6 Family-Friendly New Hampshire Resorts

New Hampshire’s scenic White Mountains aren’t just for skiing. Year-round resorts offer summer and fall sports and activities designed for all family members. Surrounded by vacation possibilities that include outdoor adventures, mountain tramways, rail excursions, miles of hiking trails and natural wonders, these resorts all promise a memorable vacation.

At the southern edge of the White Mountains and easily reached from Interstate-93, Waterville Valley Resort is a full-service, year-round resort set in 770,000 acres of outdoor playground. Lodging choices include several inns with family suites, including high-end units in Golden Eagle Lodge, overlooking the resort’s center known as the Town Square. Rooms and suites include fully equipped kitchens, and the lodge has a children’s movie theater, game room and its own indoor/outdoor pool.

The resort also offers a golf course, tennis courts, paddle boarding and kayaking, mountain biking, and swimming in a variety of indoor and outdoor pools and in the Olympic pool at White Mountain Athletic Center.

A modern version of the classic White Mountain grand hotel, White Mountain Hotel & Resort in North Conway is a good location for blending outdoor activities with shopping and tourist attractions such as Conway Scenic Railroad. At the resort are a restaurant with poolside dining, a heated outdoor swimming pool (it will feel good on chilly fall days), hot tub, a fire pit, fitness center, Finnish sauna, and a nine-hole golf course.

Perched perfectly with sweeping views of White Mountains, the majestic Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa is a good choice for a luxury vacation. Amenities here alone are worthy of a visit, highlights of which include a full-service spa with great mountain views and a nine-hole Ross Forbes golf course. Kids can enjoy the resort’s heated indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and its own movie theater. Elegant Summit Suites have their own furnished balconies.

The large and luxurious RiverWalk Resort at Loon Mountain in Lincoln is a great place for outdoor activities, such as swimming (the hotel has heated pools), hiking, mountain climbing, biking, or challenges of the adjacent adventure center with zip lines and canopy tours. There is also a day spa and fine-dining restaurant.

One-bedroom suites include a separate master bedroom with a king bed, large bathroom with a soaker bathtub and separate shower, living area with a pull-out couch, full-kitchen, and furnished balcony. Suites sleeping six are also available, and units can be combined to provide space for even larger family groups.

For an old-fashioned summer camp experience for the whole family, kick back and enjoy a vacation at Purity Spring Resort. Carefree days can include swimming, kayaking, canoeing or paddle boarding in the lake, hiking in the miles of forest that surround the resort, cookouts and kids’ activities like making their own tie-dye t-shirt.

Kids love the beach with its floating dock, water games, and inflatable “iceberg” climbing wall and slide, and the whole family will enjoy tennis and pickleball courts, horseshoes, shuffleboard, volleyball and basketball courts. Cottages tucked in among the pines are perfect for families and extended families, and as an alternative to the restaurant, you can order packaged dinners ready to reheat in the cottage.