These 6 towns in New Hampshire are real-life winter wonderlands

These six towns in New Hampshire are perfect for winter outings, whether they offer downhill skiing, snow sculpting, holiday shopping, or winter carnivals.

For many Granite Staters, winter is our favorite season. There’s the snow-covered vistas, winter sports, and special events. And sometimes, we like to jump in the car and visit our favorite towns in New Hampshire to take in what they have to offer in the snowy months. Here are a half dozen places that we find enchanting when looking for a day of frosty fun.

1. Lincoln

This small town in the White Mountains at the west end of the Kancamagus Highway is big on winter allure. There’s downhill skiing, of course, but you can also skim the canopy of snow-covered pines at Alpine Adventures ziplines, which run all winter. If heights aren’t your thing, take a snowshoe tour through the venue’s 300 wooded acres. Up for even more winter fun? Head to the Loon Mountain Adventure Center, where you can ski, snowboard, or rent a ski bike. If you like your adventure on the less strenuous side, hop on the Gondola Skyride, which is a 1,738-foot climb to the summit of Loon Mountain. When you reach the top, hop off and grab a snack at the Summit Café.

The town also offers more earth-bound places to eat and drink. Riverwalk Resort at Loon Mountain is home to Seven Birches Winery, La Vista Italian Cuisine, and the Rhythm Tap & Grille, featuring an American pub menu. If your idea of winter sport is retail recreation, The Village Shops in Lincoln is a one-stop location for small stores, boutiques, souvenirs, cafes, and restaurants.

2. Jackson

The New Hampshire Sanctioned & Jackson Invitational Snow Sculpting Competition is reason enough to visit this town in the winter. Drawing artists from all over, it will be held this year from January 21 through February 2, 2025. But there is so much more to do in this town this time of year.

You don’t have to have a sweetheart to fall in love with Jackson’s “Honeymoon Covered Bridge,” built over the Ellis River in 1876 and the inspiration for many a photographer and painter. Nearby is Flossie’s General Store & Gift Emporium, which carries everything from penny candy, puzzles, cards, and souvenirs to crafted home décor.

History buffs who visit on weekends can also check out the Jackson Historical Society & Museum of White Mountain Art. This little gem, built in 1879, is situated in the Old Town Hall and has an impressive collection of White Mountain art and local artifacts. For a more outdoor winter activity, head over to Nestlenook Farm, a 65-acre Victorian estate offering Austrian horse-drawn sleigh rides, ice skating, and snowshoeing.

Photo courtesy of Samuel Piker/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

3. North Conway

This North Country location is a skier’s paradise with over a dozen ski resorts and Nordic trails within a 30-minute drive. But this town has more for the winter wanderer.

Ice skaters can glide free at Schouler Park on Main Street. If the weather cooperates, you can warm up across the street at The Met Coffee House, which offers 15 different kinds of hot chocolate, including peppermint, cinnamon, and Almond Joy. And if your love language is choo-choos, you can board the Conway Scenic Railroad’s Snow Train for an 80-minute ride on the Conway Branch.

Once you deboard, there is plenty of shopping to do to stretch your legs. North Conway Village has scads of boutique shops, bookstores, and eating options. Settler’s Green outdoor outlet mall is designed for bargain hunters. Lovers of the performing arts will also find what they like here. M & D Playhouse at the Eastern Slope Inn begins its 25th season in February 2025. 

Photo courtesy of WiseguyCreative.com/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

4. Hanover

In many ways, this college town is the “winteriest” of all. For the past 115 years, Dartmouth College has hosted its annual Winter Carnival. This celebration includes skiing, skating, ice sculpting, broomball, snowshoeing, space camps, and a polar bear plunge into an icy pond. It’s such an iconic event that it has been featured in movies over the years, including the 1939 “Winter Carnival,” shot on the campus of this Ivy League icon. This year’s carnival will be held February 6 through 9 with a “Jurassic Park: The Carnival Before Time” theme. 

Even if you can’t make the carnival, there’s plenty to do here in the cold months. Hanover’s Main Street, part of the Appalachian Trail, comes alive in winter with cozy boutiques, bookstores, candy stores, coffee shops, restaurants, and historic buildings. Speaking of which, if you wish to spend a night in his winter wonderland, you can sleep in the 200-year-old Hanover Inn Dartmouth. You can also visit the Hood Museum and the Hopkins Center for the Arts, both on the Dartmouth campus and open to the public.

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Siegel/CC BY 2.0.

5. Meredith

When Lake Winnipesaukee starts to freeze, the fun begins in Meredith. This is not just a town for fun in the sun. There’s plenty to do in the cold months, too. This marks the 46th year the town is hosting its Annual Great Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby on February 8 and 9, 2025. The family event lures visitors from across the country who come to fish, gaze at the colorful bob houses, or visit the vendors balanced on the ice. 

Art lovers need only head out on foot to take in the more than 30 pieces of contemporary installations along the Meredith Sculpture Walk. Self-guided maps are available online.

The village is also a haven for those who like to shop at independently owned stores, including clothing boutiques, bookstores, antiques, and more downtown. Mills Falls Marketplace houses various shops and restaurants and a close-up view of the cascading 40-foot falls that once powered a 19th-century cotton mill. For fine crafts, head over to the League of NH Craftsmen Meredith Fine Craft Gallery on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, and oenophiles might head to the Hermit Woods Winery named for Joseph Plummer, a 19th-century “hermit and original contrarian” of the region.

Photo courtesy of Stacy Milbouer.

6. Peterborough

Wintertime in “Our Town” is like a stroll through a small European village, untouched by fast-food joints and big-box stores. This is the ultimate, pedestrian-friendly town. Park your car—there are plenty of free public lots—and stroll through the village with its specialized clothing, book, art, antique, and food shops, including Sweet Macaron!, which sells only the sweet treats. Bring those macarons to the Peterborough Community Theatre, an independent movie house that first opened 110 years ago and is still going strong with organic popcorn and a cool anti-cineplex vibe. 

Speaking of theater, Peterborough was the inspiration for Grover’s Corner in “Our Town,” Thornton Wilder’s 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play, which he wrote while a resident artist at the MacDowell Colony. It’s been a big part of the creative culture of this town since it opened 116 years ago. One of the fun things to do in Peterborough is visit Old Street Road Cemetery, which was the inspiration for the play’s moving third act and the resting place for many Revolutionary War veterans, including William Diamond, the drummer who sounded the alarm to summon Lexington Militia at the start of the war, right before “the shot heard round the world.” 

History is everywhere in Peterborough, and the town likes to celebrate it. Each winter, Monadnock Music hosts “Burns Night,” a celebration of the life and poetry of the 19th-century Scottish bard, Robert Burns. This year, the event takes place on January 25, 2025, at 6 p.m. at Ball Hall and includes poetry readings, bagpipes, scotch tastings, and a haggis parade. Ticket information can be found online.

Also on January 25, the 30th annual Peterborough Snow Ball will be held at the Peterborough Town House, with dancing to live, traditional music from noon to midnight. Before all that dancing, you might want to fuel up at the town’s variety of eateries, from the uber-contemporary Waterhouse Restaurant with killer views of the rushing Nubanusit River to the vintage Peterborough Diner in an authentic 1950s Worcester diner car and Harlow’s Pub, which is kind of the Cheers for the locals where food, drink, and live music are served up in a historic building.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.