North Conway regains title of best ski town in North America

North Conway village. (WiseguyCreative.com)

North Conway is, once again, the top ski town in North America. 

At least, that’s the view of USA Today’s 10Best.com, whose editors recently named the idyllic New Hampshire destination the best of its kind. 

North Conway beat out the likes of Stowe, Vt., Alta, Utah, Jackson Hole, Wyo., Aspen, Colo., and Bethel, Maine for the honor. 

“To be named the No. 1 ski town in all of North America is a huge honor and feather in our cap,” said Janice Crawford, executive director of the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Especially when we see the company we’re in among ski towns across North America.” 

New England was well-represented in many of the 10Best.com categories devoted to the start of the 2020-21 ski season. Iron Furnace Brewing, in Franconia, N.H. was named the No. 2 spot for après. Killington’s Wobbly Barn finished sixth. 

The Top 10 ski resorts is an odd list (topped by Sunshine Village in Banff, Alberta), including places like Brundage Mountain and Mount Bohemia (in Michigan), but New Hampshire’s Cannon Mountain finished seventh on the list. Waterville Valley and Jackson Ski Touring Foundation, both in New Hampshire, finished fourth and fifth, respectively, on the list of cross-country resorts. 

In the category of best ski hotel, Vermont’s Trapp Family Lodge finished fourth. New Hampshire’s Bear Mountain Lodge, in Bethlehem, finished fifth. 

10Best.com provides users with “original, unbiased, and experiential travel content of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.” 

North Conway had previously finished as the top ski town in America prior to 2018, when it finished second. 

“Between the 13 ski resorts and cross-country centers we offer, along with on-mountain recreation for non-skiers, snowmobiling, dog sledding, sleigh rides, ice skating, and all the backcountry recreation of the White Mountains, we believe we have earned the designation of not only best ski town but best winter town too,” Crawford said. “And with Jackson Cross-Country on the 10Best Cross Country ski resort list, Mt. Washington Valley is certainly the premier winter destination this year.

“We simply ask skiers who come to visit our destination to wear masks and respect the new safety measures put in place at ski resorts and other businesses throughout town.” 

Check out more from North Conway and the Mount Washington Valley on New England Ski Journal TV:

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