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Stunning viewsBest amenitiesOff-mountain activitiesStunning viewsBest amenitiesOff-mountain activitiesStunning viewsBest amenitiesOff-mountain activitiesStunning viewsLoon Mountain sits in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a rugged, forested range in the northeast of the United States, a couple of hours' drive north of Boston. Right at its foot are the twin towns of Lincoln and North Woodstock, a lively pair strung along the river, so Loon has a real town at its base with plenty to do beyond the slopes. Loon has been going since 1966 and has grown into a polished, well-run mid-size mountain, known for its immaculate grooming, its terrain parks, and three linked peaks to explore. It's an easy, welcoming place to ski, drawing everyone from first-timers to park riders to weekenders up from the city.
Skiing at Loon is built around cruising, across 403 acres of mostly below-treeline trails. Long, rolling groomers make up the bulk of it, fed by one of the most powerful snowmaking systems in the state, which keeps the surface in good shape and stretches the season from early December into April. The three linked peaks each have their own feel. North Peak holds most of the terrain (and the steepest), its upper runs pitching into black-diamond descents, along with moguls and tree runs where the real challenge lies. South Peak is quieter, with wide intermediate cruisers, a gentle beginner pod, and Loon's one double-black, Ripsaw. From the 930m summit there's around 640m of vertical to work with, and the longest run, Bear Claw, carries you nearly 4km to the base. Loon has a strong freestyle scene, too, with six terrain parks graded from first features to big jumps, so there's a clear path whether you're starting out on a box or sending the biggest line.
Off the slopes, Lincoln and North Woodstock keep you busy. A few minutes apart, the two towns have a run of casual restaurants, brewpubs, and shops. A few minutes apart, the two towns have a run of casual restaurants, brewpubs, and shops. The local highlight is the Woodstock Inn Brewery, a well-loved spot in a converted railway station that turns out award-winning ales alongside regular live music. Beyond the eating and drinking, there's a good spread of winter activities. The Ice Castles, a walk-through world of LED-lit ice towers, tunnels, and slides, are a fixture of the season here, and there's snow tubing, a vintage railroad, and cross-country trails all close by.
Check out Loon Mountain ski deals to start planning your trip.
Loon Mountain sits in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a rugged, forested range in the northeast of the United States, a couple of hours' drive north of Boston. Right at its foot are the twin towns of Lincoln and North Woodstock, a lively pair strung along the river, so Loon has a real town at its base with plenty to do beyond the slopes. Loon has been going since 1966 and has grown into a polished, well-run mid-size mountain, known for its immaculate grooming, its terrain parks, and three linked peaks to explore. It's an easy, welcoming place to ski, drawing everyone from first-timers to park riders to weekenders up from the city.
Skiing at Loon is built around cruising, across 403 acres of mostly below-treeline trails. Long, rolling groomers make up the bulk of it, fed by one of the most powerful snowmaking systems in the state, which keeps the surface in good shape and stretches the season from early December into April. The three linked peaks each have their own feel. North Peak holds most of the terrain (and the steepest), its upper runs pitching into black-diamond descents, along with moguls and tree runs where the real challenge lies. South Peak is quieter, with wide intermediate cruisers, a gentle beginner pod, and Loon's one double-black, Ripsaw. From the 930m summit there's around 640m of vertical to work with, and the longest run, Bear Claw, carries you nearly 4km to the base. Loon has a strong freestyle scene, too, with six terrain parks graded from first features to big jumps, so there's a clear path whether you're starting out on a box or sending the biggest line.
Off the slopes, Lincoln and North Woodstock keep you busy. A few minutes apart, the two towns have a run of casual restaurants, brewpubs, and shops. A few minutes apart, the two towns have a run of casual restaurants, brewpubs, and shops. The local highlight is the Woodstock Inn Brewery, a well-loved spot in a converted railway station that turns out award-winning ales alongside regular live music. Beyond the eating and drinking, there's a good spread of winter activities. The Ice Castles, a walk-through world of LED-lit ice towers, tunnels, and slides, are a fixture of the season here, and there's snow tubing, a vintage railroad, and cross-country trails all close by.
Check out Loon Mountain ski deals to start planning your trip.
