Best Resort for First Trip to New England?

In NH, the best bets would be either Bretton Woods or Loon.  Loon has more lodging options with hotels then Bretton Woods.  Bretton Woods would be the best choice for her ability and allow her to ski anywhere.

Assuming you are after Jan 1 and before Prez Holiday Week there should be minimal midweek lift lines throughout New England.  Personally, I think the best time to ski up there is late Feb after the holiday for light crowds, good snow and milder temps.  There are a number of good candidates. 

 

Puckit's suggestion of Bretton Woods is good.  Your wife might like staying in swanky nearby Mt Wash Hotel if that fits your budget.  You might like a day trip to nearby Cannon Mtn for advanced skiing.  January can be real cold in NH/VT, but that makes an après ski hot tub even better.  Sometimes good airfares into Manchester, NH.

Stowe would offer it all with a cute town not far.  Perhaps decent airfares into Burlington.

Killington has tremendous variety and I think is a great midweek choice.  It's a little closer if you plan to drive.

Other destination candidates:  Stratton, Okemo, Sugarbush, Sunday River.  Sugarloaf and Saddleback ME would be a great combo, or if you're into daily smorgasbord/commute perhaps Mt. Washington Valley ski areas, especially scenic Wildcat, NH with outlet shopping in nearby North Conway.

Okemo. Wide range of lodging options with many ski-in, ski-out properties. Mid-week, non-holiday is usually uncrowded. Lots of blue terrain, easy access restaurants and a sports center.

I have been to all of the ski areas mentioned and would personally recommend Stowe if you're coming all the way up from NC. The mountains at any of the areas will be good, the weather will be whatever it happens to be but the town of Stowe is a very nice experience in terms of good choices for eating, staying, looking around, shopping, sleigh rides, cross country, etc. etc.

 

If you are driving up, you might want to consider staying in N. Conway NH and skiing a number of resorts - Bretton Woods, Wildcat, Attitash, Cannon, etc. and even Sunday River are all within an hour. The appeal of that area is how pretty it is, the views from Wildcat are among the best in the East, it is also fairly economical and - one of the real payoffs for someone from NC - you have a great chance of seeing moose in the wild, especially as it goes into March.

All of the above. Not really a bad choice in the bunch.

One thing to keep in mind (since you will be in New England for several days) is that Vermont and New Hampshire aren't that big.

 

In southern Vermont, Mt. Snow, Okemo, Stratton, Bromley and Magic are all fairly close to each other.  Magic has some truly challenging terrain, but it also has some easier cruising as well.  Magic is a small "throwback" area -- if you are interested in some "classic" New England terrain, Magic's the place.  Bromley faces south, which can be a good thing on brutally cold days.  Okemo and Mt. Snow are huge, meaning "packed" on the weekends, but they're pretty empty mid week, and they are filled with wide open blue cruisers.

 

Northern Vermont has a bunch of close by ski-areas as well -- i.e. Sugarbush, Mad River Glen, Stowe, Bolton Valley are all close to each other, with Smugglers Notch being not-too-far-away.  Each has their own "character", strengths and weaknesses.  Contrary to popular opinion, Mad River Glen does have some easier cruising terrain along with loads of "classic" skiing.

 

As a general statement, southern Vermont blues are somewhat less steep than northern Vermont blues.  Northern Vermont tends to get more snow than anywhere else in New England (i.e., you have the best chance of skiing something other than New England "hardpack" in northern Vermont).

 

Bunches of NH areas are close by as well, with Bretton Woods being more-or-less centrally located among the larger NH areas.

 

Visiting various areas will probably increase costs somewhat as it will be harder to take advantage of multi-day discounts, but its worth looking into going to a "region" rather than one specific area.

Given your different tastes in terrain, is your plan to ski different trails off of the same lifts with common meet points at the bottom? Or will you be by yourself while she's in lessons? Or will you drag her onto the hard terrain regardless of her preference?

Basically my point is do you need varied terrain off the same lifts or will you be separate a lot of the time so that it won't really matter?

Stowe.

 

You can work your way down from there.

