There is something for everyone to enjoy at Loon. Family fun at various resorts may or may not center on the slopes. At Loon Mountain Resort, they’ve diversified activities that extend far beyond the usual skiing or snowboarding. Of course, families still flock to Loon to ski and snowboard, as there are some excellent ski runs that are suitable for all levels. But the resort has also taken other slopeside family activities to the next level.
Loon offers up lots of terrain varieties for every level of skier. From its easy beginner slopes to the full progression of award-winning terrain parks and black-diamond steeps, Loon provides something for every skier and snowboarder to keep them from getting bored during their time on the mountain. While South Peak offers great expert and intermediate terrain on an entirely separate base area, the other two peaks at Loon—Loon Peak and North Peak—allow families access to a variety of thrills, all from the same lifts.
Snowboarding has gone mainstream and is now often a family sport. Loon’s two Paul Bunyan-themed terrain parks offer multi-generational shredding. This also includes two innovative parks for kids: the Burton Riglet Park and Lil' Stash. Further up the mountain, more advanced riders in the family will find glades like Walking Boss Woods and Buck Saw, offering berms and rollers (and possibly a respite from mom and dad). And then there is the mile-long Loon Mountain Park, too.
Loon Mountain Resort
In fact, riders at Loon will be hard-pressed to beat the scale and variety of the mountain’s terrain within all the various parks. It’s why they were named one of the top 10 terrain parks in the U.S. by Freeskier Magazine in 2013, and ranked among the top three in Eastern North America, by Transworld Snowboarding .
Riders can shred to their heart’s delight, or experience the only Superpipe in New Hampshire, with 18-foot walls and a length of 425 feet. Loon is so bullish about their snowboarding that they released the “Loon Everyday” video, featuring the resort’s snowboarding team and locals that captures the park’s passion for the sport.
Loon continues to expand their learn-to-ski options as well. Beginner skiers who book the mountain’s First Class Learning Experience will be treated to an immersive weekend-long learning program that includes their own free pair of skis, bindings and boots (while supplies last), and a private, slopeside learning lounge.
A perk at Loon that families love is the on-mountain lodging, located right at the foot of the lifts—perfect for ski-in-ski-out convenience. Then there’s the Loon Mountain Club, a full-service hotel/base lodge, with rooms and suites, restaurants, parking, a swimming pool, and spa all under one roof within a few yards of the gondola loading point.
So what happens if you have a family member or members that are somewhat vertically-challenged when it comes to stepping onto the slopes? Or maybe they just don’t share the same passion for skiing or snowboarding as other family members? Not to worry—Loon’s got you covered.
With a beginning-to-end approach in providing activities on or near the mountain, they have taken the same approach to diversified non-skiing activities and various things to do, as they have with their slopeside events, trails, and terrain parks.
The Loon Mountain Adventure Center, also at the base area, offers an array of things happening all winter long in addition to the traditional downhill activities of skiing and snowboarding.
Loon Mountain Resort
No longer are skis or snowboards prerequisites for having a good time at the mountain. While tubing may not demand the same alpine skill set, it does require being able to have fun. And just like terrain parks have now become fixtures at most mountains, families are now looking for groomed tubing lanes being available when considering a mountain resort for their families and making the most of their experience.
Loon’s trails deliver the thrills of bombing down a hill, without a steep learning curve. All you have to do is head over to the Little Sister Chairlift, directly across from the Octagon Lodge.
In addition to snow tubing, clip into a zipline, and you’ll be soaring more than 700 feet across the Pemigewasset River, and then back across to the Adventure Center. There’s also snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ice skating, as well as an indoor climbing wall with three routes. Guided snowshoe tours for various skills include one to the Loon Mountain summit with the option of returning to the base on the gondola or on snowshoes.
If that wasn’t enough, horseback riding at the base of the South Mountain at Loon Equestrian Center is also available.
And of course, in our "always-on" world of screens and devices, all base lodges have free Wi-Fi.
With its multi-dimensional skiing, snowboarding, as well as other activities off-the-mountain, Loon Mountain Resort offers the total package for families considering a weekend winter getaway in the gorgeous White Mountains. So don’t worry about centering everything around the slopes in making everyone happy. Loon’s got you covered with more than enough activities and things to keep even your fussiest non-skier happy.
Originally written by RootsRated.
Featured image provided by Loon Mountain Resort