ANy suggestions for a winter week flying into Manchester with 2 kids under 10? We have limited experience driving in snow, and kids have never seen snow. Would prefer cabin where we can cook our own food, and do outdoor activities (if we don%26#39;t wimp out) No desire for skiing, but maybe snowboarding??
Winter Vacation with kids - first snow experience
If you are looking for hard core winter cabin rentals suggest you google Colebrook and Pittsburg, NH. I believe some up there are open year round to accomodaate snowmobilers. They are in the tip up near Canada. You could expect sub zero on some days and snow could be guaranteed. After a day or two you%26#39;ll get hang of driving in snow. Further south in NH I%26#39;m afraid that you%26#39;ll be more likely to be finding lodges and Inns trather than cabins. Hopefully someone familiar with winter lodging in No NH will reply. Wish I could offer better info but winter in NH is something I tolerate not look for.
Winter Vacation with kids - first snow experience
Thanks for the reply, now I%26#39;m a bit nervous seeing as we are thin- blooded Floridians! I have been gravitating towards Southern NH in the Sunapee area to be able to get to some areas in Vermont we were interested in as well. I%26#39;ve been looking at cyberrentals for this. Any other suggestions? I assumed it was a given for snow in any part of NH in the winter, am I wrong? Thanks!
Snow is far from a sure thing in SO NH. Last year we had a very light snow fall in the south. Parts of So NH has nearly the same weather as Boston does. Now SW NH will have a little more snow but again no guarantee. In fact in many years the ski areas in No NH are crying for more snow and are near void of skiers due to bad snow fall. Every year is different. Recently (Global Warming stuff) winters have been easy. Like perfect weather in FL snow in NH is also a gamble. Could be perfect, could be crummy!
Hi- I suggest trying a rental home try looking a greatfamilyrentals.com or vacationrentals.com. I think with kids someplace like waterville valley or loon mountain would be a good area for you. These resorts have alot to offer families and make snow so you can also be certain you can try snowboarding unless its really warm for NH. They also have snow tubing which your kids may like and they might also have an ice skating rink.
Because nights can get sub zero- personally I wouldnt try a cabin. I like to be warm!
Have fun and enjoy getting your children out in the winter fun, my daugters are teenagers now and we are glad we did all the snow sports with them when they were little. They enjoy the sports now with their friends. We%26#39;re not cool enough!!
You will have plenty of options in the southwestern part of NH. All the ski mountains throughout the state make snow, because they cannot rely on Mother Nature. The Sunapee area has Mt Sunapee, a very good ski mountain for both beginners and experienced skiers. There are several other smaller mountains that are very family and beginner friendly. The two nearest me are Pat%26#39;s Peak and Crotched Mountain. I learned to ski at the ripe age of 50 at Pat%26#39;s. Crotched (pronounced crotch ed) Mtn just re-opened 3 years ago and has all state of the art facilities, and short lift lines. A great place to learn and grow. These places are in the Monadnock region named for the nearby Mount Monadnock.
Other similar mountains are Gunstock in Gilford, near Laconia, Tenney Mtn near Plymouth, and probably others that I am less familiar with.
For accommodations, and tons of other info, check the state tourism site at www.visitnh.gov, or www.visitnh.com. There will be links to attractions, activities, skiing, accommodations including cabins and rentals, etc. Also, try Googling vacation rentals nh.
Another place that my family has gone is King Pine Ski Area (Google them). They are a resort, but kind of low key and very family oriented, with a comnfortable ski mountain for learners. It is near the North COnway area. They also have a dynamite tubing hill where they tow you up a hill and you slide down sitting in a huge inner tube. No skill required except for screaming with delight.
It%26#39;s not a cabin but its not too expensive: Indian Head Resort in Lincoln, NH. Usually always snow because it is in the White Mountains. Close to skiing, ice skating on pond in back, tubing, indoor pool, heated outdoor pool, game room. Restaurant onsite thats pretty good and not expensive.
On our winter vacation we are going up to Pittsburg 2 nights to snowmobile. It is awesome up there but it is hard core - no luxury except for one restaurant. My 4 year old can do 2 days of snowmobiling but thats it - there is nothing to do. After we spend 2 days in the Northwoods we will be spending 5 days at Indian Head. We went there last year and my daughter can%26#39;t stop talking about it!
Good luck.
Thanks for all the replies - good thing we have a little while yet to do the planning, there%26#39;s a lot here to check out! Thanks
Ditto what the others said about no guarantee for snow. Most years are fine, but you do get aberrations like last winter. If it%26#39;s snow you really want (and you should if you are coming all the way up here!), head north. Remember that it%26#39;s a small state, so northern NH is still not a long haul from the airport.
If you aren%26#39;t into skiing, you should definitely consider tubing! It%26#39;s just what it sounds like: flying downhill while sitting in on a big inner tube. It takes virtually no skill and it is an absolute blast. Even very little kids can do it.
Don%26#39;t worry too much about the driving. If you come during a big storm, just wait it out indoors (preferably with hot chocolate and a good fire) until the bad stuff passes. They plow things out quickly. Otherwise, the roads are pretty clear.