If money is not an issue, Stowe is the best. Although if you plan to fly, you might as well fly west and get a much better chance at great skiing for your wife and yourself. The snow is typically much better, more terrain, phenomenal vistas etc. Steamboat is probably the best place to start. Reasonable altitude, lots of extraordinary green/blue terrain, huge amount of very decent single blacks and a few double blacks to try out. Reasonably priced, will not cost that much more than to fly east from Carolinas. The town is very nice too. Don't get me wrong, I have a time share at Smuggs, on the other side from Stowe and love. It is really very good for expert/advanced skiing when the snow is good. The problem is it does not happen that often, if don't live their. And overall amount of green/blue terrain is fairly limited compared to that found in the West. For those who live north of Maryland it is still a good deal because it is driveable and one can save quite a bit of money. However, if you have to fly- go West , it will knock your skiboots off.

Where do you usually ski in the southeast?  Where have you skied outside the southeast?  Do you have flexibility about which week to go?  How long has the wife being skiing?

 

As someone else mentioned, if flying then going out west can be more worthwhile than going to New England.  Especially if looking for wide open space with few skiers.  Although mid-week is probably fine at any of the larger resorts.

There is plenty of great skiing for you both at many areas in New England at that time of year.

You need to consider whether it will be midweek or involve weekends; whether you want ski-in accommodation, shuttle bus accommodation, or drive-to-mountain accommodation; whether you want a nightlife party atmosphere or a more quiet one; whether you're bringing kids and looking for a family setting; the importance of nearby fine dining, shopping, sightseeing; whether you want high end or more moderate pricing; whether you're OK mixing with a heavy NY Metro crowd (southern VT only); whether you're flying or driving.

Based on the snow last season you will want to ensure the ski area has solid snow-making capability, though this was much less of a concern the year before.

The way I would break it down is to decide if you want to stay the whole "mid-week" at one mountain or sample several areas. The only mountain I would recommend for 5-6 days in a row is Sugerloaf, Maine. It's the largest area in NE (debatable I am sure) and has a large base village that is nice. They also opened some "natural" glades that I am dying to go ski. There is not much else around it, way up in the booney's, but a great mountain to ski at.

 

The other approach is to pick a "quaint" NE village for lodging and drive to several nearby ski areas. My short list would be Stratton in Southern Vt, Stowe in Northern Vt, possibly Woodstock in middle Vt, and North Conway in NH. I think the Vt areas are more "quaint" NE style and North Conway is more hiker, and outdoorsman oriented. Compared to out west, the ski areas are smaller and closer together, so it is easy to ski several mountains during the course of the week. If you are hoping for the best snow conditions, I would choose the Stowe area in Vt. You can't go wrong with any of the choices mentioned so far.

If you choose to go to Bretton Woods, it has about 7 lifts and a true newbie can ride every one of them and ski down with some confidence.  Whoever laid out BW did so with the intention of making every peak available for beginners.  I wish they would print out a trail map just for Green Trail skiers.  I worked one out myself for a friend I took skiing last season who had not skied in 30 years and was terrified.  She had a great time there.  For a new green trail skier, there is so much variety at BW. There are even very easy glades off the lift to the far west which a beginner can try. The base lodge is well-appointed, and if you stay in any of the Omni lodgings nearby you'll be pleased.  You can also stay in North Conway and drive over to Bretton Woods.  It's a 40 minute drive.  From North Conway, as one other poster has said, you can ski Wildcat (great views of Mt Washington and Tuckerman Ravine from the summit!!!, limited beginner terrain, old New England feel even in the old lodge), Attitash (two peaks), Cranmore (over-crowded on weekends, small, but right in town, with night skiing and TUBING too!!!), Black (tiny; see the horses!), Sunday River (large resort over in Maine, 1 hour drive, multi-peaked, several base lodges, and plenty of varied terrain), Shawnee Peak (small), and King Pine (tiny).  North Conway is a skier town, full of ski bars, all kinds of restaurants, and even several outlet malls.  N. Conway is decidedly middle-class and down to earth, not "terminally quaint" like tony Stowe.  You'll find MacDonalds in N. Conway, for instance, but not in Stowe.

Skiing Bretton Woods as an advanced/expert means either you go into the glades, or you entertain yourself on fairly flat but well-groomed, wide, blue runs.  So let's say the two of you go to BW.  She skis the easy stuff, and you ski the glades.  The glades are graduated, from very simple and nearly flat to tight and gnarly.  The mountain is known as a flat mountain, so they have made sure there is some challenge for the experts who come with their not-so-expert families.  That's why you'll find  glades pulling off so many of the lifts.  Crowds aren't too bad except for holiday weekends.  The grooming and snow-making is exceptional.  They cater to one-week-a-year family skiing, so it's still an "intermediate's paradise."

