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Three Family Friendly Ski Hills in New Hampshire

Posted: 17 Feb 2012 07:51 AM PST

by Jenn & Hannah

It is a great time to take the family skiing! If you’re headed to the East Coast, New Hampshire is a natural choice for enjoying winter fun in the White Mountains. Everyone is familiar with the well publicized (read that very expensive) big hills with lodges and hot tubs, but there are other budget stretching options! With little kids, you probably don’t need six world class black diamond runs and an enclosed heated lift as much as you need affordable child care and lift tickets that are budget friendly! Here are three options that fit the bill:

Pat’s Peak

Located in Henniker, NH, Pat’s Peak is a family run outfit with a variety of winter fun on tap, from tubing to skiing, snowboarding and snow biking too! Their nursery is small, with an excellent child-care giver ratio. Reservations are recommended. With long, slow, sloping green hills that run from the top of the mountain down, this is a great place to teach kids to ski. They’ll be able to get off of the “bunny hill” quickly and experience success. With full day lift tickets for adults under $60, and discounts for ticket bundle deals, everybody wins. This is where we taught our four kids to ski, and it’s my first pick for value and a family friendly atmosphere. That they are adherents to the Sustainable Slopes Charter is just a bonus!

Mount Sunapee

Located in Newbury, NH, Mount Sunapee is a wonderful place to take kids! They have a full service childcare program for children up to five years old and an array of lessons for all ages. Reservations are recommended. Kids five and under ski free with a ticketed adult, and with eight lifts there are plenty of choices for skiers of all levels. Unlike Pat’s Peak, they have “ski and stay” packages arranged with local inns that include a lift ticket and breakfast, which is very convenient for families traveling to ski.

Ragged Mountain

Ragged Mountain, in Danbury, NH, is where we took our kids when they’d mastered the basics and were ready for the next skiing challenge. Unlike some other hills, which begin childcare with one year olds, Ragged Mountain has a daycare program for babies as young as six weeks old, which is extremely convenient for nursing mothers! With a range of discounted lift ticket deals adults can ski for as little as $31 per day, mid week. Ragged Mountain also boasts an array of slope side lodging, from fully equipped, self catering apartments, to bunk rooms where you can stay for as little as $20 per person per night. Think of it as a skiing hostel!

Don’t miss the opportunity to ski with your family this winter. Snow is more than a chore to be shoveled, it’s winter’s greatest play thing! Pack your kids, pack your sense of adventure and hit the slopes!

A dynamic mother-daughter duo of travel writers, Jenn & Hannah are in their fourth year of an open ended world tour. Their partners in crime are Dad & 3 brothers and together they are http://www.edventureproject.com

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Friday, February 17, 2012