411 on skiing and biking in New England

[Rich McP]

OK, big changes afoot. I just accepted a new position in NE. We're leaving Colorado and headed...up there. I'll be working CT, RI and MA. Right now our thoughts are to live in RI between Warwick and Narragansett, or coastal NH, though anywhere from NH to western RI is possible. We'll be prioritizing coastal to near coastal (think walk to the beach, to 15 or 20 minutes drive to the beach.

I have much to learn and need some help.

I need to bike (road, I gave up on MTN), but I have no idea where or how I go about that up there. Safety on the road is important to me (and my wife). Here I have my crew, and clubs, and organized rides, and my solo routes, but I don't know how everyone goes about it there.

Obviously, I need to ski. I've never skied the northeast. I don't know anything about it except that it is blue pond ice always, everyday. I don't know what sucks, what's marginal, what's considered awesome. Maintaining my seniority with VR is a consideration, but not a must. I will be looking at teaching if I can make it work, but it is secondary to settling in to my new role, so it might not happen. I say that as it might be a reason to prioritize VR areas over others. Not knowing anything about anything except what the trail maps tell me (none of my buds that I've talked to have been able to help yet) I'm thinking Sunapee. It seems to be a real mountain; it's VR and I should be an automatic to get hired; it is close to coastal NH. If we end up in RI, am I screwed? What kind of drive should I expect on weekends? I'm I-70/Summit County now so I understand traffic. That said, we've owned our place in Breck for quite a while so I'm almost never forced into that particular hell anymore.

Any help you can send my way will be appreciated.

 

[wooglin]

I would say southern Maine has relatively safe roads compared to the places you mention. Not sure your priorities aren’t mutually exclusive though. How many hours do you want to drive to ski?

 

[Rich McP]

I would say southern Maine has relatively safe roads compared to the places you mention. Not sure your priorities aren’t mutually exclusive though. How many hours do you want to drive to ski?

Good question. I can see the possibliity of us buying a place "near" Whatever Mt. If that happens then commute time can grow dramatically. If I land a teaching gig and I'm commuting from home each morning I have to teach, then I need a "short" ride. I can get myself out of bed early and function all day, but my wife rides a different schedule. Getting her up early enough for me to make lineup requires a "very reasonable" drive. I hope you can smell what I'm steppin' in with all of my quotes.

 

[tch]

Almost anywhere in RI will put you out of skiing range. If coastal living is important and biking is important AND skiing is important, you should look no further south than Boston. Coastal living and skiing are not particularly compatible. Of the places you've mentioned, I would personally only consider north shore of Mass or NH or ME coast.

Some things to consider: Massachusetts, RI, and CT are fairly well connected by roads, but east-west travel in the states north of Massachusetts is much slower than north-south travel. Google travel from some place like Newburyport, MA to see how far it is to ski areas. As for biking, the further you get away from Boston either north or west, the better the road riding will be. If you've never lived in New England, I think you'll be surprised by many folks live here and how busy the roads are. There are plenty of quiet roads, but you need to find lower-population areas.

I'm with @wooglin though in thinking that your various priorities may well be mutually exclusive.

 

[mister moose]

I think there is far too much territory to cover in RI to NH to narrow it down in a meaningful way. You really need to see the towns and countryside, gauge the prices.

The farther north you go the better the skiing gets, and the farther the drive from any coastal location. Pick one and drive to the other. Or have 2 places.

There will be arguments, but I'll say VT is the best, followed by the big 3 in Maine, followed by NH.

There is far more than blue ice in the east. We have grey ice, clear ice, ground up ice, and re-frozen ice. We also have some of the finest manmade powdery talc on the right day. And we have powder days, some are isolated, some are gloriously linked together. It's nowhere near as bad as you think.

I'm at Killington because it has a long season, a good core of locals, good natural snow, and the biggest snowmaking arsenal around. There are other choices depending on your taste, but trust me, you'll get bored at Sunapee.

If you've taught at Breck you can likely get hired anywhere.

Adding to TCH's comments, consider the water North of Cape Cod (IE Boston and NH) is cold and the tides are 6 feet. South of Cape Cod the water is warm and the tides are 3 feet.