 

If you stay near  Bretton Woods and want to venture out, Cannon is 15 minutes away.  It's a skier's mountain, perfect for the guy who wants to ski off-piste (well, if it snows).  A beginner will be challenged, but a guy's gotta have his day, right?  Ask the locals about the off-map skiing, or if it snows, go over to Mittersill and ski the narrow ungroomed old-school trails. Mittersill is totally natural; no snow-making, no grooming.  Just one double lift, and amazing goat paths and narrow twisties all the way down.  One big glade fills its middle.  Or ... keep to the hard-snow groomed steeps on Cannon proper that delight the racers for whom this mountain is home (Franconia Ski Club).  

 

Loon, another 15 minutes farther from BW, is a large resort, a magnet for Boston drivers who come up to ski.  Avoid the weekends there because of the massive lift lines and crowded lodges, but weekdays are fine.  Loon has extensive terrain and a small ski town attached - Lincoln, NH.   Woodstock, NH, is just across the highway (seems like every New England state has a Woodstock).  You could stay in Lincoln or Woodstock and ski Loon, Cannon, and Bretton Woods.  Lots of lodging is available there, along with all the eating you'll ever need.

 

Just a word about Wildcat on the east side of NH and Cannon on the west.  Both of these spots are retro - the trails were put in back before snow-making, and their original character is still quite evident.  You'll find narrow windy trails bordered by tall trees - narrow before snow-making meant shade from the sun so the snow wouldn't melt, and windy meant wind would not blow the snow awa before grooming.  Both are quite picturesque.  Buy a lift ticket at Cannon and you can ride the Tram up Fri-Mon.  That's a blast, but beware, Cannon can be quite icy.  Check out the history of Cannon on line - it was the beginning of skiing in the USA.  

 

If you ski Wildcat one day, stop in across the highway at the headquarters of the Appalacian Mountain Club after skiing.  They serve family style meals there at 6:00 pm 365 days a year.  Local Color at its best!  The through-hikers on the Appalacian Trail will be there, along with all the ice climbers and winter hikers.  These are the die-hard mountain lovers you'll be eating dinner with, and they will have stories to tell you as you gobble up the well-cooked meal.  The people behind the desk in the gift shop can tell you all about Tuckerman Ravine hikers, and all about hiking in the White Mountains in general.  You'll want to come back in the summer to hike up to the summit of Mt. Washington.  All you need is some fitness and the right equipment.  

 

If you want to do other stuff besides ski, Bretton Woods has a Canopy Tour that is available throughout the year, including the winter.  It includes rope bridges through the canopy, zip lines, and other adventurous things.  You might enjoy that as a break

 

Oh, and if you don't stay in an Omni hotel or motel near Bretton Woods but drive over there to ski, be sure to go to the Mt. Washington Hotel (a magnificent grand hotel from the past with some serious history) after skiing for a cocktail in the lounge.  Memorable!  

In all honesty, most of the resorts mentioned here are nice regional places, often with strong skiing, but not what you'd call destination resorts. Which to me includes the feel of the place outside of the ski slopes. If your wife would appreciate the stereotypical New England ambience, small town with white church, quilts for sale, and so on in addition to decent skiing, excellent ski school, and odds of decent snow, then Stowe is about it. Stratton is also quasi-destination, but the snow can be dicier. Smuggler's Notch is in this batch if you desire capacious condos, and a more old school flavor to the slopes, over local charm. Nothing really qualifies by these definitions in New Hampshire, and I assume Maine or Canada are too far away for you. 

Lemii, what made you and your wife choose New England as a destination?  This may help us give more targeted resort recommendations.  For instance, if you are looking for the picture perfect New England town or a town with a lot of shopping and stuff, Stowe would be the best bet.  If you want a place that will be less expensive, but still give you a big mountain experience and have some trails for both of you, Smugglers Notch, which is on the other side of the mountain from Stowe would fit the bill.  However, if you plan on driving, instead of flying from North Carolina, you may want to hit one of the more southern Vermont areas like Okemo, Stratton, etc...

 

I have only skied at two areas in New England, both in Vermont.  My ex-wife and I did a roadtrip from the DC area to Okemo.  From what I remember, Okemo would definitely be good for your wife, and has some decent advanced runs you may like, but nothing really steep or really expert.  I don't remember there being much of a town or stuff around Okemo to do, so if having stuff other than skiing at the area is important to you, Okemo may not be the best spot.

