All You Need to Know About the White Mountains, New Hampshire

When most people think of New England, they think of Massachusetts or Vermont, but not New Hampshire. Most people, skip, or just forget about New Hampshire, all together. Thus, New Hampshire is a great spot if you wish to avoid crowds and high prices! It is also home, to one of America’s most beautiful, national forest, the White Mountains.

The White Mountains have BEAUTIFUL mountains, lakes, and nature in general to see. If you are an outdoorsy person, I HIGHLY recommend planning a trip here one day. Thus, hopefully, after reading this article, you will have a start of where to begin when planning your trip to the White Mountains. Or if you just want to learn more about them and what to do, this article will also be very helpful for that.

In this article, you will read about, the White Mountains, New Hampshire camping, hotels, Airbnbs, things to do, hiking, white mountain ski resorts, and more.

This article is all about the White Mountains, New Hampshire.

White Mountains, New Hampshire:

White Mountains, New Hampshire Camping

Alright, to start this trip, you probably want to know what city to visit and a place to stay. There are many options, you could camp, stay at an RV resort, or stay at a hotel/AirBnB. If you plan on mostly hiking during this trip, I recommend staying in Lincoln, Jefferson, Bethlehem, Franconia, or Lancaster, NH. However, if you wish to do other activities, I suggest staying in Concord, Dover, Littleton, or Portsmouth, NH.

Here is a link to some great RV or full service campgrounds, if you are trying to hike a lot. Personally, I would stay at the Saco River Camping Area (full service campground), in North Conway, NH, the Beach Camping Area (also in North Conway, NH, and full service campground), Mountain Lake Camping Resort (in Lancaster, NH), the Israel River Campground (located in Jefferson, NH, and a full service campground), or anywhere in Lincoln, NH.

Now, if you don’t wish to camp, that is totally fine, below is a list of available AirBnBs and hotels of the regions. Here is a list of available accommodations for Jefferson and Lancaster, Lincoln, Bethlehem, and Franconia.

White Mountains, New Hampshire Hiking

Alright, now that you have places to stay, you probably want some suggested activities. First, and the most popular of the region, I recommend HIKING. The White Mountains offer a similar challenge to New York’s 46er high peaks, called the 48er challenge. The two challenges are pretty similar to one another, but I have heard the Adirondacks are longer in distance and have harder trails to follow. While the Whites are shorter but have higher elevation gains.

Here is a link to all of the mountains apart of the 48er challenge, and where to find them. If you would like to follow directions on your phone (AllTrails), you can too. All you have to do, is go to the AllTrails website or download the app on your phone. Then type in the trail you wish to hike on the website or app, then select it, and it will give you an option for directions to access from your phone.

New Hampshire 48

Some “easier” trails I recommend from the list are, Cannon, Wildcat, and D Peak, all being about 4 miles roundtrip. These are good starts to your hiking weekend, if you don’t want to do too much. Also, another good trail, is a loop of, Mount Tom, Mount Field, Mount Willey, and Avalon Trail, only being a 10 mile loop.

Another good but difficult loop for more advanced hikers is the Cannon, North, and South Kinsman trails via the Kinsman Ridge Trail. It is a total of 11.2 miles, and has a 5,557ft elevation gain, and very steep and rocky parts. Hanock is another great trail, being 9.1 total miles and a 2,575ft elevation gain.

Another good more advanced loop is, the North Twin and South Twin via the Gale River Trail. Mount Moosilauke and South Peak Loop is another great hike, being a total of 7.2 miles. Also, Mount Lafayette and Franconia Ridge trail loop is great, being 8.6 miles roundtrip. One last good loop trail is, the Mount Jefferson, Adams, and Madison loop, which is a total of 10.2 miles and involves driving on some unpaved roads to access.

Mount Washington Hike

One last phenomenal hike, is Mount Washington, via Tuckerman Ravine trail. This is a total of 7.9 miles and a 4,169ft elevation gain. It does include some unpaved roads to get too, and is New Hampshire’s and New England’s highest peak. Also, in the winter, many people, hike up this trail, and ski down the ravine, which you could do as well. However, make sure you plan this hike out, if you wish to complete in the winter. Most people sleep over night in one of the lean-tos to the side of the trail, and some even go with a guide. But an awesome thing to checkoff your bucketlist!

If you still wish to hike, but not any of the 48er challenge, don’t worry, there are still LOADS of trails for you! Here is a list of New Hampshire’s hikes in general.

White Mountains, New Hampshire Things to Do

Okay, if you are not a hiker, here are some great things for you to do instead. Stay at the beach, such as, Wallis Sands State Beach, Echo Lake Beach, Wellington State Park, and Hampton Beach. Also, I recommend visiting the Flume, White Mountain National Park (here is a link to find trails, camping, biking, and other fun activities within the park), and The Mount Washington Cog (a scenic train ride along Mount Washington). I recommend staying in one of the towns listed previously, however if you plan on spending most of your time at the beach, I would stay in Portsmouth or Dover New Hampshire.

White Mountain Ski Resorts

Alright, finally, on to our last portion of this getaway, if you plan on visiting New Hampshire in the winter, I recommend skiing. New Hampshire has several mountains, all ranging from 15-75 trails, and numerous terrain. Here are some that I’ve heard great things about, Attitash, Bretton Woods, Cannon, Gunstock, Mount Sunapee, Loon, and Wildcat mountains.

Here is a more accurate list of current ski mountains in New Hampshire, as well. When, I’m on a ski vacation, I like to stay in a hotel, or AirBnB, thus again, all the cities, mentioned in the second paragraph, are great areas to stay.

Okay, and that wraps up our week or weekend getaway in New Hampshire. I hope this gives you some new insight on places and states to see within America’s northeast, or New England region. Thank you for reading, and comment below your favorite places in New Hampshire!

This article was all about the White Mountains, New Hampshire camping, hotels, Airbnbs, things to do, hiking, white mountain ski resorts, and more.

P.S. Here are some great snack options while hiking, or just chilling at the beach!