runs out of detail. They know which wash flooded last week, which gate is locked, where the fuel is, and how long the hard section really takes with a group.
A guided trip usually brings
01Route knowledge and current conditions
02Permits and access already arranged
03Recovery skill and equipment
04A pace that suits the group
05The history and natural history of the place
How to choose a guide
Ask the questions a land manager would.
01Ask whether they hold the permits and insurance required to operate commercially on the land they use.
02Ask about group size and the minimum vehicle requirements.
03Ask what is included: meals, camping gear, communications, a support vehicle.
04Ask about first-aid training and the plan for emergencies.
What to tell a guide
Honesty about experience makes for a better trip.
01Your vehicle and what has been done to it
02Your experience off pavement
03Who is coming, including children and dogs
04Your dates, and what you most want to see
Questions people ask
Do I need a guide?
Not for most travel. A guide earns the fee on routes that are remote, technical or hard to get permits for, and on first trips where you would rather learn than guess.
Can I join a guided trip in my own vehicle?
That is how most overland guiding works. The guide leads in their vehicle, you drive yours, and the trip sets minimum requirements for the vehicles that come.
How high is New Hampshire?
From Conway at 461 feet to Mount Washington at 6,288.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
PittsburgThe Connecticut Lakes, and the last paved miles before Canada1,317 ft
ErrolThe junction town between Umbagog and the Thirteen Mile Woods1,228 ft
ColebrookThe Connecticut River town below Dixville Notch and Diamond Pond Road1,027 ft
BerlinThe city beside Jericho Mountain and its 4x4 trail1,012 ft
FranconiaThe north end of the Franconia Notch Parkway928 ft
LancasterThe Connecticut River side of the northern forest867 ft
LincolnThe western gate of the Kancamagus Highway835 ft
LittletonInterstate services on the western side of the forest824 ft
GorhamAt the foot of Pinkham Notch, six miles from the Auto Road794 ft
JacksonBelow Carter Notch, and one end of the Town Hall Road order760 ft
North ConwayThe commercial strip on the forest’s eastern side526 ft
PlymouthSouthern approach on Interstate 93 to Tripoli Road511 ft
LaconiaLakes Region services on the way north498 ft
KeeneThe southwest, and the approach to Pisgah State Park482 ft
ConwayThe eastern end of the Kancamagus, on the Saco461 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Mount WashingtonThe state high point, and a 58.8-acre state park on its summit. USGS publishes 6,288 feet; our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point gives 6,2756,288 ft
Mount Washington summitMount Washington Auto Road6,288 ft
Mount AdamsOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, on the northern Presidentials in Coos County5,788 ft
Mount JeffersonOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, above the road that carries its name5,696 ft
Mount LafayetteOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, over the east side of Franconia Notch5,237 ft
Mount MoosilaukeOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, above the road the Dartmouth Outing Club plows4,795 ft
Cannon MountainOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, on the west wall of Franconia Notch State Park4,077 ft
Mount ChocoruaOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the summit with its own camping and fire order3,467 ft
Carter NotchOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point. No road crosses it, which is why Pinkham carries the traffic3,398 ft
Jefferson NotchOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point. The Forest Service publishes no summit figure for the road that crosses it3,005 ft
Jefferson NotchJefferson Notch Road3,005 ft
Kancamagus PassOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, the high point of the byway2,869 ft
Kancamagus PassKancamagus Scenic Byway, Route 112: Lincoln to Conway2,869 ft
Pinkham NotchOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, on Route 16 below the Auto Road2,031 ft
Kinsman NotchOur own reading of the elevation surface at its map point, where Route 112 leaves Lincoln westward1,872 ft
Franconia NotchFranconia Notch Parkway, Interstate 93: The Flume Gorge to Echo Lake1,826 ft
Bear NotchBear Notch Road, Forest Road 26: Bartlett to the Kancamagus Highway1,771 ft
Sandwich NotchSandwich Notch Road1,380 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