Loon's pistes spread across three linked peaks, which in practice give you two distinct sides to ski. The original mountain, Loon Peak and North Peak together, is the main hub, reached by the gondola and a cluster of fast chairs, and it packs the widest mix of terrain into one connected area. South Peak, added in 2008, is a separate, sunnier pod with its own base, quieter and more laid-back. The real benefit of having both is choice. You can spend the morning on the busy main side, then cross to South Peak when you want more room and more sun, without ever leaving the mountain. And with birch forest, frozen streams, and granite ridges all around, it's a good-looking place to ski wherever you end up.
Getting around Loon is quick, for the most part. The main base is served by a summit gondola and the Kancamagus 8, a high-speed eight-seater that was the first of its kind in New England, backed by a set of fast quads, so on the main side you rack up laps without much waiting. The gondola is the one bottleneck. It draws a queue first thing, so locals lap the nearby chairs early on and save the gondola for quieter moments. South Peak sits a little apart, reached by lift rather than by a run, either the quad from its own base or the one that carries you across from the summit. That's handy on a board, since there's no long flat traverse to skate. All told it's an easy mountain to navigate, and the fast lifts on both sides keep the day moving.
Important for international visitors: If you've mostly skied in Europe, North America grades its runs differently. Green circles are beginner terrain, close to European greens and easy blues. Blue squares are intermediate, but they cover a wider range, so some ski steeper than a European blue, especially on the firmer snow out here. Black diamonds are advanced, and double black diamonds are expert-only. There's no direct equivalent to the European red. New England snow tends to run firm, even icy at times, so it's worth keeping your edges well tuned.
Most beginners start on the main side of the mountain at the Learning Center, where a magic carpet and a couple of slow chairlifts serve a set of wide, gentle greens away from the faster runs. Brookway is a good one to begin on, a soft, rolling green made for your first proper runs. Once you've got the hang of it, though, it's worth crossing to South Peak and its Timbertown area, where the greens are newer and far more spread out, and the extra sun makes it a roomier, brighter place to build up.
Loon is a good place to find your confidence and build from there. Once you're steady on green runs, a natural next step is Bear Claw. This is the mountain's longest run at nearly 4km and it’s gently pitched the whole way, so you get a long, satisfying descent with nothing steep to catch you out. After that, the mellow blue cruisers are an easy step up, and there are plenty of them to keep progressing on.
WeSki insider tip: If you base yourself on South Peak, it's worth knowing it links to the rest of the mountain by lift rather than by an easy run. Ride the connecting chair to hop between the two sides, and you can explore the whole mountain without ending up on anything steeper than you're ready for.
Intermediates get the most out of Loon. Blue runs make up the largest share of the mountain, and because the terrain is split across three peaks, you can keep moving to a new part of it through the day rather than skiing the same trails over and over. The best of the cruising comes off the gondola on Loon Peak, where long, groomed runs roll down through hardwood forest at a steady, comfortable pitch. Flying Fox is the one most people come back to. It's a long, smooth descent that looks out over the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Picked Rock, just alongside, skis much the same.
For something a bit harder, cross to North Peak. The runs there are steeper, and the north-facing slopes tend to hold their snow in better condition. The upper blues run longer and steeper than the cruisers lower down. Rumrunner is a good one to try, and a sensible way to build towards the black runs.
WeSki insider tip: When you feel ready to try a black, make it Upper Walking Boss. It's a groomed black, so a confident intermediate can handle it, and it has the finest view on the mountain, right across to Mount Washington.
Loon's toughest skiing is concentrated on the upper half of North Peak. It's full of demanding, mostly ungroomed terrain that rewards strong legs and a bit of stamina. Here the black-diamond runs steepen up, and where they're left ungroomed they bump into long, leg-burning mogul fields. Flume is a classic, with a steep, sustained pitch that keeps you working the whole way down, and Angel Street is a great mogul run to test yourself on that’s fast and rhythmic once you settle into it.
Advanced skiers and riders can also look forward to Loon's tree skiing, which is the best of its expert terrain when conditions allow. Hardwood and birch forests across the upper mountain hold fresh snow well, and the lines through them run tight and twisting, asking for quick feet and a good eye for a route. Walking Boss Woods, on the eastern shoulder of North Peak, is the best of the glades, and Bucksaw nearby offers something tighter and more tucked away. Just remember this is East Coast tree skiing, so the trees grow close together and the surface can shift within a few turns, from soft snow to firmer, scoured patches.
