Cannon Mountain – Skiing and Snowboarding Overview | Cannon Stats

Visiting Cannon Mountain should almost be a ritual if you live in upper New Hampshire. If you don’t live close by than you are going to want to make the drive after reading this. 97 trails that cover 25 miles in total, along with the largest vertical drop in New Hampshire. Come on, how good is that? And we are just getting started.

We’ll cover some of the things Cannon Mountain in NH has to offer you and some must know knowledge before visiting the slopes this Winter.

Highlights of Cannon Mountain in NH

Cannon Mountain is one of a few ski areas in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. on Some of the highlights include –

  • 97 Trails and glades
  • 285 skiable acres
  • 11 lifts
  • Longest run – 2.3 miles!
  • 2,180 foot vertical drop

Not only does Cannon Mountain have the largest vertical drop in New Hampshire but they also have the highest ski summit at 4,080 feet.

Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire.

Where is Cannon Mountain?

Cannon Mountain Resort is located in Franconia, New Hampshire. It is actually part of the Franconia Notch State Park.

Based in North central New Hampshire, the ski area is 15 minutes to Littleton. It is one hour North of Concord, NH and a little over 2 hour and a half hours West of Portland, Maine.

It might be a far drive to get up to to the White Mountains but the trip to Cannon is worth it if you want to have a huge choice in trails and want to ride a tall east coast mountain.

Does Cannon Mountain NH Have Lodging?

Cannon doesn’t have lodging at the slopes but we have put together a list some great options nearby at different price points.

High End Lodging near the Mountain ($300+ a night)

  • Riverwalk Resort at Loon Mountain (15 minutes, 12 miles)
  • Mountainview Grand Resort and Spa (30 minutes, 20 miles)
  • Innseason Pollard Brook (15 minutes, 13 miles)

Mid Range ($150-$300 a night)

  • Woodstock Inn Brewery (15 minutes, 11 miles)
  • Presidential Mountain Resort (12 minutes, 12 miles)
  • Bear Mountain Lodge B & B (15 minutes, 10 miles)

Budget Options ( $100- $175 a night)

  • Comfort Inn near Burke Mountain (31 minutes, 33 miles)
  • Rustic Log (17 minutes, 10 miles)
  • Holiday Inn Express and Suites Lincoln (13 minutes, 11 miles)

Does Cannon Mountain Ski Area Have Night Skiing?

Cannon has night riding on select trails and terrain parks including Huckerbrook.

The Best Time to Go to Cannon to Ski or Snowboard

The best time to go to Cannon Mountain is to get on the slopes midweek. If you head up on a Tuesday or Wednesday than it is almost guaranteed to be lighter crowds than on the weekends.

Another tip is to get ready 90 minutes before the first lift time with your own gear in hand so you can beat most of the rentals out onto the mountain. It will make sure you are one of the first people on the lifts.

Empty lots at Cannon ski resort in NH.

Does The Mountain Have a Ski Shop?

Cannon Mountain has a rental shop, tuning shop and sports shop. The rental shop and tuning shop are next to each other when you go upstairs in the Peabody Lodge. Rentals can be reserved online. You can get a 1 to 3 day rental and tack on additional days as needed. If it is your local mountain than you can get a season rental too.

If you plan on bringing your own gear but want a tune up, the shop has a new Wintersteiger tuning machine to get your gear into peak performance. Pay the guys in the tuning shop a visit to dial in your gear.

Terrain Parks: What to Know

3 parks make up the freestyle experience at Cannon Mountain. Huckerbrook is the best park they offer for beginners and has the smallest features. There is also a tow lift in the park so you can make lap after lap.

Moving up, Parkway is the next step in most people’s park journey at Cannon Mountain. Naturally the jumps increase in size from Huckerbrook. If those jumps still aren’t large enough, there is one more.

Tossup will get you up, in the air that is. It is home to the biggest kickers at Cannon Mountain and the most impressive riders. For the big features, take the Eagle Cliff Triple.

Is Cannon Mountain Good for Beginners?

“The Tuckerbrook learning area is separated away from the harder trails and it was made with beginners in mind.”

Cannon Mountain is good for beginner skiers and snowboarders because there is a whole area dedicated to them. Rarely would we ever recommend a large ski resort for beginners because it is often overwhelming which leads to a bad experience. Cannon is different.

The Tuckerbrook learning area is separated away from the harder trails and it was made with beginners in mind. There are 14 trails and 4 lifts dedicated to new skiers and snowboarders. Everyone is in it together to learn and have fun. There is also a great family atmosphere.

Cannon Mountain trails.

Does The Ski Area Blow Their Own Snow?

Snowmaking coverage at the mountain is incredible. They can blow snow on 192 of 285 skiable acres which equates to 67%. For such a massive ski area it is impressive once all the snow guns kick into action. White powder fills the air and you’ll be in the middle of a Winter wonderland.

The Trails: Things to Know

There are 97 trail and glades at Cannon Mountain. You need at least two, if not three days to really explore and enjoy them all. So what level skier or snowboarder should you be to get the most of out Cannon Mountain you might wonder… If you consider yourself an intermediate rider, you’ll be able to ride well over half of the trails at the mountain.

Key Takeaway: There is more than enough trails to get away from crowds if you ever go on a more crowded weekend. You might just need to wait for the lift to get up the mountain. Don’t worry though, the 70 person tram quickly clears lines.

Final Thoughts

This Winter is going to be a special one at Cannon Mountain. It might seem like others in the past but if you go out to those 25 miles of trails, everything feels refreshed when you see a new season of powder. There is a trail for everyone so it’s up to you to make the trip up to Cannon Mountain. If you want to ride it, we’ll see you there.

Let us know in the comments below, your favorite trail at Cannon Mountain.

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