 

The other place I skied at in Vermont is Smugglers Notch.  Smugglers Notch ski area is basically 3 mountains, with one being mostly greens, with a few blue runs and the other two all blues and black diamonds.  Some of the blues are fairly easy there, but there are also many blue trails that would be black diamonds at ski resorts in the South.  As for black diamond trails, Smugglers Notch  has steeps, bumps, cliffs, glades, etc... I doubt you would leave there feeling unchallenged.  Smugglers Notch has a lot of condo lodging, but other than that, it doesn't feel like a real ski resort.  My wife (current) and I enjoyed Smugglers Notch, and there was more to do there than Okemo, but nothing like what you would find at Stowe on the other side of the mountain.  

 

Nice summary here.  Just to clarify, the base of Okemo ski area is the town of Ludlow.  I've never paid much attention to the town of Ludlow.  In terms of land area, Ludlow is a pretty decent sized town for Vermont -- i.e., it has a traffic light.  Not sure what is there in terms of "to do", although Okemo does cater to families, so I imagine there's some sort of "family friendly" type activities going on in town.

 

Also, note that Smugglers Notch and Stowe are geographically right next to each other.  You can see Smuggs from Stowe.  That said, the two areas are about a 45 minute drive apart as the direct road between them is closed in the winter.

If you are driving from NC, there are lots of interesting stops along the way to get a good idea of north east skiing. E.g.,  drive NC to Kingston, NY stay the night, in the AM ski Bellayre, Hunter, or Windham in NY at the end of the day drive to your destination or to Killington or Okemo, then on to Stowe or NH. I love wandering around New England and find I personally enjoy those trips.

Given the good feedback here would be my recommendations:

1. Stowe

2. Stratton

3. North Conway with Mt Cranmore, Wildcat, Attitash

4. Lake Placid with Whiteface

 

I'm going to Lake Placid the week before Christmas and hopefully and should be able to put a trip report up after I get back.  I don't know if there is slope side lodging, but there is a shuttle that runs from the town to the ski area 10 miles away.  The town has a lot of shopping, restaurants and other activities, so meets your other criteria.  I'm going there as airfare on Southwest was dirt cheap to Albany.  

 

Stowe is probably your best bet if you can keep it within budget.  The town has lots of shopping and restaurants and it is really beautiful around there.  Lodging can be expensive as well as lift tickets, so  it could strain your budget.

 

New England, at least Northern Vermont is beautiful.  My wife isn't much of a snow or cold person, but even though we had both of those when we visited Smugglers Notch in Vermont, my wife really loved the area and the scenery and wants to go back some time.

If you want quaint New England, find a way to make Stowe work.  It'll cost you, but there's a reason for that.  Have a dinner at the Von Trapp Lodge just outside town, and visit Ben & Jerry's original factory.  Yes, that Von Trapp.  Do look at the trail map and see if it has enough terrain you and your wife might enjoy before committing.

 

Killington is not the place to go; the access road is just a bunch of restaurants, ski shops, and bars.  The nearby town isn't much, so it's the access road that you've got.  Decidedly boisterous.

 

North Conway, with the town of Jackson nearby, is a close second for New England flavor.  I don't know if I'd go so far as to call North Conway "charming," but it has everything there in abundance, and something for all interests.  Jackson, the next door town, in its New England tiny-ness, is genuinely charming and authentic.  Jackson has an old grand hotel.  North Conway has everything, including extensive outlets.  There are farm/restaurants/bed&breakfasts in and around North Conway where you can get dinner along with a romantic sled ride drawn by draft horses; you cuddle under a blanket with champagne while riding along out in the snow at night after dinner-jingle bells!.  There is a charming ice skating rink in Jackson with fantastic lights for night skating; be sure to skate under the bridge.   

 

If you go to Bretton Woods and stay at an Omni lodging venue, you are out in the middle of a wilderness, but the massive and historic Mt. Washington Hotel has everything you need.  You've got Lincoln nearby (which caters to tourists-nothing authentic there), and real non-tourist New England towns all around within 45 minutes' drive (Woodstock is full of New England charm and restaurants so you don't have to eat in the hotel every night).  Oh, if you want real local color, you can stay at the Appalacian Mountain Club's Highland Center one night.  Check it out!  This is serious hiking territory, and lots of winter hikers may be there with tales to tell.  It's situated on the same highway as the Mt. Washington Hotel, just up the road in Crawford Notch, on the way to North Conway.  

