XC Skiing? Fun? Where in VT/NH?
 

My boyfriend and I are looking for a Christmas to New Year's vacation in VT or NH with Cross Country Skiing. Does anybody have suggestions as where to go and what to expect.<BR>Thanks.

The village of Jackson, at the south end of Pinkham Notch, is usually regarded as the XC touring capitol of New Hampshire and there are many inns to choose from, most interconnected by an extensive and well-marked trail system. Further to the west, just north of Franconia Notch, in the town of Franconia, the Franconia Inn (that sounds awfully repetitive!) has its own XC center and trail system that links to some of the other inns in the area. I've stayed there several times, though not recently, and have always enjoyed the ambience. A decidedly upscale alternative - walk softly and carry a big wallet - would be the magnificent Mt. Washington Hotel, just north of Crawford Notch, which links to the XC and alpine complex of the Bretton Woods Ski Area.<BR><BR>Christmas holiday can be an iffy time for having enough snow for XC, but not this year. That area had a few inches on the ground until yesterday, received over 8&quot; last night, and is scheduled to receive another large snowfall this Saturday. Conditions over the holidays ought to be spectacular.

In New Hampshire, I would agree with Dick on the Mt. Washington Hotel across from Bretton Woods. There is also Great Glen Trails on the Pinkham Notch side of Mount Washington. If you have your own skis, try the Wilderness Trail on the Kancamangus Hwy.

I don't have a spot to suggest, but while you're there, give snowshoeing a whirl. I used to love x/c skiing until I tried snowshoeing. Now I prefer snowshoeing (not that I was ever that great at x/c skiing!)<BR><BR>But it really is fun, and you can navigate tighter terrain than you can on skis.

Depending on the snowfall, nearly anywhere in either state will have x-c skiing. In Quechee Vt. is the Marshland Farm Inn, which has a large x-c ski trail system and rental shop right on premises, a very beautiful spot. New London NH also has some very nice ski trails, and it's a nice little town to stay in. Other well know x-c ski meccas are Craftsbury Vt, the Trapp family Lodge at Stowe Vt., and Jackson NH. <BR>If you've never tried x-c skiing, it will take you about 1/2 hour or so to get the feel of it. It's wonderful exercise (considered to be the best all around fitness sport), so don't over dress.

I went to the Von Trapp's resort in Vermont to learn how to cross country ski. They are the family from the Sound of Music. The resort is near Stowe, i think. The really fun part is that the Ben &amp; Jerry's IceCream factory is on the way there, so every afternoon after my lesson, I stopped in there! The skiing at the resort (the name of which has escaped me) was great - trails through the woods, nice instructors and beautiful lodge. Of course, this was about 10 years ago, so things may have changed.