Cross-Country Skiing Mecca in Jackson, New Hampshire

[Steve Mirsky]

Here's a rule of thumb...just when you can no longer stand winter, skiing conditions are certain to be their best. Last minute powder dumps combined with melting crowds make for some of the season's top trail conditions.

In New Hampshire at Jackson Cross Country Ski Touring Center, it's a pretty safe bet you can count on this scenario until April. With an extensive network of trails totaling 93 miles (58 of which are groomed & double tracked daily), Jackson has the most extensive cross-country ski trail system in the Northeast.

Just 2 hours north of Boston, Jackson is a quintessential New England village complete with a white steeple church, covered bridges, waterfall laced rivers, local eateries, and a deeply rooted skiing heritage.

At the center of it all is Jackson Cross Country Ski Touring Center, a community-based nonprofit that maintains trails radiating out from the Village Center including the doorsteps of 75 private residences all the way to back country A.M.C. & White Mountain National Forest trails further up into Pinkham Notch.

Olympic skiers Carl Swenson, Marcus Nash, & Patrick Weaver all made tracks here and so can you and your kids with a newly expanded Story Land Element Garden and 300’ Anklebiter course. When it's time for a break, steaming cups of signature hot chocolate await at the Center's Ellis River Cocoa Cabin. Additional hot chocolate fixes can be found along the trail at Riverwood Inn, Eagle Mountain Lodge and Christmas Farm Inn and Spa.

The Inn at Ellis River is shining example of a distinctive door-to-trail skiing experience in Jackson Village. Historic yet comfy rooms overlook the Ellis River from a wide deck spanning the back of the inn. Husband and wife team Frank Baker and Lyn Norris-Baker offer gracious hospitality with lavish breakfasts, warm common areas, and their own pub down the hall from the dining room complete with tufted leather chairs, billiard tables, as well as signature cocktails shaken by Frank himself.

Inside their solarium, you'll find a jacuzzi accompanied by a 2 foot tall rubber duckie Frank and Lynn entered in Jackson's Annual Wildquack Duck River parade held every spring.

Photos courtesy of Jackson Cross Country Ski Touring Center & Inn at Ellis River. Coverage made possible by participating in a partially sponsored visit.