Mt. Washington Cog Train

We are going on the October 13th sailing on the Explorer of the seas and will be in Portland on October 15th.

I was just curious what people think about the above excursion. It is fairly pricey but is it worth the price? Or is it worth it to rent a car and do it yourself. I understand the drive is about 2 1/2 hours each way but we would save about half the cost of the RCI ticket price(approx $170 pp).

So please give me some reviews of this excursion or attraction, however you may have experienced it.

It is a long trip from Portland to Mt. Washington, and not the most direct route so if you are not from the area it wouldn't be difficult to get lost. Plus you would have to factor in the cost of a rental/gas into the mix. The drive up the auto road is....exciting/terrifying, double lane road about 12 feet across with no gaurdrail and often 2500+ foot sheer drop. The cog is quite a bit lest intimidating. Obviously, the view from the top of the tallest mountain on the eastcoast makes it worthwhile. If you want to do it, I'd suggest the ship tour.

In Sept. 09 I found this excursion to be excellent. You should truly enjoy doing this, but be warned...it is very cold & windy at the summit so take something warm to wear. It was lovely weather at the depot in the valley, but the mountain has its own climate at the top.

This railroad dates from 1869 and they still have at least one steam engine, however most likely one will be on a diesel powered train, like I was. They say it takes about 4 times money to use the steam engine.

I live in the Mount Washington Valley and I would recommend the Cog Railroad to anyone visiting Maine/New Hampshire. As Thoth has already reported, it will be chilly. My neice went to the summit for a class trip last week (it was in the high 80's in the valley) and she wore her winter parker and gloves. If you are prepared to bring layers, you should be fine.

Now 2 words of caution:

1. Go with the cruise excursion. There is only one way to get to the Cog Railroad, through the notch and the traffic can be heavy (all those leaf peepers coming to view the scenery). If the tour runs late, you will be with the cruise excursion and they will deal with the ship (not you).

2. While I highly recommend visiting Mt. Washington and Mt. Washington Valley, please keep in mind that the mountain could be in the clouds or snowing (yup! in October). Not sure if the excursion company would go the mountain was snowed or clouded in, but it is worth considering when paying $170pp.

Have a great cruise.

Definitely would be a great trip for you to do!

FYI the rate is $62/pp for the Cog alone (I mean if you were here in NH and did a day trip or something) so I think that $170/pp isn't too bad since it includes a bus there.

And while the ride may be a long one, it would be fantastic to just take in all the FOLIAGE while someone else navigates!

Here are a couple of pics taken last September at the summit (we took the Auto Road, not the Cog)

1. Go with the cruise excursion. There is only one way to get to the Cog Railroad, through the notch and the traffic can be heavy (all those leaf peepers coming to view the scenery). If the tour runs late, you will be with the cruise excursion and they will deal with the ship (not you).

 

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That is what happened with my tour. We were last tour back and the ship had to wait for us.

Definitely would be a great trip for you to do!

 

FYI the rate is $62/pp for the Cog alone (I mean if you were here in NH and did a day trip or something) so I think that $170/pp isn't too bad since it includes a bus there.

 

And while the ride may be a long one, it would be fantastic to just take in all the FOLIAGE while someone else navigates!

 

Here are a couple of pics taken last September at the summit (we took the Auto Road, not the Cog)

The bus ride gave me the opportunity to see plenty of lovely New England.

nice photos !

The bus ride gave me the opportunity to see plenty of lovely New England.

nice photos !

What was the date of your tour? We're thinking of doing this as part of our RC cruise, and the date would be October 1. I know peak color dates vary from year to year, but I'm curious if 10/1 will be too early for the best colors. TIA

Since the tour takes you away from the coast, the change in foliage occurs early. Foliage changes move north to south, inland to coast and higher elevations to lower elevations. Yankee Magazine provides an interactive fall foliage change for average conditions - http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/

I've played with it and to me, it looks like your visit will be very close to peak based on the average fall foliage changes.

Not asked but since your cruise includes a stop at Bar Harbor, you may luck out with very good fall foliage in Acadia National Park. Make sure that any tour you take includes a trip to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. One good thing about BH is you are almost in the park when you arrive, no 2 hour trip to get there.

