Mount Clay

---

title: "Mount Clay" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mountains-of-new-hampshire", "white-mountains-(new-hampshire)", "mountains-of-coös-county,-new-hampshire", "monuments-and-memorials-to-ronald-reagan", "henry-clay"] description: "Mountain in New Hampshire, United States" topic_path: "general/mountains-of-new-hampshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Clay" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in New Hampshire, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Clay
photo	Washington-clay saddle.JPG
photo_caption	The saddle between Mount Washington and Mount Clay
elevation_ft	5533
prominence_ft	150
parent_peak	Mount Washington
country	United States
state	New Hampshire
district	Coos County
part	Thompson and Meserve's Purchase
range	Presidential Range
coordinates
topo_maker	USGS
topo	Mount Washington
easiest_route	Hike
::

::callout[type=note] the mountain peak in New Hampshire ::

| name = Mount Clay | photo = Washington-clay saddle.JPG | photo_caption = The saddle between Mount Washington and Mount Clay | elevation_ft = 5533 | elevation_ref = | prominence_ft = 150 | parent_peak = Mount Washington | prominence_ref = | country = United States | state = New Hampshire | district = Coos County | part = Thompson and Meserve's Purchase | range = Presidential Range | coordinates = | topo_maker = USGS | topo = Mount Washington | first_ascent = | easiest_route = Hike

Mount Clay is a peak located in Thompson and Meserve's Purchase in Coos County in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It is a rise about 0.9 mi long and a few hundred feet tall, with summit elevation of 5533 ft; it lies on the ridge joining the summits of Mount Washington, about 0.9 mi to the south-southeast, with that of Mount Jefferson, about 1.3 mi north.

The Appalachian Trail, coinciding there with the Gulfside Trail, rises about a hundred feet approaching it northbound, and passes 0.1 mi from the summit, 200 ft below it. The 1.2 mi Mt. Clay Loop passes over the summit. The Jewell Trail is a popular choice as a relatively less strenuous route to Mt. Washington's summit; hikers ascending it, eastbound, from the vicinity of the cog rail base station join the Gulfside Trail about 0.4 mi from Clay's summit and about 200 ft below, and give up about 100 ft in descending the southern tail of Clay, before resuming the ascent of Washington.

The mountain is named for Henry Clay, 19th-century senator and U.S. Secretary of State from Kentucky, known as "The Great Compromiser". In 2003, the New Hampshire state legislature, participating in a Reagan Legacy project, made it state law that Mt. Clay "shall hereafter be called and known as Mount Reagan," after President Ronald Reagan. The legal force of this is limited to actions by the state of New Hampshire. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) voted in May 2010 not to change the name of the mountain. Maps used in connection with foot travel in the Presidentials are typically published by the U.S. Geological Survey (which adheres by law to BGN's naming), and by the Appalachian Mountain Club and two New England companies, all three of whom use "Clay" and make no mention of "Reagan".

Although well over 4000 ft in height above sea level, the Appalachian Mountain Club does not consider Mount Clay a "four-thousand footer" because it stands less than 200 ft above the col on the ridge from Washington, making it a secondary summit of that peak.

References

References

1. "HB 82 - Final Version". New Hampshire General Court.
2. Chris Jensen. (May 13, 2010). "Mt Clay Remains Mt Clay". New Hampshire Public Radio.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::