9 best places to snowshoe in New England

Where can you go snowshoeing in Northern New England? In a land that’s often blanketed with the white stuff in winter, an easier question might be where can’t you? After a decent storm, you’ll even spot city dwellers snowshoeing to work.

Not only does this age-old sport offer a fun way to get some fresh air and aerobic exercise, it’s also easy—it’s said if you can walk, you can snowshoe. So dress in peel-able layers (you’ll likely warm up quickly), pull on your boots, click into those snowshoes, and get out there!

While opportunities abound, primo experiences await at resorts, outdoor centers, and preserves with expertly groomed trails, trailside comforts, and special events. Below are 9 of the best.

Stay in one of the resort’s rooms, cabins, or guesthouses, and take advantage of the sledding hill, skating rink, hot tub, sauna, and fitness room.

Info: Winter lodging rates start at $275 plus a daily 15% resort fee.

Explore on your own, take the Learning the Forest tour, or join a trip to a stone chapel, built by Werner von Trapp.

Hungry? Snowshoe to the Slayton Pasture Cabin for homemade soups and sandwiches, stop for a trailside pastry at the Kaffeehaus, or end up at the Bierhall for classic Austrian dishes and lagers brewed on-site. On certain evenings, you can also visit the Bierhall on a guided tour by headlamp.

Info: The Trapp Family Lodge’s accommodations include rooms, suites, villas, and guesthouses; winter lodging rates start at $245 plus a daily $35 resort fee.

How about a scenic outing on gentle terrain? A self-guided, meandering trek up a small mountain? A snowshoe stroll with the family, including a sled to tow the little ones? The staff at this Nordic Center in Woodstock can easily arrange any and all for you on more than 28 miles of groomed trails, plus natural, ungroomed routes.

At the nearby Billings Farm & Museum, which dates from the 1800s, snowshoers can tour fields beside the Ottauquechee River or join the occasional torch-lit, national park ranger–guided evening tour that concludes with hot drinks, s’mores, and folk stories by a fire. After a day on the trails, you’ll find pampered lodging, dining, and spa treatments at the resort.

Info: Winter lodging rates start at $339 plus a daily $35 resort fee; AAA discount available.

At this lively spot, almost 28 miles of trails take snowshoers across riverside fields, through mountain forests, and even from village to village (Adults, $20). On Saturday-afternoon guided tours ($30), leaders help participants sight animal tracks, “bear trees” with bark scratched by bears, and even eagles.

During the annual Chocolate Festival (February 25, 2024), inns and other businesses along a 10-mile route hand out goodies to ticketholders. Now in its 34th year, this chocoholic’s dream-come-true is extremely popular. Tickets ($45) are limited and usually sell out. They are available only online or by request when reserving a room with a participating lodging property (tickets not included in lodging cost).

Take in the peace and beauty of the White Mountain National Forest while exploring 28 miles of Great Glen’s groomed and back-country trails. Meander on your own, or join a guided tour, offered every Saturday afternoon.

For a peak experience, board the quad-track SnowCoach and ascend two-thirds of the way up the Mount Washington Auto Road (about 4,000 feet). Soak in Presidential Mountain Range panoramas before snowshoeing 4 miles back down.

Prefer a shorter trek? Ask on the ride up to be dropped off lower on the mountain. Stay at the Glen House Hotel, with trailside access, and treat those tired muscles to the heated, indoor saltwater pool. Snowshoe rentals are available.

Info: Winter lodging rates start at $183; AAA discount available.

At Jackson’s well-maintained property, more than 17 miles of purpose-built, groomed trails are reserved for snowshoers. Located in the middle of the village, the complex includes a lodge, a rental and retail shop, and a fire pit. On weekends, participants in 90-minute guided tours learn about the area’s nature, geology, and history.

If you seek a specially tailored tour for your family, friends, or organization, this is the place. Form your group and ask in advance. Recent custom outings have included discovery treks for Scouts and “quiet tours” for veterans.

Secreted off the beaten path, this woodsy, 1,000-acre property lives up to its name. Maintained by the Midcoast Conservancy, Hidden Valley centers on a wide and gentle trail, and other trails of varying difficulty wiggle off into the forest. Two-thirds of the 30-mile network is groomed. Full-moon hikes take place throughout the season.

In late February, a winter biathlon, complete with a paintball-rifle range and crazy costumes, amps up the fun. Want to stay longer? Four rustic huts and a yurt, all heated with woodstoves, are available for overnight rentals.

Info: Lodging rates start at $30 for campsites, $60 for cabins.

More than 18 miles of groomed, well-marked snowshoe trails traverse 5,000-plus acres of fields and woodlands surrounding a multibuilding business and educational complex as well as a working farm. Stop at the market-café for breakfast, a to-go sandwich for the trails, or a post-tour lunch.

On weekends, warm up at a trailside cabin where you can purchase snacks and soups. Pineland Farms’ other activities include free sledding and free ice-skating on a lighted rink. Winter disc golf is $8 per round ($10 per day), and you can even visit an heirloom herd of Holsteins in the dairy barn ($6).

The town of Norway has a special affection for snowshoes. At the turn of the 1900s, local artisan Mellie Dunham made them for Commodore Robert Peary’s famed Arctic expeditions. A Snowshoe Festival every February at the Western Foothills Land Trust’s Roberts Farm Preserve celebrates this heritage (on the 17th in 2024).

Along with men’s, women’s, and youth snowshoe races, enjoy such laughter-inducing events as family 3-legged and egg-and-spoon races, a tug-of-war, and a corn-toss biathlon, all done on snowshoes. There’s also “snoga”—yoga on snowshoes—and a back-in-Mellie’s-day fashion show that brings out old wooden snowshoes and quaint garb.

At day’s end, a contra dance with lively music at the grange hall is a fitting salute to Dunham, who was also an accomplished fiddler. For the first time, a Norway Winter Art Walk and Sculpture Symposium will kick off the festival on the preceding evening.

On winter weekends, use of the preserve’s 7 miles of trails is free (donations are encouraged), as is the loan of snowshoe equipment.

Longtime snowshoer Mimi Bigelow Steadman writes about New England regularly for AAA’s publications.