Waterville Valley

Looking for the ideal combination of distance from Boston and big mountain East Coast terrain? Waterville Valley might be for you. With more than 2,000 feet of vertical rise and a local feel, Waterville Valley serves as a foil to the more commercialized resorts elsewhere in New Hampshire. However, a few key drawbacks mean the resort won’t be for everyone.

Size and Terrain Layout

With a 265-acre skiable footprint, Waterville Valley is quite a bit smaller than the top East Coast ski resorts, although it’s still competitive size-wise with other central New Hampshire mountains. The resort is significantly taller than it is wide, with the 2,020-foot vertical drop sitting in the upper echelon of the state (although the final few hundred feet are served only by t-bar). Waterville Valley is comprised of two distinct mountains: Mount Tecumseh, which hosts the bulk of the resort’s terrain, and Green Peak, which was added as an expansion area in the mid-2010s. Mount Tecumseh itself can be broken into two areas: the lower-elevation main mountain, which is home to a fairly traditional trail setup, and the upper-mountain High Country area. While it’s relatively short, High Country is home to what might be the widest upper-mountain ski slope in the East, making for a very unique environment with fantastic views of the surrounding land.

Beginner Terrain

Waterville Valley has a couple of good beginner areas, but less-experienced guests won’t be able to take advantage of the whole mountain. On the plus side, the Valley Run Quad serves some nice, mellow green runs, while the Green Peak expansion has added a beginner trail from the top of a mountain peak for the first time.

However, the mid and upper parts of Mount Tecumseh are completely devoid of beginner terrain, leaving a large swath of the mountain off limits for guests of lower proficiencies. In addition, the Valley Run area is located just below the bottom of several much harder trails, so while the green runs in this area themselves might be nice, they attract a lot of much more aggressive skier and rider traffic using this trail as a means to get to the resort base. At least the Valley Run trail is very wide, which mitigates the issue somewhat. For first-timers, the resort offers the Lower Meadows bunny hill as well as a few magic carpets near the base.

Intermediate Terrain

Waterville Valley is first and foremost an intermediate’s mountain, with an extensive variety of blue-rated cruisers across the resort. The skiers’ left and skiers’ right sides of Mount Tecumseh are chock full of groomed intermediate runs, with a handful of fun blue glades also available when natural snow conditions allow. High Country’s exceptionally wide footprint is made up exclusively of intermediate terrain, providing the best views at the resort for skiers and riders of this ability level. High Country is served exclusively by t-bar, which tends to scare away a lot of visitors; however, this results in some of the least tracked slopes at the resort.

Freestyle Terrain

Waterville Valley has a strong freestyle setup that should keep the typical park rat reasonably satisfied. The resort has a storied history as the first mountain to provide competitive freestyle instruction, and this legacy carries through to the resort’s builds today. The mountain has two traditional terrain parks, one small and one large, with the expected boxes, rails, and jumps. The resort also tends to install temporary pop-up parks with a bit more unique features that tend to be smaller in size.

Waterville Valley probably stands out the most for its two boardercross builds. The main boardercross was originally designed for the U.S. Boardercross Team, and even today, it maintains a build that’s up to competition standards, including a range of jumps in the lower part of the course. The resort also maintains a smaller boardercross designed for beginners in the lower part of the mountain.

TRAIL MAP

Advanced and Expert Terrain

Thanks in part to its competitive vertical drop, Waterville Valley has some solid advanced terrain as well. The hardest runs are right down the main face of Mount Tecumseh, with a mix of steep groomers and decently trying bump runs. The resort’s three double-black-diamond runs are a bit steeper and more prolonged than the single-blacks, but they’re not quite as technical as the hardest expert runs in the state. Unlike at some competing mountains, double-black terrain receives grooming on a fairly regular basis, with the True Grit run under the Sunnyside lift seeing the most consistent maintenance.

Snow Quality

With a summit elevation close to 4,000 feet, Waterville Valley is one of the highest ski resorts in New Hampshire. But despite its impressive elevation, the resort doesn’t receive quite the same snowfall as other ski areas further north in the state. Natural conditions often result in thin cover, even during the peak winter season.

Snowmaking and Resiliency

Waterville Valley technically boasts an impressive 100% snowmaking coverage, which provides a baseline level of resiliency. However, the resort’s snowmaking infrastructure is somewhat behind the times, and the mountain sometimes can’t get all the artificial coverage it would ideally need to. While Waterville Valley tends to achieve a fully open footprint by mid-January, some of the advanced and expert runs can take awhile to open.

Ski Racing Culture

It’s also worth noting that Waterville Valley is home to a massive ski racing culture. The resort hosts races or training sessions almost every day of the core season, with events ranging from kids and teen programs to all-out World Cup events. When you visit Waterville Valley, expect to run into several people in racing gear. One or two trails are usually closed for racing activities in the morning, but they typically reopen between 12 and 2pm. Since the racing teams only use the center of the trail, the rest of the run is often in much better condition than the other slopes by the time it opens to the public.

