Where can I expect the least crowd on Presidents' Day - Cannon, Loon or Mt. Sunapee?

[from_the_NEK]

* driving distance - as I emphasized in my OP, this is the most important requirement. We will venture farther out on other occasions. 2.5 hrs from Boston is our threshhold.

Why such a strict number? Adding the extra 1/2 hour to Burke (virtually all interstate) gets you everything else on our list including short lift lines.

My recommendations:

Nice day with light/no wind = Cannon (fits all of your criteria including outstanding views if everything isn't socked in clouds).

Potentially windy and/or cold day = Burke (just suck it up and drive there already)

Forget the other 2 places. The time you spend waiting in liftlines at those places is quickly made up by the short/no waiting in liftlines at Burke (i.e. four 15 minute lift line waits at Loon = 1 hour). Plus you won't be skiing down trails with 16,000 other people.

 

[New Daddy]

Why such a strict number? Adding the extra 1/2 hour to Burke (virtually all interstate) gets you everything else on our list including short lift lines.

My recommendations:

Nice day with light/no wind = Cannon (fits all of your criteria including outstanding views if everything isn't socked in clouds).

Potentially windy and/or cold day = Burke (just suck it up and drive there already)

Forget the other 2 places. The time you spend waiting in liftlines at those places is quickly made up by the short/no waiting in liftlines at Burke (i.e. four 15 minute lift line waits at Loon = 1 hour). Plus you won't be skiing down trails with 16,000 other people.

I feel like there is a big hurdle between 2.5 hours and 3 hours. Besides, If you hit a really bad end-of-holiday traffic on the way back, a 30-minute difference can turn into something bigger.
But I'll definitely keep in mind your advice about Burke being a good choice on a windy/cold day.

Thanks.

 

[riverc0il]

If crowd avoidance is a big concern, the extra time spent to get to Burke would be well worth your while. Also, since you will be skiing mostly groomers, you will be rewarded with some of the best groomed terrain New England has to offer with insanely good top to bottom groomers. Especially, groomers that never really get scraped down (except some places on Big Dipper due to its pitch). Cannon's groomers can scraped down pretty darn quickly, especially when they haven't had a new snow in a while. Loon is a skating rink due to its crowds. So out of your three options, Cannon is best for what you want though I think you would be rewarded for the extra drive time at about 3 hours from Boston.

Wildcat is also 3 hours from Boston. Great top to bottom skiing. Best views in New England. Wildcat, Cannon, and Burke all have 2000 vertical and enough terrain so that you can't ski everything in a day unless you go non-stop.