 

[mdf]

Well, let's look at the big picture. I zoomed out to where the biggest roads are shown, and marked a few skiing destinations.
Boston is kind-of in the way for RI access. And you can see the lack of East-West roads mentioned above. No personal knowledge, but it looks like a lot of CT has a straight shot up I-91.

 

[James]

First time I’ve heard Sunapee referred to as near the coast.
91 is your pipeline to VT skiing.
I guess 93 is NH. VT then relies on 89 for Stowe, Sugarbush, Mad River. Jay Peak is so far away that you can bamboozle $350 million “close” to the countries largest media market, and still no one knows about it.

So if you were in say Northampton, MA you’d be “near the coast” (not) and right on 91.

One thing that actual near the coast brings in sub Maine NE is traffic. (Maine is another dimension, I’m not qualified to comment) Throw in proximity to NY or Boston and it can get bad.

Sunapee isn’t a bad Mt.
Your going to have to forget Colorado.It’s New England. If there’s powder, and you’re not there, it’ll probably rain as you drive up, then plummet 20 degrees and freeze solid.
The Vail resorts. Anyone familiar with Atitash?

 

[wooglin]

Another thought. Does the beach have to be on the ocean? Lotta lakes up here. Way more than CO.

 

[Scruffy]

Best you could do is live on coastal Maine ( think Portland to mid-coast) and ski Sunday River--
1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hour commute (depending on where you lived) on a good day--not a Vail resort. Is that close enough of a commute?

 

[Tony S]

Discussing the house swap with my S.O. right now!

 

[newboots]

There is far more than blue ice in the east. We have grey ice, clear ice, ground up ice, and re-frozen ice. We also have some of the finest manmade powdery talc on the right day. And we have powder days, some are isolated, some are gloriously linked together. It's nowhere near as bad as you think.

Get yourself some skinny skis. Once you are accustomed to the hardpack/boilerplate/*ce skiing is great fun up here. Ski fast on groomers!

So if you were in say Northampton, MA you’d be “near the coast” (not) and right on 91.

Northampton is a fun place to live and close to a variety of lakes, rivers, and mountains. The coast is so crowded here and traffic is a nightmare, especially on summer weekends or rush hour.

I-91 is a good way to get to skiing. There is traffic on Friday evenings and Sunday nights. From Northampton, there is skiing nearby at Berkshire East, Jiminy Peak, and a few others. These are smaller ski areas in the Berkshires. But 91 is a straight shot up into Vermont. An easy trip to Okemo (Vail), Killington is a bit further (big by Eastern standards). Can you tell I used to live in Northampton? (A liberal outpost, if that makes a difference. But nearby towns are more varied.)

I haven’t skied Stowe (VR) but many love it. That’s another hour or two north.

Sunapee is nice for a weekend or two, but it’s definitely limited. Wildcat (ski with a view of nearby Mt. Washington) is supposed to be challenging and fun. Attitash is right across the street. Both VR.

If you need to be near the coast, two houses might be the best. If you’re traveling weekdays for work, it’s a schlep to skiing from CT and RI. But you’ll be doing a lot of driving anyway. That said, many people in CT make the trip north every weekend. Up 91.

The reason it’s hard to drive East-west in northern NE is that our mountain ranges run north-south and the highways are in river valleys in between. The drive up is lovely from the VT border on up. Also in northern NH regions. Bunches of ski areas up in the White Mountains; a longer trip from southern NE but don’t miss that area. Post your photo of Tuckerman’s when you take your life in your hands for spring skiing!

 

[Lauren]

RI has some gorgeous coastline, beautiful towns, and a lot on New England charm. However, you're 3 hours from southern Vermont mountains, 3.5 hrs from the larger NH mountains, and 4.5 hrs from the closest Maine mountains.

Traffic-wise, unless you plan on travelling to the mountains during off-hours (i.e. not around 5:00pm on Friday and home at 3:00pm on Sunday), I would skew as northernly as you can afford for your job commute. Still I don't think anything can rival the I-70 traffic Colorado experiences.

If "beach" means only ocean and not lake beach...NH and southern ME can't be beat, IMHO. Get ready for summertime tourist season though (worth dealing with...IMO).

