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New Hampshire

Make Your Way To Cornish If You Want To Drive Across The Longest Bridge In New Hampshire

By Michelle | Published April 05, 2020

There are a lot of ways to see the landscape of New Hampshire. Whether you choose to strap on some boots and head out for a hike, or simply enjoy one of our beautiful road trips there’s plenty to see out there in the Granite State! In the course of trying to find unique attractions to explore that don’t involve being surrounded by people, we realized that this bridge is one of the most interesting in the state! The best part? You can experience it from the car!

The 449-foot Cornish-Windsor bridge crosses the Connecticut River.

But, the fact that it’s long is only one of the notable things about it. Perhaps even more interesting is the fact that you can get from New Hampshire clear across to another state just by traveling across it!

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In New Hampshire, the bridge begins in Cornish. From here you can travel to Windsor, Vermont.

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The bridge cost a cool $9,000 to be built back in 1866.

And, it’s not only the longest in the state but it’s also the longest open bridge in America!

Known by some as the “kissing bridge,” the route is so long that you can make your way to the middle and steal a kiss without anyone seeing you from either side.

Today you can pass freely back and forth, but in its early days there was a toll to access it and the amount varied depending on your starting point.

Windsor in Vermont was considered a dry town which meant no alcohol. But, Cornish did allow for drinking. To account for the fact that people were accessing New Hampshire more frequently, authorities required a two-cent toll to enter the state from Vermont. But getting back to Windsor was 3 cents!

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Walking across this beautiful bridge is fun in any season. The views are spectacular and sweeping.

And, what makes a trip to the Cornish-Windsor bridge even better is getting to it! The journey along Route 12A is absolutely fabulous!

You can learn more about the Cornish-Windsor Bridge on the official New Hampshire website. And to make an entire day trip out of the state’s covered bridges, check out this day trip that takes you to 9 of New Hampshire’s covered bridges. It’s perfect for a scenic drive!

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Featured Addresses

Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge, Cornish, NH 03745, USA