Best Resort close to Boston that's worth the drive

[Kmoc3]

Just curious what is everyone's thoughts on the best ski resort within 2hrs of Boston and worth the drive. :blink:

 

[Cannonball]

Define "near Boston". Somewhere between Blue Hills and Whistler you'll find one that fits your sweet spot.

 

[Kmoc3]

within 2hrs

 

[podunk77]

Driving at speeds faster than the posted speed limit, two hours will get you to pretty much anything in South-Central New Hampshire (Sunapee, Waterville Valley, Gunstock, Ragged, etc.). All are good, though Ragged is more dependent on natural snow than the others. Crotched's closer but smaller. All have good groomers/cruisers, assuming that's what you're looking for.

 

[bobbutts]

In rough order by driving time: Wachusett, Crotched, Sunapee, Gunstock, Ragged, Berkshire East.. Loon, Waterville, and Cannon are pushing the 2 hr limit.

 

[anaisfkyle]

I usually go for lune.

 

[gregnye]

Wildcat is the most worth it. But it is longer than 2 hours

Loon was only worth it after they expanded to the south peak, and still it gets awfully crowded! :/

Waterville needs to expand some more to keep me entertain :/

Cannon needs a ton of snow to be interesting :/

Sunappee is too flat (and sunbowl quad is too slow and crowded) :/

Ragged is good for a casual day out--but nothing really too steep. Can't beat the crowds though (for the most part)


And that is what makes Loon seem like the ultimate NH mountain that is two hours away--even though it can be crowded.

 

[Newpylong]

It's not a resort by anymeans and it's not big but in my opinion Crotched is the best if you just want tons of turns. Great snowmaking, 100% open at night, high speed quad. It's about an hour and 15 minutes for us here in Billerica so tack on another 15-20 minutes coming from Boston.

I don't go near Wachusett with a 10 foot pole. Maybe a 100 foot pole, except at night once in a while. I rather drive the extra 20 minutes to Crotched. Just my opinion

 

[elks]

You can reach Loon or Cannon in 2 hours if you don't hit rush hour traffic leaving or coming back. If it's windy go to Loon rather than Cannon.

 

[jack97]

It's not a resort by anymeans and it's not big but in my opinion Crotched is the best if you just want tons of turns. Great snowmaking, 100% open at night, high speed quad. It's about an hour and 15 minutes for us here in Billerica so tack on another 15-20 minutes coming from Boston.

I don't go near Wachusett with a 10 foot pole. Maybe a 100 foot pole, except at night once in a while. I rather drive the extra 20 minutes to Crotched. Just my opinion

I will second the Crotch..... with the high speed quad, they opened up some new area, two of the trails have a nice steep pitch. Then they have park tricks with different angle pitches. Skiercross course with banked turns and rollers. And they groom the place to death.

Now if they could only seed a bump course, I would be very, very happy.

 

[Newpylong]

Good point on the bumps. I like skiing low angle bumps and since the place isn't super steep they have some good options if they wan't to do that. They do brutally groom it.

 

[Smellytele]

I will second the Crotch..... with the high speed quad, they opened up some new area, two of the trails have a nice steep pitch. Then they have park tricks with different angle pitches. Skiercross course with banked turns and rollers. And they groom the place to death.

Now if they could only seed a bump course, I would be very, very happy.

If you are mentioning the Crotch there is also Pats peak which has better "expert" terrain with Hurricane. Also some cruising "blacks" that are more like the Crotch. Also easier to get to.

 

[boston_e]

If you are mentioning the Crotch there is also Pats peak which has better "expert" terrain with Hurricane. Also some cruising "blacks" that are more like the Crotch. Also easier to get to.

Agree with Pat's as a nice place that is not too far away. My kids enjoyed the lessons there and there was enough to keep me entertained while they were in the lessons.

 

[Newpylong]

If you are mentioning the Crotch there is also Pats peak which has better "expert" terrain with Hurricane. Also some cruising "blacks" that are more like the Crotch. Also easier to get to.

A couple less turns than Crotched but Pat's is further away by 10 miles from Boston. Same driving time though because you're on the highway longer. A little steeper though for sure.

 

[sull1102]

Was at Crotched yesterday and Ragged on the 9th. Crotched blew me away yesterday. They had some of the best snow conditions I have ridden this season. 5 inches the day before probably helped out a bit, but one big difference was the amount of ice. Ragged had a lot of ice early on despite it being a quiet weekday. The glades were a ton of fun, Comet Drop might be one of my favorite trails now. The quad is fantastic, we got in over thirty runs yesterday. The park at Crotched is pretty legit, far better than Ragged's. Bottom line, I plan on hitting up both places again, but I'll go to Crotched first.

 

[timm]

Cannon, at two hours, is the best, closest mountain. If it is windy (or you don't like Cannon) though I'd rather drive the extra 45 minutes or so to Wildcat or Black (or even Magic maybe) than go to any of the places closer to Boston and that goes double on a weekend, when anything within two hours is likely to be packed.

 

[Newpylong]

Was at Crotched yesterday and Ragged on the 9th. Crotched blew me away yesterday. They had some of the best snow conditions I have ridden this season. 5 inches the day before probably helped out a bit, but one big difference was the amount of ice. Ragged had a lot of ice early on despite it being a quiet weekday. The glades were a ton of fun, Comet Drop might be one of my favorite trails now. The quad is fantastic, we got in over thirty runs yesterday. The park at Crotched is pretty legit, far better than Ragged's. Bottom line, I plan on hitting up both places again, but I'll go to Crotched first.

Comet is prob my favorite run there too.

 

[mlkrgr]

Just curious what is everyone's thoughts on the best ski resort within 2hrs of Boston and worth the drive. :blink:

It depends. If you're looking for the most challenging terrain, go for Cannon. For groomed stuff and parks, go to Loon despite the crowds. If you're looking for value for you money, that depends on the day. You can catch a Nacski bus for $77-82 to Loon when they run it on a Saturday or Sunday (definitely the best deal running on holidays). Once you consider wear and tear and gas, that's the best deal when you compare the total all in cost to paying the full window lift ticket price especially since you're pretty much paying $79 for a Loon ticket anyway (aside from having a frequent skier card which isn't that much better of a deal anyway or a season pass). Though, you have 2 for 1 at Cannon on Superbowl Sunday and $17 on St. Pattys Day at Waterville that's worth taking a car up for. And then of course you might find something on Liftopia that's worthwhile. All this is just talking from the standpoint of weekend days.

Of course, if you're like me and willing to consider resorts farther than 2 hours but won't drive to them, the bus is always the way to go. There's also BSSC that runs trips from Boston too but the Nacski bus seems to be the only one that gets to the farther destinations at a decent time (their 5 am departure gets to Jay around 8:50 am).

 

[timm]

I gotta look into those bus trips.

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[rowdymainstay]

Cannon is the easiest drive, no dumb back roads from the interstate to get pulled over. The drive can be done in about 2 hours an the ticket prices are reasonable.