Skiing from the seacoast of NH you really have 3 options for directions to go...

North on Route 16:
North Conway is the ever growing popular ski destination. Lots of classic NH personality, good restaurants, and lots of things to do outside of skiing. It's straight up Rt. 16, but you definitely need to take into account traffic during popular hours (Rt. 16 is a 2-lane road for most of your trip). You have easy access to Cranmore (small mountain), Wildcat (personal favorite), Attitash (meh, IMHO), Black Mountain (never actually been and though it's small, I've heard good things) and Bretton Woods (gets some of the best snow in the area. Doesn't have the vertical, but has the acreage). Gunstock is probably the shortest drive to a ski mountain from the seacoast, with arguably one of the best views in NH (it overlooks Lake Winnipesauke), but it's a smaller mountain, and probably not one you'd want to call home unless you live right there. Which, if you're looking for beach and willing to go for a lake...this would be an area to explore further).

East on 101 to North on I-93:
Off of I-93 you have Waterville (solid option for skiing in NH), Loon (super busy weekends due to accessibility off the highway), and Cannon (fantastic terrain but can also be one of the coldest, windiest and iciest mountains in NH). Then you can branch west to Sunapee (fun but mid-sized mountain, often gets better snow than much of NH), or Pats Peak (small) off of I-89.

North on I-95:
I-95 is your gateway to skiing in Maine from the south. Heading into Maine you have the big three, Sunday River, Saddleback and Sugarloaf. Personal preference...the terrain is better at Saddleback and Sugarloaf, but the drive is a bit too much (for me) for every weekend skiing. Sunday River has a good variety of terrain, easy to space out and avoid busy areas. It's is one of the more reliable resorts due to their solid snowmaking system. Shawnee, Mt. Abrams, and Black Mountain are smaller mountains with a lot of charm, but not a destination resorts.

You can get to Vermont without too much difficulty, you're within 3.5 hours to pretty much anywhere in Vermont (even Jay Peak...way the eff up there).

If you're looking to stay with a VR mountain, my personal choice would be Wildcat...you will run into the best views (overlooks Tuckerman Ravine on Mt. Washington and the Presidential Range), least grooming around (I think of that as a plus), classic New England narrow ski runs, but it rivals Cannon for the windiest, coldest, iciest mountain in NH. When it's cold and windy at Wildcat, you have the option of going to Attitash which tends to be more sheltered, also owned by Vail, and is a short drive from Wildcat.

I can't speak too much of road biking (I gave that up for MTB years ago), but I will say, the safer backroads are probably off the coast (can find them in your 10-20 minutes range though)...much less traffic, especially in the summertime. There are some GORGEOUS rides up Rt. 1 (right on the coast) that are best ridden during shoulder season/off-season, due to the amount of traffic. Right across the river, Maine has some very accessible riding on backroads as well.

Most bike shops in the area put together group rides during the summer. I hear about the club SIX03 often, but I don't know a lot about them.

 

[Crank]

Cycling - The humidity in the summer will hit you hard until you get used to it.

Coastal living - The ocean gets up to swimming temps much sooner in RI. Generally stays too cold for me most of the summer anywhere north of southern MA.

Skiing - Thaw freeze cycles rule 'round heah. Meaning when conditions get good it will warm up and rain and then immediately thereafter the freezer turns on and everything becomes a big ice cube for a week or 3 until the next decent sized storm. Dust on crust is a thing. Conventional wisdom says VT and ME get the most snow. Grooming and snowmaking are essential.

Hill size - Most of the major resorts range from close to 2k and up to around 3k vertical drop.

 

[Muleski]

You’re likely to get SO many recommendations here that your head will be spinning.

New England skiing can be pretty great. I recall hosting the guy who essentially “owns” Alterra at Sugarloaf about 5-6 years ago and hearing him tell me over and over that he “loved the place.” I hear it a lot from “Westerners”…..often college racers and ski racing parents.

I grew up in a family of very serious skiers, and sailors. My dad grew up spending summers on a lake, my mom the ocean. My dad worked in downtown Boston. We raced a pretty big racing/cruising sailboat….but also had a small cottage on a NH lake.

