Take a Snow Day: 5 Easy Winter Hikes Near the White Mountains

Five easy, snowy trails near the White Mountains, from a riverside stroll in Lovell to a frozen waterfall in North Conway, plus a snow-day checklist.

By Gwen & Danielle

You've been watching the forecast. Fresh snow on the ridgelines, a bluebird morning behind it, and a day that's yours if you want it. This is the snow day you actually take.

The good news: easy winter hikes near the White Mountains are all over the Maine side. Here's where to find them.

You don't need a summit list or a mountaineering kit. Just a pair of microspikes, a thermos, and a trail that's worth the day you're giving it. Start with two just down the road, and you'll find everything you need to know before you lace up.

Practically next door

Lovell is right next to Stoneham, so the hardest part is getting out of bed.

1. Heald and Bradley Ponds Reserve, Lovell: the easy, snowy warm-up

About 10–15 minutes, barely enough time to warm up the car

If your crew includes first-time winter hikers, start here. The Greater Lovell Land Trust looks after more than 800 acres and roughly 9 miles of trails, and the Blue and Red Loops that run beside Heald Pond are flat and easy walking. Expect snow-covered woods roads, a frozen pond through the trees, and fresh tracks to read along the way.

Want a little more? The trails up to Amos Mountain climb about 400 feet. The summit is wooded, so winter, with the leaves down, is when it actually has views.

• ✦Difficulty: Easy. The pond loops are flat; Amos Mountain adds a gentle climb.
• ✦Good for: Mixed groups, kids, snowshoe first-timers
• ✦Know before you go: Several trailheads sit off Route 5 and Heald Pond Road. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are allowed.

2. Kezar River Reserve, Lovell: the riverside stroll

About 20 minutes, or one good playlist

This is the one for little legs. The Greater Lovell Land Trust built the Storybook Trail here as an all-persons trail: a 0.4-mile, six-foot-wide stone dust path with gentle grades. It follows the Kezar River along its tall banks, with a picnic table stop along the way. Snow on the riverbanks, ice forming at the edges, and a walk short enough that nobody asks "are we there yet?"

Want a little more? A 1-mile loop adds a few short ups and downs through the ravines above the river.

• ✦Difficulty: Easy. The Storybook Trail is wide and gently graded; the loop is easy to moderate.
• ✦Good for: Families with young kids, a quick outing before lunch, a first winter walk
• ✦Know before you go: The reserve is on Route 5, about a mile north of Lovell Village, at the end of a rough access road of about a quarter mile. The sign is small, so watch for it. After a storm, check that the road's been plowed.

A quick hop

Twenty-five minutes or so, just long enough for the heated seats to kick in.

3. Valentine Farm, Bethel: the wide-open meadow walk

About 25 minutes, long enough to settle who gets first tracks

Sometimes the best snow day is the simple one: fresh snow, open meadow, and nothing in the way of the sky. The Mahoosuc Land Trust's Valentine Farm has a mostly flat trail of about 1.2 miles, plus a 1-mile loop that circles the meadow below. Strap on snowshoes and make the first tracks across it.

• ✦Difficulty: Easy. The trails are mostly flat.
• ✦Good for: Snowshoe first-timers, families, a morning outing before a day in Bethel
• ✦Know before you go: Check the Mahoosuc Land Trust's site for winter parking and trail conditions. The trust has held its Winterfest celebration here in past winters.

4. Bethel Village Trails: groomed for snowshoes

About 25 minutes. Snowshoes in the trunk, snacks in the cupholder.

Here's a trail that does the hard work for you. Starting at the Bethel Inn Resort, about 8 miles of singletrack are groomed in winter into a well-packed surface for snowshoeing and fat biking. Start with the Dam Loop, a snowshoers' favorite that crosses Mill Brook twice.

• ✦Difficulty: Easy on the Dam Loop. The network also has moderate and advanced trails if you want to keep going.
• ✦Good for: Snowshoers who like a packed trail, fat bikers, a loop after lunch in Bethel
• ✦Know before you go: The trailhead is at the Bethel Inn Resort. The trails are shared with fat bikes. Check the network's page for grooming updates and trail rules before you go.

Worth the drive

A little farther out, a lot more to talk about on the way home.

5. Diana's Baths, North Conway: the frozen waterfall

About 45 minutes to North Conway, plus a few more to the trailhead. Pack snacks.

Diana's Baths turns a summer swimming spot into a winter sculpture garden: cascades on Lucy Brook frozen mid-tumble into shelves of blue ice. The walk is roughly a mile and a quarter out and back on a wide, mostly level path through the woods.

Pair it with lunch and a walk around North Conway, and you have a full snow day with very little effort.

• ✦Difficulty: Easy. The path is wide and mostly level.
• ✦Good for: Everyone, including kids and the not-really-a-hiker in your group
• ✦Know before you go: The White Mountain National Forest lot on West Side Road is maintained in winter, and there's a self-serve day-use fee, so bring cash. Roadside parking isn't allowed. The path and the ice near the falls get slick; microspikes help.

Before you go: your snow-day checklist

A short winter hike is easy when the details are handled. Pack this the night before:

• ✦Traction: Microspikes or snowshoes, depending on how much fresh snow fell. Packed trails want spikes. Deep powder wants snowshoes.
• ✦Layers: A base layer that isn't cotton, a warm mid-layer, a shell, a hat and spare gloves. You'll warm up once you're moving and cool off fast when you stop.
• ✦Daylight: In December the sun sets before 4:30 pm. Start by midday, carry a headlamp anyway.
• ✦Maps offline: Cell service is weak or spotty around the trails. Download your trail maps before you leave the Wi-Fi.
• ✦Roads: Route 113 through Evans Notch is gated for the winter, so plan routes around it. Trailhead lots and back roads change with every storm.
• ✦Conditions: Check recent trail reports or the land trust and Forest Service pages the morning you go.

Where the snow day ends

And then comes the best part of the day. You come back to the treehouse pink-cheeked and a little tired, and the rest of the day is already waiting.

At Grand Oak, that's a private hot tub, covered and open all winter, a sunken soaking tub off the primary suite, and a private firepit for the friends and family who made the trip with you. At the Spruce Suite, it's an elevated studio treehouse with a private year-round hot tub on the deck and a queen loft up in the canopy. Both are heated, both are open all winter, and you can park right at Grand Oak.

You did the hike. The hot tub's warm. That's a snow day.

Plan your snow day: book Grand Oak or the Spruce Suite →

Not sure which trail fits your group? Call or text us at 802-321-0360 (9 am–8 pm), or email info@inthetreesmaine.com.