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Lifts

Waterville Valley has one of New Hampshire’s more interesting lift setups. The resort’s signature lift is the Tecumseh Express six-pack, which runs up the main part of Mount Tecumseh. This lift comes with bubbles that provide welcome isolation from the elements, especially given that Waterville Valley can get quite cold during the peak of winter. While it did come with some notable teething issues in its first year of operation, the Tecumseh Express has generally run reliably since then. Waterville Valley has one additional high-speed lift, the Valley Run Quad, which is redundant to some lower parts of Tecumseh but provides dedicated service to some beginner terrain.

Waterville Valley’s remaining uphill infrastructure consists of fixed-grip chairs and surface lifts. Green Peak is served exclusively by a slow triple chair, while two fixed-grip lifts, a double and a triple, provide helper service up parts of Mount Tecumseh. Notably, High Country is served exclusively by a t-bar; this upper-mountain area did see lift service some years ago, but it was removed due to wind issues. Two additional surface lifts provide direct access to lower-mountain trails that are often used for race training.

Crowd Flow

Although it doesn’t experience the heavy crowds common at some other New Hampshire resorts, Waterville Valley can still get busy during peak periods. Mount Tecumseh’s lift redundancies help spread out traffic, but the Tecumseh Express bubble lift tends to see modest lines on weekends and holidays. The resort’s race events can also throw a wrench in crowd flow, with large waves of racers creating waits during unpredictable times, even on off-peak weekdays. This all being said, lines outside the bubble lift are extremely rare, no matter when you visit.

On-Mountain Facilities

For a resort of its size, Waterville Valley has a solid on-mountain facility setup. In addition to a sizable base lodge with a cafeteria and bar, the resort has two mid-mountain restaurants. The first, Schwendi Hutte, offers a series of high-quality lunch options at the top of the Tecumseh Express lift. The second, Sunnyside Timberlodge, offers more cafeteria-style food next to the top terminal of the Valley Run Quad. Guests will also find a grilled cheese food truck just outside the base lodge, as well as the fancier T-Bars Restaurant within the rental shop building.

Ease of Navigation

Thanks in part to its modest footprint, Waterville Valley is a pretty easy resort to get around. Trail maps can be found at major junction points, and since every trail filters back to the base, it’s hard to get truly lost. While a few trail entrances are a bit easy to miss and could use somewhat clearer signage, these are minor issues in the grand scheme of things.

Indy Pass Access

It’s worth noting that Waterville Valley is a member of the Indy Pass, a product that gives passholders two days of access at Waterville Valley and over 100 other independently-owned ski mountains during the winter season. The Indy Base Pass comes with holiday blackouts at Waterville Valley, as well as more restrictive blackout policies at some neighboring mountains. On the other hand, the Indy Plus Pass does not have any blackout dates.

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Getting There and Parking

A big Waterville Valley draw is its proximity to Boston. With no traffic, the resort is just two hours from New England’s largest city. There is no regular public transportation to Waterville Valley, meaning visitors will have to drive there.

Parking is mostly free aside from a few preferred spots near the base. However, the parking lot setup is a bit of a mess, lacking paved roads and requiring a fairly significant uphill walk to get to the slopes. At least there are ski trails directly down to all of the lots, making it a lot easier to get back to your car at the end of the day.

Lodging

Waterville Valley’s ski slopes technically do not call home to any lodging. However, the mountain is only two miles away from a small village of the same name, which offers an extensive complex of condos and hotels. The town of Waterville Valley includes a walkable layout, several restaurants, and family-friendly activities such as ice skating and tubing. If you stay in town, shuttle buses provide service between town and the ski area, so you won’t have to deal with the parking lots. The close-by towns of Lincoln, Campton, and Plymouth offer alternative lodging options with nearby activities as well.

Après-ski

Waterville Valley is much more oriented towards families than partying, so those looking for an extensive après experience won’t find it here. However, both base buildings do have bars, as do some of the town’s restaurants, and they’ll occasionally host events and live music on weekends and holidays.

Jul 9, 2024 Written By Sam Weintraub

Verdict

So Waterville Valley offers a reasonably competitive terrain setup, with an attractive bubble lift and better-than-average wind resiliency helping round out the package. The resort isn’t snowy or big enough to put up a serious challenge against the best resorts in Vermont, but it offers a compelling proposition for those driving up from Boston.

Pricing

Waterville Valley’s lift ticket rates can get expensive at the window, reaching well over $100 for a single-day adult ticket during peak times. However, tickets can be had for significant discounts with in-advance purchases, especially on off-peak weekdays.

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