10 Best Family-Friendly Things to Do in Winter in the White Mountains 

It could be argued that no region embraces winter like New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The region is a snowy playground for kids of any age and for families especially, there are endless options to let you take the season at your own speed. 

Omni Mt. Washington Hotel | Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

You’re going to need a place to stay so why not make sure your base camp is a grand one? The truth is, you could build an entire winter vacation solely around a stay at the Mt. Washington. On its staff are expert ice climbing and winter hiking guides. Snowshoe and Nordic trails venture around the property, while neighboring Bretton Woods offers scenic downhill trails to rival any in the Northeast. When you’re ready to take a break from all the action (or even need a little help to recover from your big day), the hotel’s large wellness center and spa, as well as a cocktail by a roaring fire in the main sitting room, await. Omnihotels.com

Polly’s Pancake Parlor | Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Pancakes, views, and most especially views of pancakes: You’ll be in blueberry buckwheat heaven at this family-owned institution, which has been flipping delectable discs for more than three quarters of a century. Polly’s has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a woodshed, and inaugurated a new building in 2015 to accommodate the 58,000 pilgrims who make the trek to tiny, aptly named Sugar Hill each year. Poillyspancakeparlor.com

Living Shores Aquarium | Glen, New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s first aquarium-it opened in late 2019–features more than 32,000 square feet of interactive tide pools, immersive activities, and exhibit. Visitors can also check out the otters, touch sting rays, and interact with tropical birds. Livingshores.com

Cranmore Mountain Resort | North Conway, New Hampshire

Though New England is populated with many fine skiing regions, nothing quite matches the diversity of terrain found among the many ski areas in the White Mountain region. These mountains garner the kind of loyalty usually reserved for sports teams. Maybe no more so than Cranmore, one of the first ski resorts in the country. The robust terrain park will get even newbies up and thinking about longer green runs before the day is out, while the rest of the mountain, including a pretty awesome tubing park, is winter fun at its best. Best of all, you’re just minutes from downtown North Conway for all the seasonal fun its restaurants and bars serve up come sundown. Cranmore.com

Jackson Ski Touring Foundation | Jackson

The Mount Washington Valley alone features 450-plus kilometers of Nordic trails that slice through the region. More than a quarter of them crisscross Jackson, an 800-resident village that has become one of the cross-country power centers of the Northeast. The central hub is a short walk from the inn, and on a winter weekend as many as 1,200 skiers set off on trails that peel off from four main branch heads. There’s terrain for all abilities, including a lovely glide around the grounds of the Wentworth Golf Club, where the foundation makes its home, while a little deeper into the woods awaits a warming hut that serves hot chocolate. If you and your little partners have the skill and the time, the hardest of the hard-core is a 17-kilometer descent off the back side of Wildcat Mountain, which you can reach by chairlift from the Alpine center.Jacksonxc.org

Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel | Jefferson

Hurtle through snowy scenes of the White Mountains behind a team of rescue dogs at Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel in Jefferson. There’s a variety of tour options, and guests are given the opportunity to harness and hitch the team — and maybe even help drive the sled. Dogslednh.com

Ice Castles Woodstock | North Woodstock

If you’re in the Woodstock area and are up for a chilling but delightful experience, Ice Castles is a magical place where you can wander through towering ice structures or play on ice slides. Since all the attractions here are carved from approximately 25,000 pounds of ice, the start and end dates each year are weather-dependent, but recent seasons have run from mid-January until early March. icecastles.com/new-hampshire

Bretton Woods Canopy Tour | Carroll

There’s quiet in them thar trees. Take flight and take in the views surrounding Bretton Woods at the ski resort’s Canopy Tour, a year-round, multi-hour zipline experience that brings visitors down the mountain via thick cables and some securing hitches. The reward: a through-the-forest experience with spectacular sights of the western Whites. Brettonwoods.com

New England Ski Museum | North Conway

A small museum shouldn’t be this good. Walking through it, you follow skiing’s wild evolution via a trove of early videos, posters, ski equipment, and clothing—but it also isn’t afraid to delve into the personal. America’s early skiing industry was built by men and women who brought a nothing-to-lose attitude to their endeavors. Here, you can find stories of the pioneers who carved out or rebooted their legacies in the Whites, including the so-called father of modern skiing, Austrian native Hannes Schneider, who landed in New Hampshire after imprisonment by the Nazis and who oversaw the development of Cranmore. Newenglandskimuseum.org

Mt. Washington Auto Road | Glen

New England’s most famous mountain route stays open for tours even after the snow flies. Built in 1861, the privately owned and operated road isn’t so much plowed in winter as it is flattened. The snowpack can build so high that it’s not uncommon for the road “surface” to be at treetop level in places. Aboard SnowCoach vans outfitted with special tracks, visitors are transported to treeline, at about 4,200 feet. Tours are narrated by expert guides and while the subarctic world outside may look a little frosty, the vehicles stay toasty warm on the inside. mt-washington.com