On Friday March 11th, I packed skis, luggage, and two of my kids into our mini van and headed north for a mini-weekend vacation in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Here’s what happened….

I was a little scared that I’d left our skiing vacation too late this year. I thought by that date it would be all ice and little snow – certainly not powder! But boy it was one of the best weeks of the season.

A few hours before we left Massachusetts it started to snow, and it kept snowing all the way to North Conway – a six hour very slow drive.

And overnight… you guessed… it snowed. In fact we skied Bretton Woods all day Saturday in snow, and it was still snowing when we returned to our North Conway inn that evening.

The skiing at Bretton Woods was fantastic. The views of the area were not great due to the storm, but in some areas we were almost skiing on ungroomed trails. I love Bretton Woods because it’s got a lot of easier and intermediate trails, and I get on just fine with them. You really can’t miss with this mountain for a family vacation.

My one disappointment of the weekend was that because of the snow they were not running the Mount Washington Cog Railway Ski Train. The boys and I were really looking forward to that ride – which started full operation this year. Well, there’s next year.

On Sunday we drove to Wildcat Mountain under sunny skies. Now Wildcat is a… how should I say it… very different mountain than Bretton Woods. It’s much more challenging on all trails.

It also has one of the longest easiest trails in New Hampshire. It’s about 3 miles long. But while the skiing was great, if not at times a little hair-raising for me, the absolute best part was the view of Mount Washington’s Tuckerman Ravine from Wildcat’s summit.

You can get an idea of the view we saw by checking out my New Hampshire Skiing page at the New England Vacations Guide web site.

The boys loved Wildcat – isn’t it funny how kids just seem to be fearless? And good ole dad is always bringing up the rear. But we all agreed that both mountains we visited were great and worth the long trip north.

Thankfully, it didn’t take us six hours to drive back, but we did go way of Lake Winnipesaukee so we could see the frozen lake and people ice-fishing. In just a few weeks the snow and ice will all be gone and the lake will open up for its spring visitors.

And that’s another trip and another story for another day.

Related posts:

1. Autumn Scenic Drive in the White Mountains – Route 302
2. Franconia Notch and White Mountains’ Inns Showcase Artists
3. New England White Water Rafting Guide for 2009
4. The New England Mountains – Northern Ranges
5. The Three County Fair, Northampton, Massachusetts is a Labor Day Weekend Treat for All