We’ve got another top 10 list floating around the internet. If you don’t like this list, skiers and snowboarders have no one to blame but their peers.
USA Today released a list of the 10 best ski towns in North America on Wednesday, voted on by readers. The winner wasn’t Jackson, Wyoming or Steamboat Springs, Colorado. No, the winner was North Conway, New Hampshire.
“Beyond fresh snow and convenient access to the slopes, what makes the best ski town? For some, it's having access to fantastic restaurants, bars, and shops,” USA Today says. “For others, it's about great accommodation options, a small-town vibe, or a historic atmosphere. These 10 ski towns, nominated by an expert panel and voted as the best in North America by readers, fit that bill.”
Now don’t get me wrong, as a native New Englander, I love North Conway. It’s the home of Cranmore Mountain Resort, a family-first ski hill with a great learn-to-ski program and 1,200 of vertical feet. I grew up getting candy at Zeb’s General Store and I’ve been snowmobiling up Mt. Washington with the team at Northern Extremes. But I’m not sure I agree with its number one spot.
Photo: Miro Vrlik/Shutterstock
“The slopes of Cranmore Mountain Resort are just a few blocks off of the White Mountain Highway, the town's main street,” USA Today says. “North Conway is also a convenient base for day-tripping to other classic New England ski areas like Black Mountain, King Pine, and Attitash. Formidable Mount Washington, the tallest peak in New England, can be explored by snow coach or the venerable Cog Railway, and the town's cozy hotels and B&Bs promise a warm welcome after a winter day outdoors.”
All of this is true, for sure. Black Mountain and King Pine are wonderful, independent ski areas that can be a blast. Attitash and Wildcat are fun as well, and there is a cult of Granite Staters that will swear up and down that Wildcat is the best ski area in the state (though most members of that cult are skiers, not snowboarders). This is not a knock against any of the many wonderful attributes that North Conway has. But in my opinion, to be the best ski town in North America, you also must boast at least one of the best ski areas in North America. And it helps if you have two, as many towns on this list do.
Cranmore is a wonderful family ski area, but lacks the advanced terrain that many who make the trek to a ski town desire. Attitash and Wildcat - which have vertical drops of 1,750 and 2,112 respectively - inch the region closer to that, but of those neither ski areas are actually located in North Conway.
And perhaps the most important factor in all of this math is this: USA Today also compiled a list of the best ski resorts in North America. One mountain from New Hampshire did make the cut - Cannon. The state-owned mountain in Franconia is more than deserving of a spot on the list. It is also an hour's drive from North Conway.
Here are the rest of the towns on the list:
1. North Conway, New Hampshire
2. Mammoth Lakes, California
3. Stowe, Vermont
4. Banff, Alberta
5. Jackson Hole, Wyoming
6. Red River, New Mexico
7. Vail, Colorado
8. Steamboat Springs, Colorado
9. Taos, New Mexico
10. McCall, Idaho
Photo: Joshua Lehew/Shutterstock
Steamboat Springs is a usual presence on lists like this, though at number 8, it’s a bit lower than usual. The town of 13,500 residents in Colorado’s Yampa Valley is home to Howelsen Hill ski area in addition to Steamboat Ski Resort.
“Steamboat Springs is actually the largest city in northwestern Colorado and is the hometown to multiple Olympic ski and snowboarding medalists,” the USA Today story says. “Other winter activities in ‘Ski Town USA’ include fat-tire biking, dog sledding, ice fishing, cross-country skiing, ice skating, snow tubing, and snowmobiling.”