 

Okemo has an artificial village attached; the nearby town is depressed and doesn't have much.  It's not on my recommendation list.  Stratton also has a Disney style artificial village; also not on my list.

Stowe keeps getting mentioned in this thread, and I believe that Stowe is an awesome ski area.

 

I spent a couple years skiing the mid-Atlantic areas as well (PA, MD, VA, WV, etc).  I had gotten comfortable on mid-Atlantic blues and could "handle" mid-Atlantic blacks, so my friend and I decided to head to a "real" ski area.  We chose Stowe, because Stowe had a lot of blue-square terrain (which it does).

 

Suffice it to say that we quickly discovered that a Stowe "blue" is nothing like a mid-Atlantic "blue".  Stowe blues aren't "impossible" or anything, but they are significantly steeper than what you're used to.  Couple that with the fact that Stowe is probably three or four times the vertical drop of what you're used to and it can be a somewhat intimidating experience.

It seems that you had plenty of exposure to Western skiing and really plan to check out what is going on in NE. I agree with the previous comment that it would make a lot of sense to make an effort and make Stowe work for you. It is a great apre ski village for people who hate noisy crowds keeping you from sleeping at nite and enjoying skiing in the daytime (killington). You can stay in the new lodge which is outstanding, and also ski-in ski-out (sort off), but it will cost a bit more. Alternatively, stay in the village or anywhere in between. There are plenty of accommodations to be found at lower price. The village of Stowe is NE at its best, with great dining options and reasonable shopping. It will have plenty of green - blue trails. You can also take a trip to Smuggs (smaller crowds and very authentic old style skiing), which is right over the mountain but the pass is closed in winter. You will have to drive around, which take about 40 min. Next year try Steamboat, which seems like a perfect fit for you guys. That being said, the best of skiing is really in BC interior, with very limited shopping though...

Conditions are always a crapshoot in New England, they'll be multiple snowstorms, conditions are great, then a rain period that freezes and conditions are icy.

Upping your wife's confidence in New England ice is a risk.

 

That said, the resorts that do the best snowmaking and grooming  that'll mitigate the potential for ice are Killington and Sunday River. There seems to be three natural snow zones in New England, the southern one includes Killington, Okemo and Sugarbush and Mad River Glen. Personally, I think you'll be bored silly with Okemo, but your wife will prolly like it.

 

The middle snow belt roughly includes Stowe, Smugglers Notch, Loon and Sunday River.

 

the Northern belt includes Jay Peak and Sugarloaf. 

 

My favorites for New England character are Sugarbush and  Stowe.

 

So, all in all, I'll vote for Stowe. More natural snow than the southern resorts, decent snowmaking, Nice town to check out. Nearby Smugglers notch caters to familys and will appeal to the wife, yet have decent terrain for you. If you'll have a car consider the hour plus drive to Jay Peak from Stowe, it's worth it. 

Go to the interactive trail map on Stowe's site.  Click on the green circle at the top of the map to show the greens.  

 

http://www.stowe.com/ski-ride/trail-map/interactive-flash-trail-map/

 

Those greens are what your wife and you will most likely be skiing the first few days you're there.  The snow you encounter will probably be very similar to what you're used to, unless it has snowed very recently, as "New England Packed Powder" is often just your normal hard snow, much of which has come out of a gun.  However, you might get lucky and have a nice base of fresh snow.  Stowe's blues are most likely going to be challenging for a skier who gets a little nervous and tentative on N.C. blues.

 

Be sure to sign up for lessons; that will enhance your skiing joy as well as your terrain options.  There are a number of Stowe instructors who regularly post here.  You might get some recommendations.

 

I'd just use the main rental shop at Stowe's Spruce Peak. That's where she will be spending a lot of time. Everything is new, and there are plenty of upgrade options if she wants to try rocker or whatever.

You might want to go a little further north.  Mt Tremblant is a great all around mountain but it has a vail type village at the base with lots of slope side lodging.  And the French aspect makes it a really nice vacation.  Since you are coming up from NC you might be able to avoid I 95 and go through Ottowa.  It might end up being only and hour or so further.  

 

MB,

 

The week before Christmas can be risky at Whiteface.  Some years the snow is good, even great.  More likely, they will have the snow guns blazing to get a good layer of cover down for Christmas week. 

 

Your luck is likely to depend on when the first big winter storm comes through, and whether it is followed by rain.  An 18" dump that sticks can make a huge difference in the early season skiing at Whiteface.

 

STE