411 on skiing and biking in New England

[James]

Is there any “warm” water in Maine?
I just remember as a kid going to Boothbay harbor in the summer and it was freezing. We still spent hours in it, but it was cold. It was much harder to hold your breath diving for stuff on the bottom.
That’s partly why Nantucket is so popular, the water is warm. Maybe not all sides.

Cape Cod ocean side I found out much later is another coldish one.

 

[dbostedo]

Is there any “warm” water in Maine?
I just remember as a kid going to Boothbay harbor in the summer and it was freezing. We still spent hours in it, but it was cold. It was much harder to hold your breath diving for stuff on the bottom.
That’s partly why Nantucket is so popular, the water is warm. Maybe not all sides.

Cape Cod ocean side I found out much later is another coldish one.

This NOAA map gives you an idea of why Cape Cod is kind of the line where the water gets colder. The gulf stream moves warm water north which has a small impact, but mostly goes out to sea well before getting to New England, but there are current coming down the coast from the north too. Cape Cod in part forms a dividing line where those currents don't go further south.

 

[Scruffy]

This NOAA map gives you an idea of why Cape Cod is kind of the line where the water gets colder. The gulf stream moves warm water north which has a small impact, but mostly goes out to sea well before getting to New England, but there are current coming down the coast from the north too. Cape Cod in part forms a dividing line where those currents don't go further south.

View attachment 144389

Pretty much, but a point of fact is the Gulf of Maine, as a body of water, is warming faster than any other body of water than the rest of the ocean.

 

[Scruffy]

Is there any “warm” water in Maine?
I just remember as a kid going to Boothbay harbor in the summer and it was freezing. We still spent hours in it, but it was cold. It was much harder to hold your breath diving for stuff on the bottom.
That’s partly why Nantucket is so popular, the water is warm. Maybe not all sides.

Cape Cod ocean side I found out much later is another coldish one.

Boothbay Harbor! Just down the road from our house there it get's warm enough to swim in August. There's a shallow cove, with a beach, that warms up. You can dive off the sea wall at high tide.

 

[Tony S]

This AM I was walking the dogs, saw some action on the water right in front of the house, interrupted the walk, and 15 minutes later had a fat striped bass which will be on the grill tonight.

Just stop

 

[mister moose]

The concept that Maine is all rocky is just wrong. In fact one of the most beautiful beaches is on Roque Island, off the coast of Jonesport. Up there.

OMG, this is a stretch. You don't even want to know the drive time from Jonesport to any ski hill, let alone his clients in MA RI and CT. And no, the surfing there is not any good, there are bands of outer ledges that break the surf, and the water is deep near shore and rises suddenly so the waves don't heap up. And then bash themselves upon the rocks. At low tide if it isn't rocky it's muddy. Which you can't see most of the time because of the fog.

Jonesport does have some mighty fine lobster boat races, and of course Moose Peak Light.

Is there any “warm” water in Maine?

Yes. They're called quarries. Lots of lakes too. Otherwise it's pretty much wetsuit land east of LL Bean. It's the Labrador current that ships in the cold water in the Gulf of Maine. Interestingly way farther north PEI is out of the current and has the warmest water north of the Carolinas. Oodles of great vacation travel spots in east coastal Maine. Camden, Rockland, Monhegan, Vinalhaven, Stonington, Isle Au Haut, Swan's, Bar Harbor. You're just not going to want to live there.

 

[Muleski]

OMG.

I wasn’t suggesting LIVING in Jonesport!!!!
Be serious!! No. Just pointing out that even well East, there is sand.

I was trying to point out that there is sand all up and down the coast! And Rogue just happens to be a beauty. Unfortunately it’s a lot more popular than it once was. But…an island only accessible by boat. Nothing that fits at ALL for their “needs.”

There are miles of sand beaches on the MA coast north of Boston, NH and Maine.

My wife is walking our dogs on one right now, 20 miles north of Boston, that is roughly a mile long.

When we lived in the Portland area, we were surprised by how warm the water would be on sunny days in the inner reaches of Casco Bay, where the water is shallow, and the tides get to work. Sun would warm the bottom at low tide, and then the water on the incoming tide. Of course for Maine, that’s an exception. I wouldn’t consider any of it warm.

Good points about “Vacationland.” Even for weekends and day trips. And great point about PEI. Two of my college roommates were PEI natives. I thought they were kidding about the water temps and beaches. Gulf of St Lawrence, something like 100 beaches, sand bars and big tides. It’s a beautiful spot. I remember one beach that is about 10 miles long.

Getting way off on a tangent. Original point is that Southern Maine COULD be a place to live for them, at the far end of the “range.”

 

[slow-line-fast]

This thread is not complete without:

 

[BLspruce2]

You did not mention it but can you rent a place before committing to buy a house ? As you see there are so many choices. It might be easier if you moved out here and stayed someplace a short time while checking out where you want to live. Prices are peaking now so odds are there will be better deals in the future.

 

[Ogg]

Could be worse...if you lived on Long Island.

One of the most frustrating places to live as a skier. I get good ski conditions in my backyard a couples of times a season but there's nowhere to take advantage of them. Driving to anywhere vaguely resembling decent skiing is at least 3 hours and really 5-6 for anything worthwhile.

 

[James]

I ski regularly with someone who lives on Long Island out in Southampton. They take the Port Jeff Ferry then drive to Ludlow, VT. Every week.

 

[Philpug]

What you lose in skiing, you will gain in food. Food is the only thing I miss from the east. I used to think Philly and New York had good Italian food..that was until I wen to the north end of Boston.