I’ve lived, in our primary residence, from just North of Boston….literally right on the ocean, to just North of Portland, ME. Have family in Newburyport, MA, in the towns on Cape Ann,MA in Rye Beach, NH, York, Kennebunkport, Biddeford and Scarborough, ME.

The comments about East-West travel being a challenge are spot on. Not impossible, but you need to do your homework, and scope it out. With adult kids who were ski racers through college, I have done it all.

My wife and I have always had a “ski house”, which started as a bedroom in my brother’s ancient chalet at Stowe. When my job moved me to Portland, we moved the ski location to Sugarloaf. Stowe and Sugarloaf are equidistant drive time from our home in MA. 3.5 hours. But Portland ME to Sugarloaf is an easy 2:15.

We also were not going to give up living in an ocean town. It’s always been how we have lived. I could be on my boat, fishing for striped bass, about 20 minutes after arriving home. And no travel on summer weekends. Water temp this summer was a consistent 65- 68 degrees. Not bad.

Road biking. My adult kids are both cyclists. One is still in the Eagle Valley, CO. One just moved “back” to Portland from the RFV. Their observations are that drivers here are “just clueless” and that the roads are terrible. Our daughter and her BF have done some road biking…..but a lot of trail, gravel and MTB. Lots.

We have a friend who’s a pro road biker, and he lives in the Portsmouth, NH area. Seems to have no end of places to ride in coastal NH and ME. I also know a lot of serious road bikers around Cape Ann, MA….

You already have a LOT of comments. Some are complete Bullshit, already! HaHa.

Everybody is going to validate where they live. Guarantee that, and validate where they ski, etc. Classic for this place!

Just like validating what you ski ON!

I’ll say this. Our daughter thought long and hard about where they would live. Leaving Aspen where she had a very “real” job. She missed the ocean….a lot. She loves to hike, and bike. She loves lakes and rivers. And she was an NCAA skier. She skis everything and anything. She has friends everywhere in New England. And as you will learn, they all love where they live. Her clear choice was the Portland area. Burlington VT was the runner up.

We met she and her BF for dinner in Portsmouth last night. 45 minutes for all of us.

She has skied virtually everywhere in NE and Eastern Canada, BTW. Actually all over the planet.

PM me if you’d like. Good luck.

 

[Lauren]

One additional thought is that taxes vary quite a bit depending on which state you choose.

Maine is high taxes, but you can get a lot more for your money on property. CT/RI can also be fairly high taxes and pricey living. NH is super low taxes but properties tend to be expensive. Mass is somewhere in between.

 

[Rich McP]

Wow. Thanks already for all of the comments.

I need to clarify, seeing some of the responses.

I shouldn't have used the word "beach". Make that synonymous with your word for "at the ocean". Tracy grew up in Palm Beach County, I grew up on San Francisco Bay and Santa Barbara. We go to the Caribbean every year. That is our idea of beach. Boating, the smell of the sea air, lobster pounds and other fresh seafood, walking the dog on a touristless beach is the goal. (we don't need to find a place without tourists - unicorn, we'll just avoid being annoyed by them by staying away until they hide.)

I will be focused on work. My commute to my customers has to be "acceptable". Skiing will be (shudder) secondary. That is what is having us focus now on north of Boston and south of Maine.

All of the VT mentions tell me I have to look again. I've had VT (and Maine) as too long of a drive. My frame of reference there is that our Breck place is 90 miles from our house in Denver.

 

[S.H.]

Re: skiing ... how often do you want to ski? When will you be able to ski? Weekends only? Weekdays?

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that many places in New England, especially southern New England, have night skiing. Is it great? No. Is it better than not skiing? IMO, yes. So if you have a regular 9-5-type job, you can still get a couple of hours after work, and increase how often you're on snow. May or may not be a consideration for you. Just thought I'd bring it up, since convenient night skiing from Denver doesn't really exist, and what does (Echo), is, IME, not a great experience compared to equivalent options in New England. Night skiing allowed me to be on-snow more often in New England (5-6x/wk) than I can while working in greater Denver, as I do now. Of course, the ski season is a few months longer here.

There are also night race/drinking leagues, which can be a ton of fun and a great way to meet other people.

