Indy Pass Tour of Northern NH Family Style!
By Karen Proctor
When we schedule ski and snowboard trips we look for locations where we can hit a few within short distances of each other. Northern New Hampshire came to mind this winter after purchasing the Indy Pass and already visiting Pat's Peak on a trip. We chose to visit Cannon Mountain and Black Mountain Ski Area, while up there added a stop at Cranmore Mountain. Our goal this season was days on the slopes and new to us mountains. New Hampshire provided all that and more.
Cannon Mountain started our trip. Weather was not our friend, low cloud ceiling, fog and wet weather dampened (pun intended) some of our riding, we made under 10 runs with a lunch break before calling it a day. We returned to Cannon for a comeback, you can't control Ma Nature! Our second day was much better. Reaching the summit of over 4000 feet a few times and descending the 2180' vertical drop with the kids on our boards. The views were incredible, and diversity of trials and challenges were fun for all. We found the staff extremely friendly, COVID guidelines enforced and lots of great pictures, videos and family fun riding.
Black Mountain was the perfect old school vibe of a resort for us, with just 2 lifts the kids loved it! We felt comfortable giving them the run of the resort; FREEDOM! Abilities vary within our group and overall we found Black easily to conquer the terrain, our kids felt like it was a solid green/blue hill. My daughter is more "extreme" and wished they had a terrain park but she really enjoyed the two days we spent there. The parking lot provides great access to the lifts, parking by the double on the second day we skied straight to the car at the end of the day and packed up with ease.
Cranmore Mountain Ski Area in North Conway had a different feel from Cannon and Black. A family resort and mini village with buildings for lessons, tickets, a shop and restaurant. We only visited Cranmore for night skiing. They only have a portion of their terrain open at night, mostly beginner with one lift but having a park open was fun for my daughter. With their easy quick runs and with little crowds we went up and down quite a few times. We plan on checking out the whole mountain on a future trip for day riding and exploring.
This trip over all our ranking was: 1st Cannon, 2nd Cranmore (we saw the potential), 3rd Black
Northern New Hampshire offers many places to ski and snowboard, next season we plan on hitting many in the White Mountain area that are connected with our ski passes.
About the Author
Karen Proctor, from New York's Hudson Valley is an adventure seeking mom of 2 Elementary school aged kids. When not on the mountain Karen can be found on a lake, hiking or biking with her family. Karen loves sharing things to do with families outdoors on her family website Apple Moms HV.
