GPS Issues in the White Mountains

I have noticed a significant increase in the number of guests who travel here using their GPS device in the past year.

I have discovered that not all GPS devices are accurate here in the White Mountains. For example if you try to get to the Mount Washington Cog Railway , some devices will actually direct you to the Auto Road, make you drive to the top and catch the Cog. I have seen this first hand at the Cog Railway when people miss their train because they are 45 minutes away from the train at the wrong location.

On a different occasion we were doing my weekly caravan to the Cog. When we arrived a guest who was following me there came up to me and told me that his GPS wanted him to left at a location where we had turned right and the GPS had insisted that we were headed in the wrong direction. Obviously the guest realized that the GPS was incorrect.

This is not the first time that this has occurred as I have typed out Itineraries to different locations and the guests state that their GPS gave a different set of directions.

Another unique situation is that due to our rualness (is that a word) some places/attractions do not have a street address. In this situation you will need to know the Longitude and Latitude of the location to get the proper location. Many of these locations will state on their website that they do not have a physical address. One such location that comes to mind is Storyland on Rte 16 in Glen, NH.

This is a quote from their website:
Looking for Story Land on your GPS system?Well, we're still rural enough up here in the North Country that we haven't quite been assigned an address that works on GPS -- really!One Alternative: if you can use latitude and longitude you'll be able to pinpoint us at Latitude 44 degrees, 7.1 minutes north; and Longitude 71 degrees, 11.0 minutes west; or Lat 44.1175, Long -71.183.

Another Alternative: if your GPS unit lists attractions, try New Hampshire, Attractions, Story Land, Glen NH, zip code 03838. Or, Address/Hospitals - Memorial, 3073 White Mountain Highway, North Conway NH 03860 (Story Land is five miles north on Route 16). Fortunately, Glen is small enough that once you're in town, you can't help but find us. There are only two routes into and out of town, Routes 16 and 302, and we're right near the northern junction of the two. You can get directions from your starting address to Glen from randmcnally.com and, once you're in town, follow the signs or ask just about anyone where we are.

This is probably more common than you might have thought but I thought I would share it with you as we enter the popular driving season here in the White Mountains. Please always check with me before you go to verify directions.