Presidential Range - Notable Summits

Notable Summits

The highest mountains in the Presidential Range are named principally for U.S. presidents, with the tallest mountain (Mt. Washington) named for the first president, the second tallest (Mt. Adams) for the second president, and so on. However due to a surveying error, Mt. Monroe is actually 22 feet (6.7 m) taller than Mt. Madison, which is not the correct order of presidents.

Among the range's most notable summits, in sequence from southwest to northeast, are:

• Mt. Webster — after Daniel Webster
• Mt. Jackson* — after Charles Thomas Jackson (19th c. geologist)
• Mt. Pierce* — after Franklin Pierce (formerly Mt. Clinton — after DeWitt Clinton)
• Mt. Eisenhower* — after Dwight Eisenhower
• Mt. Franklin — after Benjamin Franklin
• Mt. Monroe* — after James Monroe
• Mt. Washington* — after George Washington (a general at time of naming, and only later a president)
• Mt. Clay — after Henry Clay (State changed name to Mt. Reagan after Ronald Reagan; U.S. government still recognizes Clay name)
• Mt. Jefferson* — after Thomas Jefferson
• Mt. Sam Adams — after Samuel Adams
• Mt. Adams* — after John Adams
• Mt. Quincy Adams — after John Quincy Adams
• Mt. Madison* — after James Madison

Mt. Adams has, besides its main summit, four subsidiary peaks that are also commonly recognized by name; two, Sam Adams and John Quincy Adams, are listed above. The third and fourth are:

• Mount Abigail Adams (formerly Adams IV)
• Adams V

The summits marked with an asterisk (*) are included on the peak bagging list of 4,000-foot and higher mountains in New Hampshire; the others are excluded, in some cases because of lesser height and in others because of more technical criteria.