White Mountains
White Mountains
The Mt. Washington Valley has something worth doing in every season — from powder days at Attitash to peak-foliage drives on the Kancamagus. Here's where to go and where to eat.
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8 places match your filters
Attitash Mountain Resort
The home mountain — literally on Route 302, less than five minutes from Villa at Bear Creek. Two connected peaks (Attitash and Bear Peak) with 68 trails and 1,750 vertical feet. Classic New England skiing: narrow winding runs, genuine fall lines, and a lively après scene. Part of the Epic Pass.
Check the resort calendar for live music nights and race leagues — a great reason to stay on the mountain after last chair.
Wildcat Mountain
Consistently rated the most scenic ski mountain in the East, sitting directly across from Mt. Washington. Old New England–style trails — narrow, honest, and technical on the upper mountain. No frills, strong skiing. The Polecat Trail runs 2.75 miles top to bottom, the longest in New Hampshire.
Jackson Village is the après destination for Wildcat — Wildcat Tavern and Shannon Door are 10 minutes away.
Bretton Woods
New Hampshire's largest ski area with 464 acres and the grand Omni Mount Washington Hotel as its centerpiece. Wide cruisers, birch glades, and Presidential Range views all day. The attached Nordic center has 100+ km of groomed trails. More refined than party-focused — and the hotel lobby bar is worth a visit regardless.
Ski the Nordic center in the morning, ski the mountain in the afternoon — two very different experiences on one pass.
Black Mountain
New Hampshire's oldest continuously operating ski area (est. 1935), now transitioning to community co-op ownership. 45 trails, sunny southern exposure, zero lift lines, and the kind of soul that corporate resorts can't manufacture. Multi-generational NH families love it. Operates on the Indy Pass.
Come on a weekday and you may have whole trails to yourself. Jackson Village restaurants are a few minutes away.
Jackson Ski Touring Foundation
100+ km of groomed Nordic trails winding through forest and farmland around Jackson Village — one of the finest cross-country networks in the Northeast. Trails weave between historic inns and farmhouses. Dedicated snowshoe trails and a groomed village loop with snowmaking. $25 adult trail pass.
Combine with lunch at the Wildcat Tavern — many trails loop back to the village.
Photo: Dmkrusch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Conway Scenic Railroad
Running since 1974 out of North Conway's 1874 Victorian depot, the Conway Scenic Railroad offers two very different rides. The Mountaineer is the showstopper — a 4- to 5-hour round trip up through Crawford Notch on the old Maine Central Mountain Division, crossing the Frankenstein Trestle high above the valley. The Valley Train is a relaxed one-hour ride toward Conway, with seasonal specials like the Halloween Express and Santa's Holiday Express that kids love.
Book the Mountaineer well ahead for foliage season, and spring for Observation Dome seats if they're available. Pre-order a boxed lunch at least 48 hours in advance — outside food isn't allowed on board. About 20 minutes from Bartlett.
Photo: Ken Gallager, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Crawford Notch State Park
A 5,775-acre state park along Route 302 that protects the dramatic pass between Bartlett and Bretton Woods, with the Saco River tumbling down the notch beside the road. At its heart is the Willey House site, named for the family lost in an 1826 landslide, now home to a snack bar, park store, and picnic area. Silver Cascade and Flume Cascade spill down the ledges right beside the highway, Ripley Falls is an easy hike away, and Dry River Campground has sites from late May through October.
Make an afternoon of it: stop at Silver Cascade on the way up, picnic at the Willey House, and hike to Ripley Falls. Arethusa Falls and Mount Willard (both listed separately) are in the park too. About 20 minutes west of Bartlett.
Photo: Bob Linsdell, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
White Mountain National Forest
Established in 1918, the White Mountain National Forest covers roughly 750,000 acres of New Hampshire and Maine, with about 1,200 miles of trails, 23 campgrounds, six wilderness areas, and more than 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. In Bartlett, forest land starts right outside the door. Bear Notch Road climbs 9 scenic miles from Bartlett Village to the Kancamagus Highway with overlooks along the way, and trailheads for Sawyer Pond, Diana's Baths, and the Presidential Range–Dry River Wilderness are all close by.
Many trailheads and day-use sites require a recreation pass — buy a day or annual pass before you go. Bear Notch Road is unplowed and closed in winter, but it's one of the best foliage drives in the valley from late September to mid-October.
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