New Hampshire's White Mountains
By Andrew Collins

As New England ski destinations go, Vermont receives most of the attention from gay and lesbian visitors. After all, it's one of the nation's most progressive states, and it was the first in the nation to legalize same-sex civil unions. But what about its neighbor, New Hampshire, whose White Mountains offer some of the most scenic winter sports and cushiest country inns in the Northeast? The Granite State is, without question, more conservative than neighboring Vermont and Massachusetts, but compared with much of the country, this is still a generally tolerant place. Specifically, the state's dramatic White Mountains have become rapidly more popular with gay and lesbian visitors in recent years. In fact, several of the area's most alluring accommodations are gay-owned.

This area of northern New Hampshire, dominated by White Mountain National Forest, is easy to reach from Boston - it's just two hours and 30 minutes up I-93 to the heart of the region, and six hours from New York City. There are no major cities up in these parts, but the towns of Franconia, Littleton, Jackson, Woodstock, and North Conway all offer plenty of shopping, dining, and lodging options, and prices here are typically lower than in Vermont.

The White Mountains contain the highest peak in the Northeast, 6,288-foot Mt. Washington, as well as dozens of other peaks higher than 4,000 feet. Many of these slopes have been developed as ski resorts, including such well-respected facilities as Waterville Valley, Cannon Mountain (part of Franconia Notch State Park, which is also home to the New England Ski Museum), Bretton Woods, Attitash Bear Peak, and Wildcat. You can also try cross-country skiing at Franconia Village Cross-Country Ski Center and the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation. There are cross-country skiing and snowshoeing trails on the majestic slopes of Mt. Washington, where you might also take a guided winter tour of the mountain on a SnowCoach (an eight-passenger vehicle that looks something like a van crossed with a snowmobile); drop by the Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center, in Pinkham Notch, to book a trip or rent snowshoes or skis. In Lincoln, Pemi Valley Excursions offers hair-raising snowmobile tours and moose-watching bus trips into the very northern reaches of the state, as well as horseback rides during the warmer months.

If you're headed to the White Mountains another time of year, you can still count on plenty to do and great scenery, as long as you avoid the dreary and muddy spring months of April and May. The scenic Hobo Railroad offers narrated tours through the forest from May through October, and the Mt. Washington Cog Railway leads visitors up the mountain from May through November. You'll find excellent hiking just about everywhere you look, but especially at Franconia Notch and Crawford Notch state parks. And there's great scenic driving year-round, the most famous route being the Kancamagus Highway, which follows Route 112 between the towns of Lincoln and Conway and traverses the very heart of the White Mountains. It's an especially dramatic drive during the fall foliage season.

Many of the best restaurants in the White Mountains are inside inns and hotels, so consider some of the lodging recommendations described later in this article when deciding where to eat. Other hot spots for terrific meals include the Red Parka Pub, a great place for barbecue ribs, in the village of Glen; the Woodstock Inn, which has a microbrewery and a more formal dining room; Jackson's Thompson House Eatery, known for inventive contemporary American chow; and the funky and inexpensive Muddy Moose in North Conway, where you can nosh on tempting salads, burgers, pastas, and chops.
Continue to page 2>>>

Page 1 of 3