Depending on where you end up, you could become one of many people in MA, RI, CT, and to a lesser extent NH who have their "weekday mountain" near home with night skiing, and a place nearer a bigger mountain (likely NH, VT, ME) for weekends.

IMO, New England skiing is special. It's different than CO, for sure. But it's great.

Biking ... avoid cities if you can. There are a lot of great road rides, and groups around. You'll find a local shop to wherever you are, and they'll be able to fill you in.

As @Muleski said, everyone will validate their choices. IMO, there's very little that qualifies as "bad skiing". So, you'll make it work ... just have to figure out the other stuff first.

 

[LiquidFeet]

Mountain biking? There's a ton of technical terrain here in NE. Twisty turny rocky rooty ups and downs. Well, if you're not doing downhill from a chairlift. You'll want faat tires and clearance.

Sunapee will ski small. But if you're teaching beginners, it has the BEST beginner terrain in New England.

If you end up teaching adventurous advanced skiers and want to ski mostly bumped up off-piste terrain, look at Killington, Stowe, Mad River Glen (small but mostly off piste), Sugarbush, Saddleback, Sunday River, Wildcat, Cannon. --- Not Sunapee, not Attitash, not Bretton Woods.

You can hike up Mt. Washington frontside or back and ski significant terrain, but best wait until spring when it starts to warm up. It gets cold and windy, more than you expect.

 

[Mike King]

OK, big changes afoot. I just accepted a new position in NE. We're leaving Colorado and headed...up there. I'll be working CT, RI and MA. Right now our thoughts are to live in RI between Warwick and Narragansett, or coastal NH, though anywhere from NH to western RI is possible. We'll be prioritizing coastal to near coastal (think walk to the beach, to 15 or 20 minutes drive to the beach.

I have much to learn and need some help.

I need to bike (road, I gave up on MTN), but I have no idea where or how I go about that up there. Safety on the road is important to me (and my wife). Here I have my crew, and clubs, and organized rides, and my solo routes, but I don't know how everyone goes about it there.

Obviously, I need to ski. I've never skied the northeast. I don't know anything about it except that it is blue pond ice always, everyday. I don't know what sucks, what's marginal, what's considered awesome. Maintaining my seniority with VR is a consideration, but not a must. I will be looking at teaching if I can make it work, but it is secondary to settling in to my new role, so it might not happen. I say that as it might be a reason to prioritize VR areas over others. Not knowing anything about anything except what the trail maps tell me (none of my buds that I've talked to have been able to help yet) I'm thinking Sunapee. It seems to be a real mountain; it's VR and I should be an automatic to get hired; it is close to coastal NH. If we end up in RI, am I screwed? What kind of drive should I expect on weekends? I'm I-70/Summit County now so I understand traffic. That said, we've owned our place in Breck for quite a while so I'm almost never forced into that particular hell anymore.

Any help you can send my way will be appreciated.

Sorry to see you go. Enjoy the new gig and arrangements, whatever they become!

 

[Muleski]

I just thought of this. When our daughter was back East in the winter, finalizing her job offer, and digging into the RE market in Portland, she borrowed my wife’s AT set-up, and did a sunrise skin up Shawnee Peak. It was SO easy, drive wise from her friends’ house in Portland. She ended up doing it four more mornings, and said “this will be a thing for us.”

She also being “recruited” to race on a few beer league teams that race nights at Shawnee. I guess she’ll be a ringer, if she decides to do it. She and her BF.

The thing that I hear CONSTANTLY from them is how they are amazed at the variety of places to “recreate” all over Northern NE. Bikes on his truck, camping gear in the back….and off they go. They were really active in CO, but the variety here is in their opinion, next level. Also amazed at the museums, etc.

I agree with @S.H. Just so much to do.

For the record, I grew up skiing at Stowe and we owned two houses there. Our kids spent time at four different NE ski academies: so have logged time at Stratton, Sugarbush, Burke, and of course Sugarloaf. I coached weekends at Killington and Waterville. I pretty much have skied all of it….60+ years of skiing.

When friends visit us at home in the summer, they are just blown away that “towns like this exist.” No offense to ANY other part of the country, but New England can be really special. And parts of it can SUCK. Full disclosure!!