The Top Choices Feature the State's Largest Developed Park, a Downhill Ski Area, and a Mountaintop View of Six States.
Bear Brook State Park
(Allenstown, NH) With nearly 10,000 acres, Bear Brook is the largest developed state park in New Hampshire. It includes forty miles of trails through the heavily forested park, leading to seldom visited marshes, bogs, summits and ponds, and offers visitors ample opportunities for snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Franconia Notch State Park
(Franconia, NH) Located in the heart of the popular White Mountain National Forest, the 6,692-acre park includes the Cannon Mountain Ski Area. Cannon offers downhill skiing, snowboarding and telemark skiing, as well as snowtubing. Throughout the rest of the park there area groomed snowmobiling trails that are also used for cross country skiing and snowshoeing. The 2,000-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail passes through the park.
Monadnock State Park
(Jaffrey, NH) With its 5,000 acres of protected highlands, Monadnock State Park offers winter hiking and camping as well as cross country skiing. From the summit of Mount Monadnock (designated a National Natural Landmark) visitors can enjoy unsurpassed 100-mile views to points in all six New England states. A magnet for hikers, Monadnock is said to be the second most frequently climbed mountain in the world, after Japan's Mt. Fuji. There are forty miles of clearly marked foot trails, many of which lead to the bare rock summit through unique alpine vegetation. Approximately 14 miles of the trail system in the lower elevations offers ski touring for the experienced cross country skier. The quiet camping area at the base of Mt. Monadnock has 21 tent sites. The campground is open year-round, with limited services from November through March.
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