SBtS

If the weather is clear, this will be a fantastic tour. If cloudy, much less so, but the museum at the top has interesting info about the horrible weather there. As noted by others, be prepared for significant temperature drop on the top. Also as noted most of the rides up are now diesel which seems less romantic, but is much better. The steam engine spews soot, ash and smoke back to the passenger cars and isn't very pleasant.

What was the date of your tour? We're thinking of doing this as part of our RC cruise, and the date would be October 1. I know peak color dates vary from year to year, but I'm curious if 10/1 will be too early for the best colors. TIA

Mid September. There were very few fall colors at that time.

Still it was a great cruise.

I will be also on this cruise and I have always wanted to see Mt Washington... And the fact you get to ride on a unique train is a plus!

For the ones who have done the tour, how long do you get to spend up top of Mt Washington before you go back down???

from the cog rr site: ...The round trip cog ride (May to October) takes approximately three hours, generally including one hour stop at the summit....

SBtS

A few years ago, my husband and daughter climbed Mt. Washington, and took the Cog Train back down. It was in early summer, and there was snow on the ground up there..............enough for a quick snowball fight before getting on the train.

The Mt. Washington Auto Road is nothing less than amazing. But, you need a nice clear day to make the most of the experience.

from the cog rr site: ...The round trip cog ride (May to October) takes approximately three hours, generally including one hour stop at the summit....

 

 

SBtS

Thanks!

We are going on the October 13th sailing on the Explorer of the seas and will be in Portland on October 15th.

 

I was just curious what people think about the above excursion. It is fairly pricey but is it worth the price? Or is it worth it to rent a car and do it yourself. I understand the drive is about 2 1/2 hours each way but we would save about half the cost of the RCI ticket price(approx $170 pp).

 

So please give me some reviews of this excursion or attraction, however you may have experienced it.

We took the cog train and when we got off at the top it was freezing and fogged in. That is a chance you take. Driving through the area was beautiful as the leaves were at peak. We had a rental car and driving was easy.

We took the cog train and when we got off at the top it was freezing and fogged in. That is a chance you take. Driving through the area was beautiful as the leaves were at peak. We had a rental car and driving was easy.

When I went it was the wind ! That just about blew me away....a cold wind that blew right through me.

We took the cog train and when we got off at the top it was freezing and fogged in. That is a chance you take. Driving through the area was beautiful as the leaves were at peak. We had a rental car and driving was easy.

Well, the leaves are no where near peak, but it is lovely this time of year. Ater August the mountain is so unpredictable. We climbed last weekend and it was ok, just chilly, but heard somone had to be airlifted out later in the day because of hypothermia.

Tropical Storm Irene washed out the main road from Portland to Mt. Washington (US Route 302). There is another back road to get there but the trip will be longer. I don't know the expected date the road will be open again.

Check out http://www.nh.gov/dot/511/

Tropical Storm Irene washed out the main road from Portland to Mt. Washington (US Route 302). There is another back road to get there but the trip will be longer. I don't know the expected date the road will be open again.

 

Check out http://www.nh.gov/dot/511/

Good luck to everyone who is...cleaning up, drying out, rebuilding, & fixing the roads back.

I would hate for anyone to miss the excursion due to washed out roads.

We had this excursion booked for our trip in a couple of weeks and it was cancelled right after Irene went through. It has now been removed as an option for an excursion. We were really looking forward to this adventure.

It is a long trip from Portland to Mt. Washington, and not the most direct route so if you are not from the area it wouldn't be difficult to get lost. Plus you would have to factor in the cost of a rental/gas into the mix. The drive up the auto road is....exciting/terrifying, double lane road about 12 feet across with no gaurdrail and often 2500+ foot sheer drop. The cog is quite a bit lest intimidating. Obviously, the view from the top of the tallest mountain on the eastcoast makes it worthwhile. If you want to do it, I'd suggest the ship tour.

I agree wholeheartedly. I remember it taking forever to descend Mt Washington. We had to stop numerous times to throw water on the brakes/tires and wait until we thought it was safe to continue.