 

[Ogg]

I ski regularly with someone who lives on Long Island out in Southampton. They take the Port Jeff Ferry then drive to Ludlow, VT. Every week.

We used to do the drive to Killington every weekend. We live way too far west for the ferry to be a viable option so we'd either head up before 3 or after 7 on Friday. Anything in between would add an hour or so to the drive.

 

[Rich McP]

You did not mention it but can you rent a place before committing to buy a house ? As you see there are so many choices. It might be easier if you moved out here and stayed someplace a short time while checking out where you want to live. Prices are peaking now so odds are there will be better deals in the future.

Yep, this is looking highly likely. We had a place in Narragansett we liked - house, then lawn, then rocky shore, then ocean - just missed it.

 

[Rich McP]

Again, thanks for all of the input. This is helpful - I think - lots of things we hadn't thought of, or couldn't know. Please keep it coming.

 

[Wilhelmson]

Guess that might be Salem, and if so it all depends on what part of the city. For example, Chestnut St, location of the best immaculate Federalist homes in the country, is plenty “safe.” I’m guessing it’s not Lynn, otherwise this will be the first time in history that Lynn was described as touristy. It’s not.

A couple of the neighboring coastal towns on the water do not have a single gas station, BTW. Fact. My town has none. Once had 30+ of different sizes and shapes. Only gas available is marine gas, at two spots on the water. It’s OK, plenty of gas right over the town lines!

The true north shore of MA has been referred to as the Gold Coast for about 150 years. I’m OK with the safety aspect.

Salem? Parts, sure. I would not go near the place in the weeknights leading up to Halloween. Nuts.

The two wealthiest people in MA are Ned Johnson the Chairman of Fidelity, and his daughter Abigail. She is the third generation of the family to live in Nahant, where Ned still lives. Always has. She splits her time between her homes there an in Milton. I think they always feel safe on Nahant as do many of their neihhbors, some good friends of ours.

Back when Gennaro Angiulo, the late head of N.E. organized crime was alive, he and his family lived on Nahant. He loved it, and his neighbors, evidently. Perhaps his many bodyguards behind his gated estate helped with the fact that Nahant had ZERO crime. “Safest” town in the state. Gerry was sort of appreciated by his old line blue blood neighbors!

Lol muleski no gas stations! I expected such. Good info though keep it coming. I was referring to Maine anyways.

 

[Claymore76]

I can tell you that right now, the Southern NH (Nashua/Manchester/Concord/Portsmouth) housing market is one of the hottest in the nation. A lot of northern Massachusetts people have made their way north of the border with remote work opportunities. It's cooled off a little since the school year began, but I hear that it is still pretty bonkers. Rents are running high, as well.

If you can afford something on the coast of NH, great. If not, Rte 101 is the main East-West thoroughfare in southern NH. I'd suggest taking a look at communities along Rte 4, though. Dover, Madbury, Durham, Lee, maybe Stratham and Greenland-something in that area, if you're looking for easy coastal access without being right on the ocean. Durham is where the University of New Hampshire's main residential campus is, so it's more bike and pedestrian friendly. Dover has a surprising amount of nightlife in its downtown, as does Portsmouth. Using Rte 4 as your home base also gets you closer to Rte 16 and Interstate 93, which are your north/south routes for mountains and skiing. Not gonna lie, the traffic on 16 and I-93 (south of Concord) and I-95 on high-volume days and in tourist seasons can be harsh. But there are a lot of back roads that can be taken, as well. Also, the Manchester airport is easy in-easy out. 20 ish gates, served by Southwest, Spirit, and a couple of the conventional carriers. Don't think I've ever spent more than ten minutes at a TSA checkpoint there. If you need International airports and direct flights, Boston/Logan, Portland Jetport, and even Hartford (CT) are all within a 3 hour drive. And Amtrak is easy to pick up in Boston, too.

As for mountains; from that part of the state, Gunstock and Pats Peak would be the closest. (Technically, MacIntyre in the city of Manchester is closest, but it's too small to mention beyond that.) Sunapee (Interstate 89) and Crotched (Rte 202/9) (both Vail properties) would both be about an hour and a half away. Sunapee is bigger between those two, specializing in mostly blue runs and families. Crotched services the factories in the area with lots of night skiing for the second and third shifters. Wildcat and Attitash are ones I haven't been to in too long, so I've got nothing to add that hasn't been said. Someone here did a fascinating write up on the NH ski areas....Talls and Smalls, I think it was called? Should pop up if you do a forum search.

Not to steer you away from anywhere else you're looking; just wanted to give you my ground perspective as a NH resident. Good luck.

 

[S.H.]

Someone here did a fascinating write up on the NH ski areas....Talls and Smalls, I think it was called?

New England - NH alpine areas big & small, building a comprehensive list

Hi all- been a while since I've posted but I'm here & stoked to plan my 19/20 season! I am mixing it up this season & decided as a NH girl its time to fully ski every alpine area big & small in the state. I have full freedom, not tied to any season passes, and creative ideas to maximize...

www.skitalk.com

@frontfive wrote a series of articles describing experiences at each one (links in the thread). Fun stuff.

 

[Lauren]

I can tell you that right now, the Southern NH (Nashua/Manchester/Concord/Portsmouth) housing market is one of the hottest in the nation. A lot of northern Massachusetts people have made their way north of the border with remote work opportunities. It's cooled off a little since the school year began, but I hear that it is still pretty bonkers. Rents are running high, as well.

It's still a madhouse of a market....at least around the NH seacoast. My neighbor is trying to move, so I've been hearing about the real estate song and dance regularly. She has been turned down on multiple bids, even when offering 20% over asking. Cash is king.