WeSki insider tip: Loon grooms so much of its terrain that a black-diamond rating doesn't always mean rough, natural snow. For proper moguls, look for the runs marked with an M on the trail map, like Angel Street and Rolling Bear. That's where Loon lets the bumps grow.
Loon has long been one of the East's stand-out mountains for freestyle, which draws a keen crowd of snowboarders. When you want to session features, the six terrain parks are a major draw, built for progression from gentle beginner boxes up to big kickers and rail gardens, so there's something whatever your level. Away from the parks, there's plenty to enjoy on a board. The wide, well-groomed cruisers across the three peaks are made for carving, and after a storm the glades on North Peak open up proper freeride lines through the trees. It's an easy mountain to ride, too, with fast lifts and no long flat traverses to catch you out.
At Loon, off-piste really means the glades. The tree skiing between the marked runs, best on North Peak and the upper part of Loon Peak, is where you head for something rougher and more natural, weaving through tight birch and hardwood at your own pace. These lines aren't touched by the snowmaking that keeps the trails topped up, so they come good after a fresh fall rather than reliably all season, worth timing a visit around if soft, off-trail turns are what you're after.
Beyond the resort boundary, the skiing thins out. The White Mountains hold some backcountry terrain, but it's modest close to Loon and the snow can be hit or miss. The exception, and it's a big one, is Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, about an hour and a half's drive away. A glacial bowl high on the tallest peak in the Northeast, "Tucks" is New England's legendary spring ski-mountaineering descent, a rite of passage that skiers hike into with their gear on their backs, no lifts, no grooming, no patrol. It's steep, exposed, avalanche-prone terrain, though, strictly for experienced, well-equipped mountaineers who know how to read the conditions.
Loon runs one of the bigger ski and snowboard schools in New Hampshire, with group and private lessons for every age and level, from complete first-timers up. Group classes are split by age, one set for children, another for teens and adults, while private lessons can be booked by the hour or the day and shaped around whatever you want to work on. That's where the school gets interesting for a short trip. Rather than a fixed syllabus, you can ask a private coach to take you into the trees, onto the steeper runs, or through the terrain parks, so you spend the lesson chasing a specific goal instead of running through drills.
Loon is a serious park mountain, regularly rated among the top terrain parks in the East, and it's part of why so many riders make the trip. The six parks are laid out as a proper progression. Beginners start in the Burton Progression Park on small boxes and gentle rollers, step up through Springboard's mid-sized jumps and rails, and build towards the Loon Mountain Park, the big one, with over 300m of vertical, sizeable jump lines, a long rail garden, and a 10-metre wallride to session. There's also the Little Sister park by the gondola, small enough to lap quickly and easy to watch from the base. A dedicated crew shapes and maintains the features all season.
Loon has long been one of New England's go-to family mountains, and once you're there it's easy to see why. Everything is set up to make a trip with kids straightforward. There's slopeside childcare that takes little ones from as young as six weeks, so even non-skiing babies and toddlers are looked after while the rest of the family skis, plus a well-run ski school to get older ones started. You're never far from a warm lunch, a supermarket run, or an afternoon off the snow. The mountain sits right beside the towns of Lincoln and North Woodstock where there’s a compact stretch of hotels, family restaurants, and shops with plenty going on. It's an easy, low-stress place to bring a family.
On the mountain, the youngest children learn in a calm, managed setting, either in the ski school's camps, which start at age three, or in the sheltered beginner area over on South Peak. Children who can already ski have plenty to grow into. The three peaks give them room to roam, from long, confidence-building cruisers to tree runs on the upper mountain once they want more. Six terrain parks are there for anyone keen on freestyle, built to progress from small first features upward. Getting everyone up the hill is easy, too, since the gondola is fully enclosed, so the ride to the summit is warm and comfortable.
Off the slopes, there's more than enough to fill a family holiday, and most of it is a few minutes from wherever you're staying. At the base, Loon's Adventure Center has a dedicated tubing hill, with a gentler tot version for the littlest ones, plus a zip line, and the gondola runs as a scenic ride for anyone not skiing. Nearby, the winter Ice Castles, a walk-through world of glowing ice towers and tunnels, are a firm family favourite, and there's a paint-your-own-pottery studio and a cinema in town for an afternoon out of the cold. Eating out is easy and family-friendly, with hearty comfort food, pizzas, and burgers at casual spots like the Woodstock Inn Brewery, and supermarkets close by if you'd rather cook.
