SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES ABOUND AT SKI NH RESORTS 

Part of the excitement of summer is the joy kids (and parents!) get from being outdoors.  Ski NH's resorts offer a wide variety of activities that offer kids the opportunity to try something new while on vacation.  Whether it be boating, learning tricks in a skate park, or hopping on the back of a horse for the first time, it's sure to be an experience they will remember for many years to come.

Attitash in Bartlett offers many kids' activities.  On a hot summer day, they can fly down four water slides; younger children can play in Buddy Bear's Playpool.  Opening soon is the Mountain Coaster which races down the mountain with banked turns, dips and straight-aways.  Other activities include two alpine slides, a climbing wall, EuroBungy Trampoline, pony rides, guided horseback rides, scenic sky rides, mountain biking and more.  

The BALSAMS Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville Notch is a place parents dream of going, but it offers as much for kids as adults.  Children can enjoy lake and pool swimming, tennis, mountain biking, boating, fishing, hiking, and daily supervised children's activities.  Camp Wind Whistle is geared for kids ages 5+ and provides daily supervised children's activities for hotel guests.

Black Mountain in Jackson offers horseback and pony rides during the summer months.  Kids ages 8-12 can also participate in a horseback riding day camp during July.

Decades ago, The Mount Washington Hotel & Resort at Bretton Woods would entertain children for a whole summer, so it has plenty of interesting kids' activities in place for today's considerably shorter vacation periods.  The Mount Washington Kids Club is offered to all guests of the hotel ages 4-12.  Activities include mountain biking, tennis, indoor and outdoor pools, horseback riding, Diggler mountain scooters, disc golf, fishing and hiking.  Kids ages 12 and older can enjoy the Canopy Tour and kids ages 8 and older can try the Williwaw Racing Zip.

Set in Franconia Notch, Cannon Mountain has incredible scenery and is home to the Franconia Notch Recreation Path.  It's perfect for kids to enjoy by foot or bike.  They can play in the sand on Echo Lake Beach, and swim in the clean mountain water.  Cannon's tram makes it easy for kids to summit one of New Hampshire's 4,000 foot summits, and the Rim Trail at the top is an easy ridge hike with outstanding views of the Franconia Ridge.

Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center in Pinkham Notch is a great place for parents to get some exercise with the kids in tow.  Kiddie cart bike trailers and child-powered bike trailers are available for rent.  Also available are mountain bike trails and rentals.  For a memorable experience, try one of the area's guided canoe or kayak trips. 

Gunstock in Gilford is home to a mini-golf course, horseback trail rides, kayaking, paddleboat rentals, a skate park, climbing walls and miles of hiking and biking trails.  On select weekends scenic charlift rides are also available in conjunction with special events.

The Scenic Gondola Skyride to the summit is the main attraction at Loon Mountain in Lincoln.  Once at the summit, kids can wander about and explore the glacial caves, take a self-guided nature tour, hunt for the Lost Loon Gold, play on the mountaintop playground and climb the observation tower.  At the base of the mountain there are indoor and outdoor climbing walls, a bungee trampoline, newly-opened zip-line ride, bike rentals and horseback rides.

Purity Spring Resort in East Madison prides itself on being a family vacation spot.  Its facilities are ideally located to offer a wide variety of kid-friendly activities, including swimming, water skiing, kayaking, archery, climbing wall, canoeing, fishing, basketball and hiking. 

Waterville Valley has the "Summer Unlimited" package which includes activities such as swimming, tennis, golf, canoeing, kayaking and pedal boating.  Mountain bike rentals are also available.  The resort's large and diverse skate/BMX park is home to a skate camp.  The camp provides a relaxed atmosphere for skaters of all ages and abilities to work on their skills, make new friends and have fun.  There are also other camps available for kids ages 4-16 with full and half-day options.  Waterville Valley is home to the Curious George Cottage which serves as headquarters for story hours, nature walks and astronomy nights.

Riding to the top of Wildcat Mountain in its four-passenger gondola usually gets kids' attention.  Once there they can explore the summit, play a round of disc golf and enjoy incredible views of Mount Washington.  Guided nature tours at the summit or base area in Pinkham Notch are scheduled throughout the summer.  The ZipRider is a half-mile zip-line cable that reaches speeds of over 45 miles per hour and now features four cables, doubling its capacity since last summer.