Laurelle00

Hi all, I am trying to pick a nice town for a six-day long trip in mid-March. I will be traveling with my mom and my husband; my husband and I ski, while my mom does not. So I'm looking specifically for a few things: 1) a quaint town that my mom can explore on foot during the day while we're skiing; 2) reasonably priced lift tickets & ski rentals; 3) a nice lodge, w. a view, that my mom can relax and read in while waiting for us. My husband and I enjoy scenic skiing, but we avoid the complicated slopes and may only ski half days. We don't need a big-name mountain, just an enjoyable ski experience with things to do and places to relax before and after.

Many thanks for any ideas you could share with me!

starrs

What about Stowe?
http://www.stowe.com/
http://www.gostowe.com/shopping

Luv2travel15

My daughter and her family are avid skiers and go to Maine and NH frequently. They just returned from a 4 day stay in North Conway. There is lots to do in North Conway, lots of shopping, restaurants, etc. There are several different mountains that you could ski, not sure of how they would be rated in terms of difficulty. My daughter and SIL are excellent skiers and our 2 gdaughters (6 & 8) are fairly experienced also.

North Conway - Loon Mtn., Cranmore, Black Mountain, Attitash

Maine - they love Sunday River! It's a further distance for them so they don't get there that frequently.

Some lodging info: http://www.loonmtn.com/plan/lodging?...c+text+skistay

http://www.sundayriver.com

Lift tickets are more expensive if you purchase at the mountain. My daughter purchases them online but I don't know what website she uses.

http://www.liftopia.com/ski-resort-i...roduct#03-2015

http://www.liftopia.com/ski-resort-i...-Hampshire.htm

http://www.cheapskiingguide.com/newhampshire.html
(shows all the mountains in that area)

Good luck. Happy trails! It was very cold up there this week. Our other daughter and her family went to Jackson, NH to xcountry ski.

Great ski conditions! Should continue into March.

Shopping Outlets: http://www.northconwaynh.com/settler...t_village.html
great shopping, your mother can spend the day there! LOL

You might look for a hotel in this area.
http://www.northconwaynh.com/hotels.html

zootsi

The Dartmouth Skiway might be a good fit. Its made up of two medium sized mountains about 20 minutes north of Hanover NH, a busy little college town. The Skiway is quite inexpensive and usually uncrowded. The lodge is new, very spacious and comfortable.
Hanover has lots of good restaurants, some interesting shops, and a great museum and several theaters.

Laurelle00

Thanks so much everyone for these wonderful suggestions! I had looked into Stowe, but it doesn't seem that the town is very walkable. We could certainly stay downtown and then drive to the slopes. I've heard wonderful things about North Conway, too, and I see that it's close to several mountains. I hadn't heard of the Dartmouth Skiway, so I'll check that out. A new and spacious lodge would be wonderful! Many thanks.

starrs

You want a walkable town or a town in walking distance of the slopes?

Yes, you would have to drive from town to the slopes.

Laurelle00

Hi starrs, thanks for your message. My preference would be to have it all together: a hotel/B&B in a walkable downtown that my mom could explore during the day; the mountain in walkable (or, as you pointed out, more likely a drivable) distance. It would be great if the mountain had a nice lodge area where my mom could sit and relax & read while she's waiting for us.

So far, I'm looking at: North Conway, Woodstock, Stowe, Killington, Hanover/Darthmouth, and Sugarbush (which is lovely, and which I've been to before, but whose town is very spread out).

I'm also looking for a hotel or B&B recommendation. I've spent almost the entire weekend scouring websites looking for a place to stay that would offer good location and a nice common space. Many thanks for any suggestions!

starrs

You can have a walkable downtown.
You can have a lodge at the resort.
Stowe has both.

If you want a walkable downtown in walking distance of the slopes, I think you're going to have to go out west.

Laurelle00

Hi starrs - thanks! You just saved me lots of time doing more online research. I've been looking at lodging in Stowe Village (that would specifically be downtown, as I understand it) and on the mountain. If you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear them. But in any case, many thanks!

Luv2travel15

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Hampshire.html

This hotel ranks #1 in No. Conway:
http://northconwaycomfortinn.com

What dates are you looking at? You could get a suite here if available. This would be fairly close to restaurants, Settlers Green Outlets, other stores (WalMart, Christmas Tree Shop).

Restaurants in this vicinity:
Applebee's Peaches Friendly's Horsefeather's Delaney's Maestro's Cafe & Deli Bellini's Red Parka Pub Red Fox Grill 99 Restauant Jonathons Seafood Muddy Moose May Kelly's Moat Mountain Smokehouse Tuckermans Tavern Bellini's Delaney's Hooligan's

These hotels are close to Settlers Green shopping.

http://www.booking.com/landmark/us/s...4RAaAi7I8P8HAQ

I have booked hotels thru the Booking website and you usually don't pay til you get there. Positive experience!

I use www.lastminutetravel.com a lot and have had excellent results.
Positive experience as well.

I think that if you are looking for a place that will have shopping, lodging, restaurants, etc. then North Conway will be perfect for you. It is very popular and always very busy there because it has it all.

Bear in mind that it is going to be mega busy because the skiing has been awesome this winter and there are lots of trails open on the mountains. Also bear in mind that there will be lots of kids. lol

Hope you have a fantastic trip.

Laurelle00

Luv2Travel - thanks so much! This is all super helpful. I imagine it will be super crazy - and lots of kids! I'll stick to the easy trails. Many thanks again

Luv2travel15

You are welcome! I am sure you will have a wonderful ski trip. I luv No. Conway, so pretty w/ the mountains. Your mother will luv all the shopping! My daughters go crazy at the outlets when they go up, they get some good buys.

If you do stay in North Conway, be sure you go to Horsefeathers to eat (drink too). lol It's a fun place, always crowded and food is decent. You can't miss it, but it's right near Conway Railroad Station. They have microbrews there if you like that sort of thing.

http://www.horsefeathers.com

That's about it. Hope this helps. Don't wait to book a hotel.

HappyTrvlr

Stowe was first ski area that came to my mind too and I spend a lot of time in VT. I have given up skiing but love to be in that atmosphere.
Walkable to both slopes and quaint town? It may be hard to find exactly that but if I weren't skiing, I would rather be in a real town than a newly created "Swiss Village" ski area.
Plus, if you go to Stowe, you can visit Ben and Jerry's nearby. Buy their ice cream dishes to take home while sampling their new free flavors.