One of the good things about a trip to Loon is how much happens off the mountain, and most of it’s close at hand. Lincoln and North Woodstock, the two towns at the base, hold the bulk of the winter activities, both indoor and outdoorsy, with more scattered through the surrounding White Mountains a short drive away. Whether you're taking a day off skiing, travelling with non-skiers, or just fancy a change of pace, here's what's worth doing.
Dining around Loon splits between the on-mountain lodges and the restaurants along Lincoln and North Woodstock. The cooking here is casual and hearty, mountain-town comfort food built for refuelling after a day on the snow, think big breakfasts, wood-fired pizza, pub plates, and warming bowls of chowder. Craft beer and cider are a real part of the scene, brewed and pressed locally, and a few kitchens lean on New England staples and fresh local ingredients. On the hill, the lodges keep you fed through the day, while the towns hold the wider choice come evening.
WeSki insider tip: Order a bowl of New England clam chowder while you're here. Thick, creamy, and properly warming, it's the classic cold-day comfort dish across the region, and it's even better with a local craft beer alongside.
Après at Loon starts right at the base, where the bars fill up as the lifts wind down. The Paul Bunyan Room, upstairs in the Octagon Lodge, is the liveliest of them, with a big slopeside deck, a long list of draft beers, and live bands at weekends. For something more low-key, Babe's Blue Ox has a full bar and cocktails, and the Mountain Club's Black Diamond Pub is the place for a drink by the fire. It's an easy-going, craft-beer sort of scene.
In the evening, things shift into town. The Woodstock Inn Brewery is the social hub, a busy brewpub pouring its own beers with live music at weekends, and around it you'll find hotel bars, a winery tasting room, and café bars along the main strip. It's a relaxed, welcoming scene, built around good beer and good company.
Where you stay at Loon comes down to two options, right on the mountain or a few minutes away in the towns of Lincoln and North Woodstock. Between them they cover a broad range, from compact studio apartments to hotels and roomy self-catering chalets that sleep large groups of a dozen or more, so there's something to fit most budgets and party sizes. The style is comfortable and practical rather than lavish, think warm, well-kept mountain lodgings, many with a kitchen, a pool, or a hot tub, geared around families and groups who want space and an easy base.
Staying on the mountain puts you closest to the lifts, with some ski-in, ski-out options and the larger slopeside places adding pools, spas, and restaurants on site. It's the easy choice if you'd rather roll out of bed and onto the snow. The towns, a short drive or shuttle from the base, trade that convenience for more choice and better value, plus the appeal of walking to the restaurants, bars, and shops. Families often base themselves here, drawn by the roomier rentals and the hotels with indoor pools. Either way, you're never far from the slopes.
A standard Loon lift pass covers the whole mountain, and multi-day passes work out better value the longer you stay. Because Loon is one of three Boyne resorts in the region, there's also the local New England Pass, which adds its sister mountains, Sunday River and Sugarloaf, both over in Maine. That's worth knowing if you're on a longer trip and fancy skiing more than one mountain, since it lets you pair Loon with a couple of bigger Maine resorts in a single visit. Loon is on the Ikon Pass as well, the wider network covering resorts across North America and beyond, so it suits anyone already skiing on Ikon or planning to visit several resorts in a season.
When you book your Loon Mountain ski holiday with WeSki, check the family and multi-day options to find the best fit, and if you'd rather ski on the Ikon Pass, we offer that too.
Loon's own Rental Shop sits slopeside at the base, next to the Governor Adams Lodge, stocked with HEAD skis and Burton boards, boots, and helmets for every level, from easy beginner setups to stiffer performance gear. There's a sports shop alongside it for demos, tuning, and custom boot fitting if you want to dial your kit in. You'll also find a handful of independent shops in Lincoln. It's worth booking online over holidays and busy weekends. And as anywhere in New England, ask for a fresh edge tune, it makes a real difference on the firmer snow you tend to get on the East Coast.
Getting around Loon is straightforward, with or without a car. The mountain has three base areas, and a free shuttle loops between them through the day on weekends and holidays, so moving around the resort itself is easy once you're there. If you're staying in Lincoln or North Woodstock, plenty of the local hotels and lodges run a free ski shuttle to the mountain and back, which means you can leave the driving out of the ski day altogether. Those shuttles mostly run at weekends and over holidays, so it's worth checking the timetable for your dates and whether your accommodation is on a stop.
The towns themselves are easy on foot if you're central, with restaurants, bars, and shops along the main street, though they stretch out along Route 112, so you might want a lift to reach places at either end. If you do hire a car, free parking at the mountain (with EV charging) makes driving simple, and it opens up the wider area, dining further afield, the nearby towns, and other White Mountain resorts. Just note the lots fill up on weekends, holidays, and after fresh snow, so arrive early on a busy day.
Loon sits in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, in the northeast of the United States. The nearest airport is Manchester-Boston Regional (MHT), about 130km south, with Boston Logan International (BOS) around 215km away. Boston is the larger hub, with the widest choice of international flights, so most overseas visitors arrive there, while Manchester sits closer to the resort. Portland International Jetport (PWM) in Maine is another option at a similar distance to Manchester.
WeSki offers car hire from the airport along with private transfers to Loon Mountain, so you can add door-to-door travel to your package.
Loon has a dedicated learning area and a well-regarded ski school, with children's programmes from age three. Beginners aren't spoilt for green runs here in the way they might be elsewhere, but there's plenty to learn on comfortably, especially over on South Peak, where the newer Timbertown area has gentle terrain and room to spread out. Once you're finding your confidence, the step onto the mellow blues is an easy one. It's a sound place to start, helped along by the quality of the teaching.
All three are owned by Boyne Resorts and covered by both the Ikon Pass and the local New England Pass. Sunday River, in Maine, is the biggest of the trio, spread across eight linked peaks and known for some of the most powerful snowmaking in the country. Sugarloaf, further north in Maine, has the largest vertical of the three and the only lift-served above-treeline skiing in the East, along with a celebrated spring season. Loon is the smallest of the three, but it's the easiest to reach, has the strongest intermediate cruising, and is the only one with a lively town, Lincoln, right at its base rather than a self-contained resort village. For a multi-resort trip, pairing all three makes for a varied few days of skiing.
Loon is a New England resort, so natural snowfall is variable and the surface can range from soft to firm and icy. What keeps it skiing well is the snowmaking, one of the most powerful systems in the state, which covers most of the terrain and underpins a long season from December into April. The base is usually machine-made and groomed, and after a natural storm the glades and tree runs fill in. Expect firmer snow than out West, especially on cold mornings, softening as the day warms. Keeping your edges sharp makes a real difference here.
Yes. Loon's gondola is a four-seat, fully enclosed lift running from the base to the summit of Loon Peak, a comfortable, sheltered ride with wide White Mountain views. It's one of only a couple of gondolas in New Hampshire. Non-skiers can ride it up for the views, and the Summit Café at the top serves food and drinks. It shouldn't be confused with the Kancamagus 8, Loon's other signature lift and New England's first eight-seat bubble chair, which is a chairlift rather than a gondola.
If you've mostly skied in Europe, the colour system here takes a moment to adjust to. Green circles are beginner runs, close to European greens and easy blues. Blue squares are intermediate but cover a wide range, so some can be quite testing, especially on icy New England mornings. Black diamonds are advanced, and double black diamonds are expert-only. There's no direct equivalent to the European red, so it's worth a run or two to get your eye in.
The Kancamagus Highway, or Route 112, is a scenic mountain road running east from Lincoln through the White Mountain National Forest to Conway, about 56km in all. It's a designated National Scenic Byway, winding through forest and over a high pass. It stays open in winter and is generally kept clear, though there are no services along the way and it can close in bad weather, so in practice it's the route you'd take if you were heading east across the mountains.
Yes, Loon is on the Ikon Pass, which also covers a wide network of resorts across North America and beyond. There's also the local New England Pass, run by Boyne, which covers Loon along with its sister resorts Sunday River and Sugarloaf over in Maine, handy if you want to ski more than one mountain on a longer trip. Multi-day Loon passes are available too, and WeSki can sort whichever suits your trip.
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